New here, diagnosed last year

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Hi. I'm new here, but diagnosed as having autistic spectrum disorder as a middle-aged adult last year. If I had gotten diagnosed as a kid, I'd have been diagnosed with Asperger's or pervasive development disorder/not otherwise specified (PDD/NOS), but the practictioner my parents brought me to in the early 1980s didn't have the tools or experience to see me for what I was, and reassured my parents that there wasn't actually anything wrong with me; I was "just bored and acting out".

As a result, I developed god-tier masking game without knowing anything about masking or without knowing for sure that I was autistic until I started seeing a therapist. It was a fortieth birthday present to myself; I figured that if I was going to have a midlife crisis I might as well get something myself more constructive than buy a sports car, a Harley-Davidson, or a mistress and a divorce.

So, here I am: a recently-diagnosed autistic adult with a wife, a couple of cats, a house, and a day job. I even managed to publish a couple of novels through a small press a few years ago.

Last edited by BlueOysterCultist on 30 Mar 2020, 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Greetings and welcome. I also was diagnosed and I'm also a married man in my 40s.

Is masking getting more draining for you the older you get?

Yes, but I've been giving myself permission to do less of it. I've pretty much told everybody at my day job: "I'm autistic, and sick of hiding it. You can either accept me as I really am, or find somebody foolish enough to be willing to take my job."

^ Good for you. I commend you for disclosing at your work. Are there any workplace accommodations that you think you require that you're not already getting?

Not really. Management has noticed that I'm actually quite comfortable with remote work, but given the current pandemic remote work is more a necessity than a privilege.

I envy you. I'm working remotely now and will be for the next month at least. I'm thrilled about it and wish I could work remotely on a permanent basis.

I changed jobs last year and as part of that negotiated a 32 hour/4 day work week. I was suffering from years of autistic burnout and couldn't continue working five days per week and function as a husband and father. A four day work week has been perfect for me.

The nice thing about working from home is that I can get a "solid day's work" done in an hour or two, and then spend the rest of the "working day" doing my own thing as long as I keep my company-issued laptop open in case somebody needs to reach me.

I learned early on as a developer that if you show that you're capable of producing in two hours what others produce in eight to twelve, the only reward you'll get is more work.

Welcome to WP!

Thanks. I heard about WP over a decade ago, but never bothered to visit because I was still undiagnosed and figured it wasn't for me.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Thanks.

Damn...you are fast!

I'm stuck listening in on a conference call that could have been replaced by the powerpoint deck that will get emailed to everybody afterward, but it's also being used to confirm that everybody expected to participate is still alive and paying attention to the job.

So I'm bored.

Welcome to Wrong Planet .

I believe 1987 was the year they added PDD/NOS to the DSM. And then AS in 1994. So in the early 80's, I don't know how many pdocs would have known much about them.

Can anyone here comment on that time period?

Welcome to wrongplanet,and don't fear the reaper

Thanks, and I haven't feared the reaper in years.