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I'm a 63-year-old female Aspie. I am self-diagnosed. I was medically retired at age 40 due to severe chronic illness - Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome plus Lyme. Before I retired, I was a fisheries biologist. Before I became disabled, I was a soldier in the US Army - a staff sergeant.

Mainly I love to be out in nature, whether walking or gardening. Besides nature, my main interests are mandolin, which I took up last summer, art, model railroading, and a non-fiction book that I have been working on for the past 15 years (as well as research connected with the book, which is on-going). The book is about - well, you might say "comparative mythology." I'm hoping to finish it before I die. I think that if I do a good job communicating what I have learned, it will have a positive impact on people and maybe improve things a little in this world.

I've spent much of my life trying not to be an Aspie, and I really have improved a lot of my weaknesses. The problem was that I didn't KNOW I was an Aspie. I just thought I was defective for some reason, not that I actually had a condition that explained every danged thing about my differences. I went down wrong paths and very nearly destroyed my life. It would have been so helpful - to me, my family, and my friends - if this had been diagnosed when I was young. Now it hardly makes any difference. Except that, of course, it makes me feel a little better about my differences. Right now I'm only just beginning to learn.

I'm ready for a little more healing.

Good afternoon/morning!
It’s mid-afternoon here, I believe that would make it not-quite-early morning where you are.

Welcome to WP.

Hope you enjoy the chatting, joke & game threads and find solace and companionship on the help, advice & support threads.

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Footnote, standard Karamazov disclosure:
The debating threads in the Politics, Philosophy & Religion forum have a different rule structure to allow full discussion of issues, and can get a bit boisterous and in-your-face at times.
(Just so you don’t get shocked: I was the first time I started conversing there! )

Thanks, Karamazov.

Welcome from the huge expanse to the east of NM!

Haha, thanks Tim!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to Wrong Planet . Your self diagnosis story sounds a lot like mine which is no surprise since we are so close in age. Oddly, I actually self diagnosed in the late 1970's when I read a description of Asperger's in a psychology book. At the time I didn't even realize how rare this self assessment was. I figured it was something being diagnosed, just rare enough that I had heard of it before. From what I read, trying to get any pdoc help at that time probably would have been futile. ASD author John Elder Robison was diagnosed a sociopath and kept wondering when he was going to become a murderer .

Welcome to Wrong Planet! One of our members "Mountain Goat" is really into trains and model trains.

Welcome glad to have you

Dear Chaya - a very warm welcome to you ! Would love to see your model railroad(as a fellow model railway hobbyist)... so good to have you with us.

Wow, thank you everyone! What a nice welcome. Look forward to getting to know you.