Hi everyone! I'm new and thought I'd introduce myself. I was recently diagnosed after spending most of my life thinking I was a clumsy extreme introvert with anxiety. When I learned that a couple of rare medical conditions I also have or have had (keratoconus and serotonin syndrome) are associated with ASD, and after my four year old was diagnosed with ASD during which I encountered a lot of questions about him for which the answer was also a very clear YES for me, I sought out a specialist in adult diagnosis.
I'm married (almost ten years) and have three kids- my 4 year old with an ASD dx and also 6 and 8 year old boys who are delightfully odd in their own ways. We also host high school exchange students, and this year we have a girl from Holland and a boy from Spain living with us. A big part of the reason we've made exchange students a big part of our lives is that while everyone in the family has some degree of difficulty forming relationships with "outsiders", we are a very close knit family, and we like the experience of adding to it with young people who expose us and the kids to new ideas and perspectives while also very much being part of the family.
I work as a manager for a non-profit exchange student organization, handling escalated student issues and managing my staff. It's an ideal fit for me, as I work from home and on my own schedule, and they don't mind if I have an off day or even month as long as I get my work done. I'm almost certain that I'd never be able to effectively work full time outside of my home so I feel very lucky to have landed in the position I have.
I'm looking forward to learning more in this community.
18 Feb 2017, 11:16 am
