Hi,
Maybe I should start with some "facts and figures:" I'm thirty years old, moved to the East Coast appr. five years ago, am getting my PhD in history, and I've been diagnosed with Asperger's many years ago in Europe and again in the United States. English is not my native language so please excuse if I'm not precise enough.
The diagnosis is important and not important at the same time (e.g. health insurance, awareness). The "label" doesn't exist anymore in the United States but I still prefer to call myself an Aspie instead of saying that I'm on the autistic spectrum because the latter term encompasses so many different variations of autism that it's more difficult to communicate. Apart from any labeling: I would never want to change who I am. If someone would offer me tomorrow to stop functioning as I do, I would absolutely not take that opportunity although I struggle a lot with "the other world:" Often, I truly feel that I was born on the wrong planet. In particular during the past two years, I've been working very hard on my social skills as I'll be soon on the job market. Some things improved (I can make use of techniques but it never feels natural) but I'm still working on how to navigate in this world. This week, I'm kind of frustrated that I've to spend all this time on how to deal with other people but that most people actually do not even see the possibility that people function in different ways, that there is so often the assumption of a "normal behavior" in the room.
My life mostly consists of patterns. That's the way I function. I like my routines. And I like pragmatic approaches to solving problems instead of emotionalizing everything. To many people it's actually not obvious why someone with Asperger's is fascinated by history. To me, it's not necessarily a particular topic but the skills you need for this profession. I can collect, structure, organize, and analyze data and discuss it. Apart from my research, I also program using Python in order to push digital humanities forward. I wish I had more time for this... In my free time, I learn foreign languages and play board games (e.g. Dominion, Carcassonne). If anybody shares any of those interests, please feel free to contact me. It would be great to establish conversations via this platform. Apart from sharing those special interests, it would be great if I could find people to discuss the topic of being in academia as an Aspie and if anybody else is experiencing particular problems.
Well, I don't want to overwhelm you with more detail. In case you'd like to know more, just respond to this post or send a message.
I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas and getting to know you!
Best,
di kats
12 Nov 2014, 2:46 pm
