Hi,
Hello everyone and I would like to express my thanks for this forum to have me. I wish everyone some lovely pre-festive days. Down here I have summarised my personal reasons for joining this fine forum:
I am a 22-year old student who is going to graduate for a BA this year. Due to considerable problems with academic work (despite the fact that I consider my course very much a part of my... obsession), problems in my social life during the secondary school days and a number of other factors, eg. "nerdiness" (I was one of the kids in the RPG group), little tics/stimming (mostly fidgeting fingers, rocking on chairs, shaking legs), a certain rigidity in thought and action, obsessiveness [NB: not too much with people, I hope], lack of eye contact, "lecturing" in conversations, massive issues with concentration and planning, extreme awkwardness in handling crushes/infatuations, clumsiness (I was the worst in PE and being the youngest and smallest didn't help either) etc. it had been suggested by the university's student support service to go for an assessment, which I hope to attend next term. I got 33 out of 50 points on the Simon Baron-Cohen thingy, but as long as there is no clinically sound diagnosis I will not regard myself as being an "Aspie" (I am frightfully sorry, but as a German native speaker I feel the obligation to indulge my pedantic streak and act pseudo-offended by the butchering of good old Hans's last name). Might as well be a quirky Neurotypical (always these Identity Politics! Not sure what to make of that... different wiring of the brain or not, we're all human beings after all) with shades of OCD. Anyway diagnosis or not, I think this will not change the perception of myself (which is hopefully not narcissistic or sociopathic), not by a iota. I will not regard that as some sort of revelation. Silly me, I might as well be in denial right now. Unhappiness had been an issue before, but at the moment I am quite content with my life- thank to a supportive family and my friends.
OH WELL! I am really sorry for rambling like this straight away. I see it is not considered good etiquette to do so, and I may come across woefully self-obsessed. The last thing I want is to bother anyone with this badly worded overly long drivel, but I hope some readers might have some mercy with me and might find that useful. Ugh, I loathe my prose style, it comes across as pretentious, potentially patronising, pompous, forced and worst of all, not entertaining in the least. But anyway, that's the first post.