Hello, I'm new.

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Hi.

I'm a high-functioning Autistic (diagnosed at 5) who heard about this community through a friend of mine with Asperger's Syndrome. I'm in my mid-twenties, have a university degree and a career in web development, and have come to a point where I can in many ways pass for a neurotypical individual (albeit an odd one). The reaction I get to revealing that I'm autistic is usually surprise and sometimes disbelief.

I have a blog where I've started to write about my thoughts and experiences as an autistic person to separate those writings from my real identity. I'd like to link it for you but it seems WrongPlanet won't let me until I've made 5 legitimate posts (that should hopefully happen in short order).

Welcome to WP

I'm a girl with Asperger Syndrome (recently diagnosed). I'm in my late-twenties, Work as an office manager/ researcher/ stock girl in a motor shop, and I also can pass for a normal (neurotypical) person, albeit a rather excentric one.
I have a second cousen who was diagnosed with HFA, and any insite into his world would be helpful. Good luck on getting your link set up.

To WrongPlanet!! !

Welcome from a fellow High-Functioning Autistic!

new here as well. I too can pass off this way a lot of the times, other times.. no. I think a lot of it has to do with intelligence, we can simply collect and organize about what people do in certain situations, and apply them to new ones. It just requires much more work and thought than average people to blend in.

People even think I am extroverted, which sometimes makes me extremely proud of my developed ability to put this front up. It's incredibly draining at times and very taxing, though.

Here's to being Unique. Cheers.

Hello, LogicallySound - and welcome greetings to the WP forums.

Hello and welcome to WrongPlanet

Shadi

I really appreciate the warm welcome. I hope I'll be able to contribute useful things to the conversation.

My ability to "blend in" has been hard-earned and largely consists of observing or deducing social rules and rituals in their contexts and then actively applying those. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult and I might slip back into old habits. I always tell my close friends that the difficulty I have is that what they have learned to do subconsciously in social situations, I usually must process consciously. Some things come more naturally now, but it still takes a lot of effort to make even just a passably good impression in a new social situation.

My mother tells me she actually fought tooth and nail not to have me put into special education because while I was having trouble socially, I had absolutely no problem with the curriculum whatsoever and was even doing better than many. I think that was a very important factor in how I developed socially, because I was always interacting with NTs who didn't understand autism (in high school, many didn't know I had it at all); they treated me the same as they would treat anybody else and I had to find my ways to adapt and cope.

welcome to WrongPlanet.

The WP Kink

OK, it seems I can link to my blog now: I'm Not What You Think

Welcome!