Anyone else not identify as autistic?

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Joined: 10 Sep 2015
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01 Oct 2017, 3:41 am

naturalplastic wrote:

Its hard for me to even relate to the question.

Was diagnosed so late in life that the label is like a T shirt with the Baltimore Ravens logo on it. I can put it on and take it off at whim, and at will. Wearing it when it advantages me, and putting it back in the closet when not.

And have been called so many worse things in my life that the label doesn't bother me.

Me too. I don't think I'll ever be able to define myself by the label like someone who was diagnosed young. I see a lot of people on WP who wish they were diagnosed when they were children. There are pros and cons. I wish I had made better choices in life, but I am glad I was able to push myself and find out what I was capable of. My husband doesn't quite seem to understand that I'm not such a creature of habit as the diagnosis might describe. If I was younger I might have accepted people limiting me much more.

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Benjamin the Donkey
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01 Oct 2017, 6:33 am

I'm another with a very late diagnosis. It's useful to me it because explains a lot of my past problems and mistakes that I'd never been able to understand. I just wish I'd known much earlier so I could have made better choices for myself instead of trying to be something I'm not and wondering why I never seemed to succeed at the same things as other people. As for having a label, I was always labelled "weird" or "eccentric" anyway--not that I tell the diagnosis to everyone I meet.

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Last edited by Benjamin the Donkey on 01 Oct 2017, 6:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

kraftiekortie
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01 Oct 2017, 6:36 am

I don't particularly "identify" as being autistic---though I don't "not identify," either.

I identify as a New Yorker more than I identify as being autistic.

Benjamin the Donkey
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01 Oct 2017, 6:43 am

For me' it's like being heterosexual or male-- not something I spend time thinking about identifying as, just a fact.

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ASS-P
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01 Oct 2017, 7:15 am

...Uh...........

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EclecticWarrior
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01 Oct 2017, 8:24 pm

I identify as a human being above all. As we're seeing with recent events, putting one's labels first can be a very bad thing.

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DevilKisses
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12 Nov 2017, 1:29 am

Turns out I was never actually diagnosed with autism.

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Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 82 of 200
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bunnyb
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12 Nov 2017, 4:01 am

Benjamin the Donkey wrote:

This is me too. A late diagnosis that explained so much and as you say, people labeled me as "weird" and "off" anyway but now I know why. When I was small, my rocking and head punching were attributed to my epilepsy. I grew out of the epilepsy around the same time I learnt to better control my behaviour during a meltdown. Now, decades later I understand what was happening.
I too wish I had known earlier. It could have changed my life. Instead of viewing myself as an abject failure, I'm now able to cut myself some slack. There are things I will never be able to do or be no matter how hard I try, and since the diagnosis I'm OK with that.

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firemonkey
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12 Nov 2017, 5:12 am

I see myself as having autistic traits. Anything more is up for debate.

AnushkaB
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12 Nov 2017, 5:21 am

DevilKisses wrote:

Turns out I was never actually diagnosed with autism.

Which is why this forum is toxic for you and you should use another forum for venting.

Come to TA and let's just ignore each other if you don't want to be friends anymore.

DevilKisses wrote:

I see myself as having more OCD and ADHD traits. I think those are the traits other people notice more of. I've also had more success when people don't think of me as autistic. They seem to understand who I am better.

I do understand all of that and I agree, that you just have OCD and not autism.

But does it matter anymore? It doesn't because you don't trust what I say at all.

DevilKisses wrote:

They seem to understand who I am better.

But you don't seem to understand me. If you understood me you would forgive me.

Last edited by AnushkaB on 12 Nov 2017, 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jensen
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12 Nov 2017, 5:53 am

I do - well, not entirely and in every aspect, but as I still get whacked for not understanding, what people would secretly want from me, - and as the impact of my ASD+ADHD has been - and still is - significant, I try to learn not to seek approval and just be direct about it (wonder, why there´s so much hush-hush about it).
I specifically look for my autism-related strengths and plan to be straight about those too.

It´s not about demonstration, but about insight and self-esteem ond not being ashamed- and, well, perhaps some little contribution to the hopefully growing acceptance of the fact, that the autism spectrum is VAST and includes far more people, than is usually acknowledged.

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Last edited by Jensen on 12 Nov 2017, 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

Edna3362
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12 Nov 2017, 7:07 am

As for myself, I'm a human first.
A human who happened to be dichotomously moody in a sense who do not like expectations from others due to everything else's and own self's inconsistency. :lol: In other words; flawed, changing, and unpredictable.

Everything else is secondary; from the 'innate' -- female, aspie/autistic, asexual. From the 'roles' and 'preferences' -- daughter/child, employee, friend, enemy, sister, hobbyist, student, craftsman, etc.. Even to circumstances -- Filipino, born Catholic, 1st born, etc...

Secondaries are more or less of a guideline, a choice or a fact or both, than a definition of myself.
Ironically, being human is the very part of myself that I dislike the most. :lol:

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