Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone I haven't posted on this site for a month or two as a lot of the time I feel like I shouldn't as I haven't had an official diagnosis of Autism but suspect I may have Aspergers. I am still awaiting my screening appointment and I've been on the waiting list about 8-9 months now.
My question is...
Does anybody else on this forum experience days when you think you are managing your life quite well and not suffering with worries and just about getting by in social situations for example if conversations are on your special interest, to then having days where things just keep popping up out of the norm and really annoying you or confusing you maybe because you've had to talk to someone you don't know and they try having a joke but you don't get it because you don't know them as a person?
Sorry if nobody understands my question I find it hard to describe my thoughts and feelings alot of the time.
Sorry if I've gone on or maybe it's just me maybe I'm not on the autism spectrum just a little confused.
Yes, what you're describing is a common autistic experience. People often seem to have the idea that if we're autistic, we should show the signs of it in a consistent way, but this is rarely the case. A lot depends on how much work our brain is having to do, stress levels, how much sleep we've had, and probably dozens of other factors.
A particular problem, and very common for people diagnosed late, is that we expend a lot of energy compensating for our autistic traits; maybe even achieving the same results as other people, but by a much more exhausting method (thinking a lot, instead of intuition.) But, because we have grown up doing this since infancy, we can often be unaware just how much we're doing it, and how tiring it can be. Fluctuations in our autistic traits aren't because the autism itself is changing at all, but because our ability to compensate varies a great deal depending on how much energy we have available to devote to it. The latest diagnostic guidelines specifically point out that autistic behaviours may not be noticeable until a person exceeds their ability to process the situation they find themself in.
Thank you both for your kind words; it's always nice to hear when a post hits the spot!
) ( said:wow! How did I get through today?”
Oh yes, I know that one very well - and its evil twin; "How do all those other people manage to do it so easily?".