how did you react when u found out you had autism?

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idk actually remember how it happened.

but i do know a teacher told me.

all i remember was that i was at school and when i found out i felt upset and started crying.

and i found out a few mins i think before my doctor appointment.

found out when i was 12.

I found out when I was 32, and it was a revelation! It made so many things clear, and I started to feel much better about myself. I read everything I could on the subject and learned some new coping skills.

I was only 8 at the time, but I think I remember my mum had opened a letter which must have been my diagnosis, and then she said to me, ''you have Asperger's Syndrome'' or something like that. I do remember my heart sinking and me saying, ''why me?'' And ever since that very day, I have never felt differently towards it - I still hate my diagnosis to this day.

I was eleven. I got diagnossed by a 'expert' on the subject. She decided that me and my brother are 'autistic'.

I'm an adult. I just found out not too long ago. I was actually sort of depressed. It will help me to make my life better because I know what is wrong and can try to help myself, but it also makes me sad or angry sometimes.

I think I was ten or eleven...I didn't really think much of it for a long while, since I revel in being different.
^Hugs for Yigeren!

They probably presented autism to you as a "disability" and then you felt upset and cried. Your reaction was quite understandable.
When i learned, i was happy to understand that i was not doing anything "wrong". I was just thinking and functioning differently than others, and that is why others do not understand me, and that is why i find no interest in social relationships.

I was only two, so I was spared being clobbered by being told later in life.

I was 16 and I gave zero f***s and went back to playing video games.

The diagnosis helped my family more than me, they had something they could relate to and while I agree with the autism diagnosis more than my other diagnosis. I still don't really care that much, I don't define myself by labels and while I certainly relate to somethings about autism; I try not to let it limit what I can and can't do.

Diagnosed formally just a fortnight ago. The depression, anxiety and alexythymia that I endured for 45 years were finally identified as the "side effects" of something that I always knew was part of me, but could never, ever describe to anyone (by the time I left school, I pretty much gave up trying to explain, it just didn't seem worth the hassle)

How did the diagnosis make me feel?...

As if my life has been a jumble of a thousand jigsaw pieces - and now I've finally seen the picture on the box. (It may take a while for me to put my metaphorical jigsaw together, of course!)

Thanks to a great neurological development team, my diagnosis was almost a gradual process. They introduced me to each 'component' of my autism (sensory, executive function etc.) one at a time over a few sessions before presenting the final diagnosis. I thank them for that, as it really 'cushioned the impact' of making such a big discovery about myself. I feel very lucky - it is so sad that the quality of service I received is not more widely accessible.

And thankyou to the many people here on WrongPlanet, and the other forums I've been "lurking" on this last couple of weeks (working up the courage to say "Hi".) It has helped me so much to read about your experiences, and see you all supporting each other so selflessly. My faith in the rest of humanity has been sorely tested in the years leading to my diagnosis - thanks for showing me a bit of light at the end of the tunnel

Oh, yes...

"Hi, I'm Trog, glad to meet you." (even my mum calls me "Trog", so you may as well do too)

^Hi and a warm welcome! If you would ever like to chat, just pm me! [I'm the smiley sunshine kitty girl around here.]

I found out I was "different" when I was about five years old. This was when I became aware of myself. Before then, I really wasn't aware of myself as a person, a child. I lived by instinct. I knew, when I was about six, that I was a "brain-injured" child. I knew I went to special classes because I was "different."

I actually found out about "autism" through a TV commercial about autism when I was about nine years old. At first, I thought they were talking about "artistic" people. Then I realized what they were talking about

I already knew that I was "different." It really made no difference to me.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 03 Feb 2016, 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Welcome Trog!

My reaction was... Not really a feeling, just confirmation of what I'd already suspected. I was 40, and I didn't feel any more emotion than if someone had informed me I have brown hair. Yes, I figured that out a while back. Okay then.

About two weeks after my diagnosis in August 2015, I visited one of Salt Lake's nicest restaurants. Its appearance, inside and out, is similar to the Inn of the Prancing Pony. The menu is European, and the theme is Elizabethan. I have visited this restaurant many times in the last 35 years, but it was the only time I visited alone (though I maintained an interesting conversation with my Archaeology magazine of the month). It is known for weddings, family parties and first dates. I thought it was appropriate for the begining of my life's "diagnostic years."

So, in other words, I celebrated, Guinness stout and all.

I was (and still am) middle-aged
and was going through something major at the time.
Finding out helped make some sense,
and still helps.
Now I have a better handle on my strengths and weaknesses.
For that I'm grateful.
Previously, I had simply thought I was an INTJ.
Discovered it went way beyond that.

* waves a friendly hello to all here, since I'm not normally the hugging type *

...

Is it okay to blow you a kiss?