Hello! My name is Mitch and I'm currently living in beautiful New Hampshire. I've lived in several states including Connecticut, Massachusetts (born in Boston), Maine, Pennsylvania, and New York. I am a diagnosed Aspie (well, sort of) and was diagnosed at age 21. I say "sort of" because they were reluctant to give me a full diagnosis since I am very high functioning. Instead, they just gave me the label "symptoms consistent with Asperger" as opposed to a full diagnosis. Additionally, I also have a moderate to severe hearing loss and am mostly deaf in my left ear. This may partly be why the people who evaluated me were reluctant to give a diagnosis since some of my social difficulties are caused by my lack of hearing. I wear a hearing aid in the right ear and can hear about 65-70% of what a normal person hears with it on.
It's very frustrating having not one, but two disabilities that impair my ability to interact with others. In addition to many of the troubles posed by AS, I often cannot hear conversation and, therefore, have to withdraw from it because asking people to repeat things often stifles the flow of the conversation and ruins it. As such, I've had very few friends and never any girlfriends. I really hope to have a girlfriend and came to this board partly to find out how other Aspies found their partners and how they find having a relationship to be. I hate being a loner and want to make some changes in my life. I also came here to meet others and hear how they manage their lives, especially with regard to friendships.
Anyway, a little more about myself: I am a graduate student of meteorology at Plymouth State University and hope to pursue this field for my career. I have been fascinated with weather since the age of 3. I also did my undergraduate degree in meteorology also. It is a challenging field that requires certain things from an individual (some of which I'm not sure I have). I also have interests in nature and working out.
Hope to meet some interesting people on here.
~Mitch