New here, male

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Hello, Im new to the forums, been trying to decide if I wanted to join for a while, and it kinda got to a breaking point because Im struggling more and more to relate to people as I get older. I have ADHD and Tourettes diagnosed, and 100% positive I have asd1/aspergers but undiagnosed. I wont get diagnosed for it though because I dont want a reason for the government to make decisions about me and what I can or cant buy lol.

Anyway, nice to meet you all

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hi and welcome!

Xenorere, welcome to Wrong Planet.

Interesting name.

You wrote, "I wont get diagnosed". Probably a good idea. I figured out on my own that I has Asperger's Syndrome about 5 years ago, that was around age 70. When I grew up they did not even have a term for my condition. But I figured out how to grow and develop on my own and everything generally worked out well for me.

I noticed that you are a Lego's fan. That is a nice toy. One has to use a lot of skills to assemble one, especially if it is a complex Lego.

Welcome to WP! I hope you like it here.

You may or may not be interested in AQ. It would be a very private, no one else needs to know, way to check you ASD belief. If it confirms you are right, your situation is unchanged, but if it says you're not ASD...then it need concern you no more.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WP!

Thanks, might check it out

Oh wow, you didnt know most your life then. I almost wish they didnt have a name for it and rather just accept that some people are weird and different. And yeah, I used to be good at building legos and thinking up anything to build, but I have no legos left >.<

I was born before they even had names for this condition. But in a way it gave me certain advantages. Many of the great people down the ages were Aspies.

I was 64 in 2019 when I was diagnosed as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild) with an additional note that I also satisfied the criteria previously associated with Asperger's Syndrome. However, that diagnosis would not have been possible before 2013, the year the Autism Spectrum was added to the DSM and that I turned 59.

Prior to that my diagnosis would have simply been Asperger's Syndrome. But that diagnosis would not have been possible before 1994, the year Asperger's Syndrome was added to the DSM and that I turned 40.

Prior to that there would've been no official diagnosis that applied to me.

One of my sisters works as a nanny for special needs children. In 2018 she happened to have one of those children with her when she visited our then-still-alive Dad. That kid was suspected but not formally diagnosed to be Autistic. Dad is reported to have said more than once that the kid was doing the same "weird" things I used to do...I was that kid's age in the 1950s. So, yeah, prior to 1994 I was just "weird".

And, you are right, just being "weird" did not have the same impact that a formal diagnosis might've had. For instance, a formal diagnosis might've kept me out of the military and thereby have prevented the very good things that being in the military did for me.

But, like I said, I got my diagnosis in 2019. I'd been completely retired since 2011! And I think by the 90s I had probably established myself well-enough that the diagnosis would have been a novelty, not an impediment. The main reason I went for the diagnosis was I wanted to know. I suspected there really was some difference between me and other people and I wanted to verify my suspicion.

A few years sooner might've been nice, though. Dad turned 88 in 2018 and passed away when he was 92. I came darn close to not getting the essential clue that lead to my diagnosis. I feel lucky to have beaten the odds and to have gotten my diagnosis. And I am still sad that I can't talk to Dad...who would've had no interest in the diagnosis because he turned 64 in 1994 and would've had no interest in some new-fangled novelty. He was fine with me being "weird".

Ahoy-hoy.

Welcome to the forum!

I have Tourette's Syndrome too, as well as ASD. I call it the nightmare disorder, lol.

Ya, it can be annoying

Nice to meet you too and welcome

Welcome to WP