G’day Everybody

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Hi, my name is Simon(Si), and I’m 54.Recently diagnosed with ASD Level 2 and inattentive ADHD.I knew I was different when I was a kid, but at that point autism wasn’t a thing, so I was just labelled as the lazy kid that didn’t pay attention at school. Fast forward 40 years and I finally went for an assessment, and was diagnosed straight away. Would have made life a lot easier if I had been diagnosed younger. Love Star Wars, science fiction in general and an avid movie watcher.

It took me a long time to realise what my condition was, and so when I finally got my diagnosis, I realised I hadn’t really thought much beyond that. Still going through various stages of grief, loss, anger, hopefulness…..and I’m sure other positive emotions, I just can’t describe them very well, about my life past, present and future. A little overwhelmed by all the information I have gathered, which led to a big implosive meltdown yesterday. But today I feel more positive, so I thought I would reach out on here and say g’day.

Hi welcome.

Welcome to WP! I hope you like it here.

P.S. I'm ASD-1 and my bride is ADHD. ^{She dismisses my repeated suggestion she get an Autism upgrade!}

Hi Si, Welcome to WP.

Can you explain to me how back in Nov 2021 (aged 52) you were recently diagnosed 'aspie' and now recently diagnosed again (aged 54) with ASD Level 2.

How did that happen?

Thank you for the welcomes.

Hi Recidivist. Back in Nov 21 I was seeing a psychologist who told me I had ASD, but that I would have to see a psychiatrist specialising in ASD to get a formal diagnosis. Due to life and circumstances it took until now to get that official diagnosis.

G'day to you too.

That makes sense. Welcome to the ASD club.

Welcome to WP.

I sometimes wonder about being diagnosed younger. As a kid, I'm sure I would have hated doing any of the therapy I have read about. But it would have been nice to answer the ridicule of my classmates with an actual established reason WHY I was clumsy in sports and didn't act like them. Whether that would have made a difference who knows. If I had been diagnosed as a young adult, it certainly would have helped my understanding, but it might have also kept me from trying so hard in some areas if I knew I had hard-wired differences. On the other hand, I exerted a lot of energy proving people wrong, so it's hard to say.

I do wish I had known before getting into the working world anyway. It might have helped me pick more compatible careers.

But it is what it is. I went through a lot of unaccustomed emotions once I accepted my diagnosis and started my research into autism. Of course, I'm still learning.

It can be understood from a really early age.

Even in the first two years of life, but even before
From how you describe your affiliation is Asperger.

But also from the graph, aspie quiz. Mine only has diversity in the ND peaks which are sometimes 10 out of 10.

You lack the opposite side, so you had immense inconveniences, which you remedied, well done.
Here there are centers for pervasive developmental disorders for children under 18, after all.

They work very well, I assure you that you would have benefited enormously from them as a child.

You are in a first-tier country so the doctors and facilities are of high quality.

Like with us.

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I have always done it this way: I implement what I can in myself by observing others:

Then I make it mine.

And it becomes mine.

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If I can give you some advice. Think only about now, you didn't know before.

Now yes.

Do what you can if you need to improve.

Otherwise, if it's not needed, don't bother searching for improvements, only if they're needed.

Your research on autism: make a list of what you can do.

Make that better.

In impossible things, remember: they will be impossible, so why stress?

Ultimately you were excellent in what you could understand and do without diagnosis.

You were very good.

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I study others and copy and paste, I implement their behaviors if they correspond to my ethical vision.

Otherwise I don't do it.

I absolutely follow my rules: Honesty, intuition, research, study, and when possible implementation.

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I understand what you write.

I had impressive skills, if only I had known I was Asprger I would have remedied it.

But it didn't happen that way.

Life is short.

Just think about your future, your person is the most important element (remember this)

[b]"Don't beat yourself up and dwell on the past.

You can't change the beginning of your life.

But you can change how and where you are.
And change the ending."

Quote from C.S. Lewis[/b]

Thank you for the welcome and the advice Huckleberry Finn. I like the way you separate and outline information.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Thanks you are kind.

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I was struck by your graph in the Aspie Quiz.

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Because like mine it's all towards the right side of the circle

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Mine has greater peaks towards the talent Aspie touches the circle

The rest are high in values ​​but not like that sector.

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Since I compiled the first one, I have edited several translations of the questions with the official translator for Italy by Anthony Attwood together with other Aspies.

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In this version the peaks are less likely to be reached

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I honestly hoped that such a high score would decrease.


However, although I have improved over time, it remains almost identical.

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I'm not proud of it: it means that I didn't work adequately on myself.

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I wish it were more balanced
But it isn't: this baffles me.

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Since you have it similar to mine, no matter in the peaks in the diagram, it means you have suffered a lot.


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Advice...

I think that if we think about our future our life makes logical sense.

If we look back we only see hardships.

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I think that if completely on our own and with considerable gravity we managed to improve socially, then we can evaluate our future

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The thought of understanding what we would be like with the help of therapies that could make us improve socially in a non-dysfunctional way is legitimate to have.

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But, here it is. it's a closed way of thinking that doesn't serve us, and doesn't lead us to improve ourselves.
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I think one thing is fundamental for an autistic person.

It can be improved based on the fact that we are neurodiverse.

But not to look like neurotypicals.

Change only in what we can, in some things we can and a lot.

In others we won't succeed: We are different.

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Without distorting ourselves or having social masks.

Or have neurotypicals as a working example.

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All in all, if you think about it, for the most part, diagnostic manuals are written by neurotypicals (or subclinical subjects).


We are all in all lucky definitions.

There are autistic people who have very serious problems and have no way of expressing themselves as we can.

We are their voice and their solutions.

They often have notable talents too.

I admire them very much.

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You know, yesterday, I shook hands with some nice people twice.

It's been years since I shook hands, both because of Covid and its rules (Prophylaxis) and the fact that I'm not very familiar with this way of doing things.

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A gentleman with his wife and daughter was in front of me at the checkout of a hypermarket:

It had so many things

He turned around, I was very calm.

I left him about two meters of space behind him.

But he looked because he felt embarrassed.

I only had 4 things I needed to pay for.

Do you know that he smiled at me, asked if I wanted to pass in front of him, and we talked?

He had a very nice way of doing things.

Spontaneous.

Educated.

Smiling.

A philosophical way of thinking.

I passed by in a very stupid manner.

He told me that the world would be better if we all made gestures like this.

I replied that I always do it.

He and his family came from Santo Domingo.


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I thanked him.

And he held out his hand to me.

Which few people here do now.

He shook my hand tightly.

Me too, one of those people who meet every 10 years of their life.

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Later I went to an Apple store to have my phone unlocked (Don't trust tutorials on the Internet).

The guy who did it took many minutes of his time.

He completed the difficult things.

I finished the work at home.

Recovering all the data.

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He also gave me his hand, ah

Also tight with the other one.

He didn't charge me anything.

I said thanks.

I can review him indicating his skills.

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I was good at interacting in all situations, even at the bank.

At the time I still had all the apps blocked and she helped me at a time when the bank's customers are not expected.

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You know, sometimes, and somehow you manage to interact.

Even if it weighs on us.

It stresses us out in the long run.


We are like tubs without the overflow slot.

And then the water comes out.

It's called interactional stress.


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You'll be happy here, you'll see

Most users are very intelligent.

And polite.

Then there are exceptions, but rare.

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Think about what you managed to do and never what you didn't manage to do.

The diagnosis serves to understand each other.

And also to find reasons.

We wanted to explain those reasons so much before, but we couldn't.

Now yes, but another piece of advice: talk about it only with trusted people.

The others will use it to your disadvantage and in the best case scenario... they won't understand a thing!

welcome, glad you are with us!

Thank you for the welcome. I hope you’re having a good day

Welcome to Wrong Planet. The human brain is a lot more complex then currently understood.