"I’m autistic," I say. A brief pause ensues, a furrowed brow from what I can see from the mirror, and then an unexpectedly humorous response: "Is that like a professional auto driver?"
The phrase "burnt out former gifted kid" has always given me the ick, but there are unique challenges/issues/traumas related to that experience that tend to come up in #autistic discussions and I've never encountered a good description.
Proposal for a slightly less icky alternative:
✨ burnt out former high achiever ✨
the job i had wanted since i was a kid was the wrong job for me.
i have no career now and i'm also unemployable.
you know, i never developed a social life and i never started a family. it wasn't important to me at 20 or 30 but now, at 40, it feels like something's missing.
i'm an adult now and i'm no longer very interested in the hobbies i had at 20. there's nothing to do now.
i have a drinking problem.
why could i never do housework properly? oh, right, the #AuDHD...
i have nothing to lose, so i guess i'll try to ask the government to help me.
practical home assistance granted. admitted to back-to-work programme. applied for a social support contact today, to give myself more to do.
i'm nothing at the moment. i was broken down and now i have to build a new me, from scratch.
@chrislw i was in my early 30s when i began suspecting something wasn't right. i knew i was different but chalked it up to being a nerd until i began running into problems and they grew bigger and bigger. i saw a psychiatrist in public healthcare about it. he dismissed #ADHD and said i had mild #ASD, but didn't seem very confident about it. there's no treatment for that and it isn't supposed to cause much trouble so i just kept trying to work for the next ~5 years.
i landed what i thought was a good job with nice colleagues, but felt myself beginning to struggle again, and that's when i contacted an independent psychiatrist with ADHD expertise to get a second opinion. he dismissed the ASD diagnosis and concluded it was ADHD, and he seemed confident about that.
the ADHD part always seemed to match me better, but i'm thinking there's some ASD in there as well, seeing as a lot of nerds are on the spectrum. the label AuDHD feels fitting here. some kind of #neurodivergence. spicy brain.
✅ Are you an adult that suspects you have #autism spectrum disorder (#ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (#ADHD )?
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits and describe your experiences to access support?
Late-Identified #AuDHD A Starter Workbook—beginner's tool for adults—has been out for 6 months! Check it out, & if you already have, consider leaving a review. Thank you!
✅ Do you suspect you have #autism spectrum disorder (#ASD) & attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (#adhd )
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits & describe your experiences to access support?
Diagnosed with ASD at age five, McCreary got hit with the performance bug not much later. During a difficult time in junior high, he started journaling, eventually turning his pain e into something empowering—and funny. He scored his first stand-up gig at age 14, and hasn't looked back.
In this really interesting analytic video youtuber Meeka le Fay discussing the probability of that relying on some pretty hefty evidence in favor of this version.
Reflecting this morning on the specific ways growing up undiagnosed autistic can lead to distrust of other humans. It's incredibly confusing to have so many demands/expectations of both your peers and people you're supposed to look up to lead to pain and discomfort, and even more alienating when you can't communicate about it in a way that those people would be able to understand because they don't experience life in the same way.
If this resonates with you, my inner child would like to offer your inner child a hug - no pressure or expectations. ❤️🩹
We can be very different from eachother, just like the NT folks. My brother in law, who is undiagnosed Asperger's, is acting the right wing, ill informed jerk. He's going to get his ass beat by someone who takes is "they went woke" comments as racist. I mean, isn't it racist.
I had a different approach in life entirely. Both sets of parents are Republican voters. It got so much worse in 2016. "Never vote for anyone without an "R" next to their name!", my FIL said. My parents are more subtle. The difference is that I was not coddled. My parents used to be good Republicans. (Better? Whatever.) They taught me to work on things to get them done myself. My mom has always been the type of person to say, "Respect women." My dad, too.
I've seen so many of us not be able to do anything without help. The autistic savants can't survive without help. They will be taken advantage of. They will be manipulated. We have to watch for them. Sometimes...
Life is really fucking with me, right now. It's not that my life is bad. I am just wondering how people can be under mind control. Is it that I have #ASD? @actuallyautistic
✅ Do you suspect you have #autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
✅ Are you late-diagnosed with #AuDHD ( #ASD + #ADHD )?
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits and describe your experiences to access support?
❇️ Check out Late-Identified AuDHD: A Started Workbook (e-book & paperback available). #actuallyautistic
➡️ https://books2read.com/audhd @bookstodon @Adhdinos @actuallyautistic
✅ Do you suspect you have #autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
✅ Are you late-diagnosed with #AuDHD ( #ASD + #ADHD )?
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits and describe your experiences to access support?
❇️ Check out Late-Identified AuDHD: A Started Workbook, available in ebook (major retailers) and paperback (on Amazon & B&N).
➡️ https://books2read.com/audhd @bookstodon @Adhdinos @actuallyautistic
✅ Do you suspect you have #autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)?
✅ Are you late-diagnosed with #AuDHD ( #ASD + #ADHD )?
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits and describe your experiences to access support?
❇️ Check out Late-Identified AuDHD: A Started Workbook, available in ebook (major retailers) and paperback (on Amazon & B&N).
➡️ https://books2read.com/audhd @bookstodon @Adhdinos @actuallyautistic