New member, attempting to figure everything out

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Greetings, I'm Teuthida. I'm a 20 year old, and I am being tested for autism spectrum disorders this week. I don't know what I have yet, so I hope it's okay that I joined the forum anyway - I don't really think this is a case of "if" I get diagnosed, but more wondering what I'll be diagnosed with. Since I was young, most of my family has suspected I had something on the autism spectrum. However, since I lived with an abusive mother who neglected a lot of my needs, I was never taken to be diagnosed - nothing was ever mentioned to me at all. I have always known there was something "off" about me, but I always suspected I was just weird or painfully shy/awkward. High functioning autism and Aspergers never occurred to me at all. I never even considered it, to be honest, because I didn't know enough about them and I was basing all my information on stereotypes. The therapist I've been seeing for a while suggested I get tested, and after doing a lot of reading and research I'm taking her advice. I have nothing to lose, right?

When I told my family I wanted to be tested, it was like they all breathed a sigh of relief. They started telling me stories from my childhood that made them suspect; things I didn't even remember because I was too young. I never thought I fit the typical image of Aspergers as I had constructed it in my brain, but now that I'm truly looking into it and learning it's like... everything I read, I feel like it's written just about me. I'm looking back at my memories with a new lens, and I feel like things make a lot more sense.

This is a lot to make sense of, so I joined here to find some similar people. I have a lot of interests that I'm very invested in - science fiction and fantasy being my two main appeals. I devour literature at a ridiculous rate, and read whenever I can. I'm also quite interested in video game development, and frequently make my own games and write a lot of stories. I am enamoured with wildlife and I enjoy learning about various types of animals. I just enjoy learning, period - I like teaching myself about whatever catches my fancy, and I have a treasure trove of totally useless knowledge in my head.

Sorry, this was probably too lengthy! I hope to enjoy talking with all of you while I'm here. *waves*

Welcome to facebook!

Well, not Facebook, but...

Thank you for the welcomes.

again_with_this, I wonder the same thing too sometimes. The thing that makes me think it's not just a coping mechanism is that I was exhibiting these traits long before my mother did any real damage to me - she only started abusing me when I was around ten or twelve, and I was acting like this my whole life before then. But it's still a possibility. I'll definitely keep the board posted with any news or discoveries.

Hello. I feel your energy.

Hey there and welcome!

I'm new to the site also and haven't been diagnosed yet but it does seem like you could be on the spectrum. I feel the same way about learning as you do! I imagine myself as a heavy-set child sitting at a table and I'm surrounded by millions of different types of junk food. The junk food would be considered knowledge and it's like I just can't get enough of it. I always have to ask "why" when people tell me things and it isn't that I'm trying to be annoying, I just really want to understand EVERYTHING about what the person is trying to tell me haha

Officially diagnosed two days ago. Not entirely sure how to feel about everything! I'll have to sort out all these feelings in my head. I'm sure some of you can relate.