New kid on the forum

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(Alright, I turned 18 in February, so I guess I'm technically an adult. But I certainly don't view myself as one. Noooope.)

Hi, my name is Audrey, but most people call me Aud. Yes, that is pronounced 'odd'. Given my Asperger's, that nickname either becomes kind of funny or kind of unfortunate (I personally choose funny); I'm certain my mother didn't mean it to wind up that way, but hey. That's life. In addition to AS, I also have the lovely mental cocktail of Anxiety, Depression, mild ADD, and a bizarre, twisted sense of humor (I've been told that most aspies don't get humor, but I most certainly do).

I have 2 brothers, both younger than me, both with type 1 Diabetes and rampant ADHD (good luck sleeping past about 9, that's when the youngest gets up). I have a twin sister, too, which is both a blessing and a curse; she's always been there to back me up, but she's also always been there to compare myself to. Now that she's applying for jobs and acting like a normal, grown-up person... well, it's been hard. But I love her and can't imagine a world without her.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's in third grade, after we had moved to a new house and a new school halfway through the term and I wasn't coping with the change very well at all (it didn't help that I had been put into the class of what was largely considered the meanest teacher in the entire school. Third grade stank). I was diagnosed with anxiety two years later, after a particularly nasty thunderstorm left me with an irrational fear of pretty much everything (I'm medicated now, no longer afraid that the house will blow up or whatever. Yay medication!) The depression popped up right around the start of middle school, and I'm still dealing with it. Some days are better than others.

Uhh, what else? I like using large words, playing Pokemon (the video games, not the cards), reading books (LOTS of them), drawing things, and rocking back and forth (that's my thing, my little unexplainable Aspy quirk. I actually have a nice armchair in my room for that express purpose. It's the third in a line of similar chairs that I have rocked to death over the years. Never have you seen a girl look for chairs quite like this during yardsale season; it must be just right. Many many chairs have failed the test). I dislike loud noises, tight pants (I never wear jeans. Ever.) crowded places, doing math, bugs of any description, and the R word (that's 'ret*d' or 'ret*d', for those of you who don't know. I've been on the wong end of that word too many times). I know far too many movie quotes and cheesy jokes for my own good.

(Good grief, this got long... sorry. Maybe I should stick a warning up there... 'CAUTION: WALL OF TEXT! Do not attempt to climb without proper equipment.' Or something.)

Hi Aud! Welcome to Wrong Planet! Check out the many interesting and helpful forums here. There is even a games forum. You are among friends here at WP!

18 is just a number. People don't suddenly turn into an adult when the clock strikes 12 am on the day of their 18th birthday. Most people take several more years to develop into a real adult. I think it would be more accurate to think of people between 18 and 25 as junior adults.

I have a sense of humor, as do many others here at WP, so it is an error to think that we on the Autism/Asperger's spectrum are without a sense of humor.

Unfortunately, many of us have also been called ret*ds. I always knew it wasn't true, as I was able to read way above my grade throughout my school years from the second grade onwards. I also took an IQ test decades ago. I don't remember the exact score, but I was in the high average range. So my problem wasn't low IQ, it was Asperger's, but way back then, they hadn't recognized the Autism disorders yet. We were mislabelled as having emotional/behavior problems, and/or being a discipline problem.

Now that the spectrum disorders are known, at least there are some treatments out there for you younger people. I'm glad about that.

Welcome to Wrong Planet, Aud.

Aud... that has a nice ring to it.

Welcome to WP

I find it very interesting that you are a twin on the spectrum, and that your sister is not on the spectrum.

I have four boys. I am sure that the oldest (12) is on the spectrum. The middle one (9) might be on the spectrum and then I have identical twins (2½) and I have no idea yet. The two oldest are in the milder end of the spectrum, and so am I, but that does not mean that they do not have problems to cope with.

Anyways, I do not want to ruin your introduction. Welcome again.

Welkome to WP

Mick

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome, Aud. Having turned 18 recently myself, I really get what you mean, hah.

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

@helles: Me and my sister are actually ferternal twins (I think I spelled that right?), not identical, and we don't look anything alike. We did when we were younger, and our teachers used to get us confused for the first week or so... it made things interesting. Anyways, like I said, being a twin has it's pros and cons. When we were little, she never really noticed I was weird, I was just her sister. Later, during third grade, a lot of kids picked on her too, because I was weird and "aren't twins exactly the same?" (flawed third-grader logic at it's finest). Even when she proved them wrong, she still got a lot of flak because she stood up for me. Kids wouldn't want to be her friend because she wouldn't leave me out. I think sometimes she got exasperated, and wished I was normal, and wished she didn't have to seperate herself from all the other kids at school to protect me. But she never quit defending me. It wasn't until later that I truly understood and appreciated what she did for me. I dread to think what could've happened, if she had chosen making friends over protecting me... You know how people ask you who your hero is? That'd be my sister.

I guess I'm telling you this so you know in advance. If one of your twins does happen to be on the spectrum, then don't give him all the attention; his brother's going to need support too.

@Guppy: Weirdest thing they never tell you about turning 18: your library card expires (or at least it does where I live). You have to get a new 'adult' library card, and they ask for your driver's license as an ID. So things get interesting if you're like me and never took driver's ed because the thought of driving is scary...

I'll probably never dare to get a driver's licence. I'd just accidentally kill a lot of people.