Herro... :)

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Evenin' folks,

Thought I'd finally say hi. I'm going to work at being brief, as I'm typically verbose.

I've been lurking the non-member's forums, and the site for a while, but only recently joined. I was diagnosed with Asperger's at 16 (this seems to be a theme). Before that I had a slew of other diagnoses as various mental health "professionals" attempted to explain my behavior by seemingly tossing darts at a map of behavioral/conduct issues and attention-seeking disorders.

I was non-verbal until I was reaching 3, then had a hyperlexic explosion that took everyone aback. I excelled in science, particularly in physics and chemistry, and had a proclivity toward dismantling various electronics - it didn't matter whose - and "making them better." Then came my pre-teen years!

Currently I work as a clinician (psychiatric), and contract as a research scientist (neuroscience/biobehavioral health). When I'm not doing those things I'm gaming... lots, and LOTS of gaming. I just completed my third run-through of Mass Effect 3 (And, yes, I'm in love with Vega). I'm *anxiously* awaiting the arrival of Diablo III (now that I can't beta-test anymore), and then Dragon Age III. And... of course... I have both WoW and TOR accounts. (And, yes, I happen to like the idea of monk pandas!).

Part of the work I do in mental health is educating people with regard to autism and the Autism Community. I get to talk about what it's like being both an employee with Aspergers and why others should hire people with Aspergers. I never, ever thought I'd be an advocate/educator... but it happened.

I still get looked at like I have 5 heads, and people still occasionally treat me unprofessionally. But today I'm afforded the opportunity to smile and nod, then let someone else tell them what kind of mistake they made...

Hmm... was this brief? I'm not really familiar with "brief", so I'm kinda testing the waters here! Oh! If you're curious to know what I look like (I noticed a photo thread), my avatar is a hint...

Brief? Right... brief.

_Bloom

Welkome to WP

Mick