Guess it's time to introduce myself!

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Hi! My name's Louise, and I'm a young middle-aged woman! I've never been diagnosed, so I'm not sure if I'm an Aspie. However, my 10 yr. old son has H.F. autism. (I see the social skills as the difference between Auties and Aspies. My son can be quite friendly and popular with his peers. But, of course, he is EXCEPTIONALLY CUTE!)

However, after reading the thread, "You Might Be An Aspie If . . ." (and laughing myself silly), I'm pretty sure I'm an Aspie. I was lucky enough to be raised by two intelligent, creative parents who are both probably Aspies, themselves. However, they are both the eldest children in their families, and I am the eldest (of 8!) in mine. So we thought our unique qualities came from birth order, as described in "The Birth Order Book." (As the first-born of 2 first-born parents, I would be a "Super Eldest!")

While I was usually kind of an outsider at school, my parents convinced me it was because of my "superior breeding," "outstanding intelligence," "the result of being incredibly gifted and creative," and all sorts of other baloney. (So if some people feel that Aspies think we're better than they are . . . well, this Aspie kind of did! ) Anyway, there is a lot to be said for arrogance as a way of coping!

When I entered the work force, I was doing a very good job (of course!) and was shocked when a supervisor told me that most people didn't like me. They thought I was too serious and (gasp!) stuck-up! That was quite an eye-opener! Well, I decided to make a study of social interactions among the peasants..... Ooops! I mean the other, more "normal," people, and the result was that I was able to learn to "pass." In other words, I used my cognitive skills to learn how to deal with people. It wasn't easy, and it took a while to fine-tune it. I'll never forget another supervisor taking me aside about a year later and telling me that people thought I was a "space-cadet!" Success! I was quite pleased, at first. (Of course, I was blonde and shapely, so that added to the illusion.) However, I soon realized I had to strike a balance in how I presented myself; NT enough to be able to move among the "normals," yet able to express my real self enough to be taken seriously.

I've always been interested in different cultures, probably because I feel like an outsider studying my own culture. I'm lucky enough to have made a few good, long-term friends, and I'm accepted in my own world. As I mentioned, my son has mild autism, and he's in a special program for H.F. Auties. We mothers of the kids in this program all get along very well, and I feel very comfortable with them. They accept my eccentricities with an, "Oh well, that's just Louise!" but that may be because they're familiar with our Autie/Aspie world.

One of the things that really made me laugh in the "You May Be An Aspie If . . ." thread was something about how you could spend an entire weekend happily immersed in the history and health effects of Mountain Dew. That describes me to a T! I become extremely interested in some topic (usually pretty unusual) and then have to pursue it obsessively until it burns itself out. I actually like this, because I end up feeling as if I have some degree of expertise in it, which adds to my self-delusions of superiority. (I have several great books about medical oddities, as well as other wierd stuff.)

I am generally happy with my life. I have a darling (and very interesting!) son, friends, family, a GREAT marriage (he's only home 2 weeks a year, which is more than enough! [He's definitely a H.F. Autie.]), and enough energy to pursue my interests. I guess you could say that (even with very little money) I'm rich.

OK, enough of this self-indulgent twaddle.

Last edited by whitequeen96 on 19 Apr 2007, 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

hello!

Welcome to Wrong Planet. I'm RedMage the 8-Bit Hero[ine].

Nice to meet both of you! I've posted on here a few times since yesteray, so I thought I should finally introduce myself. I'm pretty excited to find this site!

Hello and welcome...nice intro. I would say more, but it is gone 7am here and I have not been to bed yet, so my brain is too dead to absorb much.

Nice to meet ya too!

Welcome to WP!

Tim

Hi and welcome to the site.

You sound quite similar to me. I did the 'Aspie Test' and I scored half alspie, half neurotypical. I think I have learnt via intellect how to deal with social situations although I am left with aspie traits such as avoiding eye contact and sociability & frustration issues. My mom always called me an absent minded professor. I have very quick learning skills but my short-term memory is rubbish, I have great academic & problem solving ability. I posted more about myself in my thread and there is a link there to do the test if you're interested.

Anyway, it was interesting reading you story, welcome again to the site

Hi, Louise!

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone! Who says Aspies are loners?!

You are welcome!

Welcome to WrongPlanet. I hope you enjoy it here. =)


-SpaceCase

Nice intro! Welcome to WP!

Hello and welcome to WP. Loved your story, and coping strategies given to you by your parents!

I am N.T. mum of 2 N.T. boys and 7 year old aspie boy.

The more I read of this website the more I see some aspie traits in me. I was called the absent minded professor at highschool by more teachers at 2 different highschools. They independently came up with the nicknames.

I also tend to get obsessed with things until I get burned out.

I think I'll have to try this Aspie/NT quiz. It will be interesting. Although I am exceptionally good at picking up people's emotions and nonverbal cues.

Hmmm ... and all along I've been saying it all came from my husband.

Smelena