Whats your story?

[MoeSzyslak]

I am 43 years old. Aspergers wasn't included in the DSM as a diagnosable condition until 1994, so obviously I was not diagnosed AS as a child.
(ADHD wasn't even a diagnosis when I was a child.)
I was diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder and OCD when I was five. Then a year or two later they added elective mutism, which is now called select mutism. I retained these diagnosis's for the next 30 or so years. Then when I was 40 my son was diagnosed with AS. My diagnosis of AS then followed a few weeks behind. I don't necessarily think my original dianosis's were wrong- just incomplete.
Since AS they have also added PTSD, but that is a different story. Add it to the alphabet soup that is me.
That is my story with regards to AS. What is your story?

 

[dayhiker]

I wasn't diagnosed till I was 54 with AS. I had no diagnoses before that. I was just looked at as a little odd. I knew I saw the world differently than others. Not that it was totally different.
I knew my emotions looked differently also. I'm very stable, with highs being up just a little and lows having an even smaller down.
I knew I felt uncomfortable in awkward situations and around groups. But I studied them and learned to deal with most of them.

 

[Letter Never Sent]

I'm 43 and undiagnosed. I would describe myself as "borderline"

With the love and support of family and friends I think I would be considered shy and weird in a fun/creative sort of way. But I've had a very hard life and am alway just focused on surviving, I'm still down on the bottom of Maslow's pyramid. For the last 12 years or so I've been very uncomfortable around people.

The hard part for me is my "AS" isn't severe enough as to have the brilliant capacity to focus on something productive like academics and use it to my advantage. A year after the Rubik's cube came out I was able to solve it, but unless you're brilliant (can solve it without looking) or really fast (I'm not)... who cares? So I'm not so sever as to have any real "gifts" but severe enough to where I really can't make relationships work.

Oh and depression has been an issue on and off since I was 16. I tend to shut down when everything is too much. I wish I could apply myself more.

 

[aspieinsearch]

Yes letterneversent we sound very similar.

 

[dayhiker]

Letter, what are you main interests?

 

[Letter Never Sent]

Letter, what are you main interests?

Music! Listening to music, going to live events, music videos, mp3 players, organizing mp3 playlists, music magazine articles, buying box sets, playing guitar, vintage amplifiers, old vintage amplifier tubes... I also used to collect too, but got rid of all my collectibles.

BTW - my avatar picture is a Rickenbacker 325c58 "Hamburg" If you saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan that's the guitar John was playing.

 

[aspieinsearch]

Letter never sent we should collaborate on some music together bro, I'm a drummer :0)

 

[Letter Never Sent]

Letter never sent we should collaborate on some music together bro, I'm a drummer :0)

Cool! That'd cool that'd be tough though, I haven't played in a long time on account that we have a 2, 4, and 6 year old in the house. I've put playing music on hold for now -- too frustrating to try and do something I enjoy and not have it work out.

What kind of stuff do you play? Got any videos on YouTube?

 

[Rev Wayne]

I was never diagnosed as a child, since it was not part of any diagnosis in those days. But I recall growing up with the sense that I was "different," I was always the quietest kid in the class up until final two years of high school. I can pretty well pinpoint the time when I first began a process of overcoming through some degree of self-awareness, as the general time frame when I first went to an altar of prayer and gave my life to God.
The first awareness I had about the AS was on this forum several years ago, as I read an extended piece written here by Unique Tadpole. Reading her description of what she had experienced was like looking in a mirror. The timing of it went hand-in-hand with a suggestion of AS in regard to one of my sons by his teacher, and then a later diagnosis of my younger son as AS by a counselor in a placement school he attended at the time.
I recall when I first saw a TV spot on autism many years ago, probably the 70s, and I wondered if that was a possible explanation of what I had experienced in childhood. But I dismissed it, because at that time the focus tended to be on the more extreme cases, and I just didn't think it fit. Later I remember discovering things like OCD and bi-polar disorder, and thinking they seemed to fit, but later dismissing them also. It wasn't until I talked with Tadpole in this area at CF that I discovered that AS can sometimes mimic those things.
It's been intereesting observing AS in my boys. The oldest is also ADD, we have to remind him to put the milk back up after he has a glass, and to close the door behind him when he goes in or out. The youngest is also ADHD, not a good combination. Plus he's genuine extrovert, and can sometimes be a bit too much when he's in a talking mood. Mess with his music, and you've got a fire on your hands, he's totally into it.
Thru the years I have learned to adjust on most of the social stuff, tho occasionally an issue will still arise. I still have occasions when I tend to "hibernate" or spend an unusual amount of time in the study or on the computer. And I am a notorious collector, which I have come to understand is one trait of the AS. My mp3 collection expanded to the point that I eventually purchased a 3-terrabyte drive just to have enough to contain it all, and the 300gigs I still have remaining on it is now beginning to look so small. The library space provided in the parsonage office here was not enough, of course, and 7 standup bookcases still had to be double-stacked in places. And that doesn't even begin to cover it when you take in all the digital books stored from internet downloads.
And if Tadpole is still around these parts, I'm sure she'll be amused to see that I still write a dissertation every time I try to write a paragraph.

 

[Letter Never Sent]

Thanks for sharing Rev Wayne.

Recently I wasn't sure I wanted to participate on this forum anymore. It's hard socializing with people I don't know, and who don't know me. But I was reminded just now how comforting it is to read something, whether it be a good or bad experience, that you can relate too. I've learned a lot from people who have shared, but usually don't think that I have anything new to say that would benefit someone. But you never know who will read something and how it might impact them.

BTW - Music rocks! In the early 80's I had a Sony Walkman (WM-10)! Remember the small one that ran on a single AA battery, and you had to slide the case open just a little to enlarge it just enough to fit a cassette into? I wore that thing EVERYWHERE! And took a lot of flack for it too! Now I'm amazed that I can carry all my favorite music around with me on my iPhone.

 

[Forge3]

I am merely a messenger hidden in the darkness.

 

[jackmt]

I am merely a messenger hidden in the darkness.

But are you an Aspie?

 

[wmc1982]

I'm just out of fuel. Too exhausted really even talk about it anymore. I tried to explain a few things here, my first attempt on a blog - Autism at 30

Hardest thing for me is looking back at almost 30 years of not knowing what was wrong, and feeling like I must be an unbeliever since it was so hard to go to church to the point I had to drink alcohol or not go at all. And now it's been a few years without any Christian fellowship. I just try to sleep as much as possible, the rest of the time watch tv. Looking and hoping for some door to open.

 

[nicojo]

my life journey is so mixed and continues to be
mostly depending on how ppl treat me determines how i feel about myself and my life
my faith is the most important thing in my life - keeps me going whatever (has done upto now anyway)

 

[beakybird]

I'm just out of fuel. Too exhausted really even talk about it anymore. I tried to explain a few things here, my first attempt on a blog -

Hardest thing for me is looking back at almost 30 years of not knowing what was wrong, and feeling like I must be an unbeliever since it was so hard to go to church to the point I had to drink alcohol or not go at all. And now it's been a few years without any Christian fellowship. I just try to sleep as much as possible, the rest of the time watch tv. Looking and hoping for some door to open.

I hear you man. Replace drinking with smoking weed and my situation seems exactly the same. I do have a Christian wife, but she gets frustrated sometimes cause I don't ever see to "get it". I don't even know a church to go to.