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Hi everyone, and thank you for creating a forum that has been an awful lot of help.

For the last half a year or so, I've been suspecting that I am on the autistic spectrum. It never would have occurred to me if I hadn't run into a little girl who is, and realizing that she so resembled me as a child. I then started reading up, and realized that there is huge variation within the spectrum.

Occam's razor says I'm somewhere between NVLD and Asperger's, but it may be that I understand it poorly. I find the diagnostic criteria to be a bit chaotic, and I am the only person in my family with a sense of direction.

I don't know whether I'll push for a diagnosis or not. I have spent the last six months reading really a lot of articles, aspie blogs and this forum, which has led to some really beneficial changes in lifestyle. That said, there are a lot of things I am still struggling with.

I love cooking, which my NT husband really appreciates. People ask me how to cook obscure vegetables, and I know

I am am open and gregarious, hate parties and crash after a lot of social contact. If somebody had a plan with creating me, they really weren't thinking.

Finally posting after lurking so long is a bit scary, but I am happy to finally say hello to you guys.
Have a lovely day!

Welcome! I am glad you decided to join, it may be very therapeutic for you to make contact with other aspies/HFA's/neurodiverse people. I know it has been for me so far and I only joined yesterday! I am very similar to you in that I only started suspecting I was on the spectrum when I met and interacted with others who were on it. I finally felt like I "fit in" somewhere for once in my life. I am very glad I did because it lead me to be more accepting of myself and to make some very positive life changes as well.

I believe a diagnosis will not really help adults on the spectrum as much as it would help children. The way I deal with it is by doing my own research and seeing how I can use my "limitations" to socialize with the outside world. I too get super tired after too much interaction, but I do try my best. I actually like myself better now and think that the positive Aspie traits far outweigh any of the negative.

I hope you enjoy your time here!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hey underwater welcome.

After suspecting it for a long time I got official diagnosis yesterday. It was a weird moment. Kind of a relief and confirmation and really upsetting too. I was misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder at 15. Never thought anything off it til I started working(briefly) and realised how different I am to others. I mentioned it to g.p who had already had suspicions about b.p.d not being right as I am too well behaved! Referral thought c.p.n who also agreed with g.p. then assessment and cognitive tests. High functioning autism with addition sensory and communication needs. I debated getting it done or not, but will help with support and access to certain services and gives me a solid answer.

hi, underwater. welcome. i figured out i am an aspie when my nephew was diagnosed. care to share any interests?

Thank you guys for being so welcoming! It really means a lot. I spent a long time not signing up because I worried that I might be missing some clues about what is socially acceptable on this forum. Yeah.... When self insight finally struck, I decided to just say hello and see what happens.

Thank you Ruby and Mouse for your thoughts on getting a diagnosis. I know this is not a thing where one says "Well done, you!", but I hope this will be a positive change in your life, Mouse. Would love to hear what happens next.

I am not at all certain I would get a diagnosis if I asked for one. I've taken three web based tests, and I consistently score just on the aspie side of the cutoff point. I think I am too superficially well functioning to be considered. Neither fish nor fowl.

Yes, this.

You know what else? A lot of what people write here on this forum is so clear and eloquent. I sometimes have trouble remembering what people write to me, if their style of writing is unclear or unstructured. Never on WP. Is that your experience as well?

As for interests, I've been reading like crazy from the year before school started. Just a couple of years ago, my mother told me "So, when you are reading, you are actually resting, aren't you?" I was dumbfounded. It took her thirty years to figure out, and I always thought she knew.

Other than that writing, architecture, interior design, art, Studio Ghibli films, ecological gardening. In the past I've been involved with classical music, song in particular, read a lot of fantasy and sf, and I am a recovering grammar nazi in my own language. I few years ago I had to get off gluten due to gastrointestinal issues, so I've been on a three year cooking bender. I didn't know what a foodie was, but now it seems I've become one.

That's just off the top of my head. I am interested in *everything*. I think that's how I do the social thing.

Hi, welcome to WP, have fun!

Thank you!

Welcome newbie.

Firstly, this ^^^ is very me. Secondly, I've never really worried about an official diagnosis. Aspergers is in the family, and one of the NTs in the family provides specialist Autism support in education. After researching and ruminating, I came to my own conclusion that I'm Aspie. Self-realisation, I think, provides better acceptance - if I'd gone through doctor after doctor and one finally told me I'm shallow-end Autistic, it would not have meant as much as the understanding I gained "diagnosing" myself.




I really wouldn't worry about that...

Thank you MisterSpock! Really fun to meet someone with similar interests! With aspies in the family, do you manage to do stuff together, or do your interests wander off in different directions? What exactly are your interests?

Does having a family member who does autism support help you? I am reading forum posts like crazy to find a way around executive dysfunction. Any tips on good sources?

Our family units are kind of independent from each other - we'll only really see each other a couple of times a year, which isn't much time to share interests. It's not that our interests diverge - in fact I really like language and languages, as does an Aspie relative, but they chose to pursue it in academia and I didn't. We've never really had deep conversations about it. We both write creatively and have probably each memorized all of Terry Pratchett's work. We have a lot of common interests, but I think because we don't ever interact much, and have different (what I'm going to call) life experiences, we don't have such a bond that means long and in-depth discussions. Let's put it like this, they are from a dog family, and I am from a cat family. I'll PM you with an abridged list of my interests instead of flooding this thread.

As the to relative who does autism support, I never really benefited from that knowledge or guidance, since I had finished most of my education by the time I had self-diagnosed. Since then, any executive function issues I may have have been less apparent (or have had less effect). So unfortunately I am unable to give you any specific resources. I think, though, that we've all found the idea of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helpful, and CBT is also useful for those with AD(H)D because of their executive function issues.