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Hello.

I am someone who has recently started to suspect that they might have aspergers syndrome, and I am 29. I started to consider it seriously when I saw this clip on the BBC of a chap and it was called "autism for me is a painful gift". He wasn't diagnosed until he was 42, and I felt I really connected with a lot of the things he said. I always suspected that I fit a lot of the criteria, but then I dismissed it as most people I know satisfy a lot of the criteria to a small degree, but for me these things effect my life a lot, so it is hard to ignore. Also there is the fact my friends and my relatives aren't a random selection of the population.

The first of the biggest places where my symptoms effect my life is my inability to face filling out forms and paper-work, even to the point of it being extremely inconvenient not to. I have for example not been able to face phoning to sort out payment of bills until I end up getting letters threatening to send around the bailiffs, and I ended up having to pay a whole year of council tax in one go as I'd left it so late to sort it out, despite that fact that in both cases I had enough money in the bank to pay them immediately! Also in terms of applying for jobs or positions I feel I have missed out on many opportunities simply because I have failed to ask or apply for things. The main things I have done so far in my life is doing a degree, for which my mum filled out all the paper work, and doing a Ph.D., for which the staff had basically verbally accepted me before I'd filled out a single form, and then I filled out the application form at a later date with a member of staff to formalise my application. Saying that, I did apply for a job recently and got invited to an interview, however I couldn't face attending so I told them I wasn't interested anymore.

The second thing where my symptoms effect my life is the sheer amount time that my personal hobbies consume. I have a large number of bizarre hobbies that my girlfriend calls "robbies" due to my name. I practice hanging off door-frames twice a week, I have a daily stretching routine, I run three times a week, I practice the piano, I study mathematics, I practice muscle-control - this is something I "invented" where I sit down and attempt to control various muscles in my body without controlling any others, it is my goal to learn to independently control every muscle in my body (lol). I love looking at maps, particularly old OS maps to see how the local areas have changed, and I'm interested in the layout of local farm fields. On my runs I attempt to visit as many different farm fields as possible, much to the annoyance of my neighbouring farmers. I also have in the past spent an enormous amount of time playing a certain logic puzzle game which I won't name as it will potentially identify who I am (along all this other information) too accurately. Oh! And I also like beatboxing. (but don't tell anyone, it's embarrassing)

Thirdly I struggle with socialising and making friends, however this isn't such an issue any more as I am generally happy spending time with my girlfriend, however in the past this has been a large cause of depression and anxiety for me as I have tried extremely hard to, and failed to, make friends.

Anyway sorry for the rambling introduction, I wanted it to be quicker than this. To sum up, I am going through a time of change in my life, I have recently finished my studies and my girlfriend has moved to another city, and I need to move there and find work there, and I suspect I will need some sort of psychiatric or moral support over this period of change. I am seeing my GP in a couple of weeks (earliest next appointment, dreadful isn't it?) to discuss the possibility that I might have aspergers, and will take things from there.

Look forward to getting to know you all, hope you found my list of hobbies amusing!

aradesh.

Welcome!

Welcome to WP I saw that snippet on the BBC news website earlier this evening, actually.

Hey aradesh welcome.

Welcome, Aredesh! It sounds like a good thing that you have a girlfriend; hopefully she is also supportive to help you during your transition. Best of luck.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!