Another newbie!

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Kia ora everyone,

I found this forum/website when searching Google for articles on females with Asperger's Syndrome in relationships.

I'm 29, have an official diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, mum to a son who has ASD and ADHD, uni student and just an all-round awesome person

I was diagnosed in 1994 - just after the DSM-IV manual was published - and one of the first people in NZ to be diagnosed with AS. My Plunket book clearly shows I was the spectrum and displaying symptoms from the age of 18 months old, but it took a while to figure out what made me different to everyone else. My parents did not think anything of me talking, reading and walking earlier than other children; I was talking and walking at 6 months old, and was reading by the time I was 12 months old; despite this overt intelligence, I had really bad social skills and was the constant target of bullying at school; I also had balance issues which meant I was never included in sports games at school.

The coping mechanisms I have developed over the years hides my AS extremely well and most people are surprised when I tell them I am on the spectrum because I look 'normal' and appear to socialise well; it took years of practise to get to the point where I am with social skills, but I find it incredibly draining trying to look and normal all of the time; only the closest people in my life see me in my full AS mode.

I do have sensory processing issues - sound, touch and light - which are intense for me; it doesn't help that I have synaesthesia as well, so certain sounds have this horrible grey/black colour with jagged edges which is painful for me to see/experience; my synaesthesia also affects my smell, taste and touch, which leads to my nervous system becoming overloaded on a constant basis.

Bringing up a young child with ASD and ADHD is extremely challenging for me; I did not want children, but the person I was married to at the time wanted a child; due my age and naivety at the time, I gave in under pressure. I love my son more than anything in the world, but the constant stress of his hyperactive nature really gets to me.

I suppose I would like to meet other people who are on the spectrum, especially Aspies who are parents.

Sorry for that novella about myself!

Welcome!

You are doing a good job with dealing with your own autism and the problems your child has. You can be proud of yourself!

Hope you find some people too talk to here.

Maybe you should turn the novella into a novel.

Perhaps with a Red Orchid on the cover?

Welcome to the Forums!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome! We're always glad to have newbies here at WP.