Merseyside Autistic Adult Support Group (set up by me!)

Well done, thats a big step - I am still working out how my autism affects me and pacing myself. Congratulations!

Well done, thats a big step - I am still working out how my autism affects me and pacing myself. Congratulations!

P.S. I don't have Facebook

Hello Lyddybird,

I agree that this is much needed due to what you say about lack of local support for adults. I am a social prescribing linkworker working in Birkenhead and I regularly speak to patients diagnosed or not as being on the autistic spectrum who are seeking support. The same can be said of adults who have recently been diagnosed with ADHD who have struggled all their lives not knowing what was going on in their minds and interactions with other people.

Where do you meet?

Thanks

Paul

Hey everyone! We finally have a place and date set for our first meeting. Please come along if you are able to, I'm really looking forward to it. Woo.

Here are the links to the event pages on Facebook and Eventbrite for further information:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2219052868418429/

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/our-first-autism-group-meeting-tickets-53033737336

I am based in Birmingham England

You definitely should. I have received lots of helpful advice from online autism groups on how to get it set up. Where are you based?

That is good that you have set your own support group up keep trying on getting people to be more interested in it. I also wanted to do that myself too and I still want to do it. 

If I worked in medicine (particularly if it was mental health) then I would have to keep up with all the latest info on stuff like autism, I just couldn't help but do that. It is beyond me how some medical professionals stick to really out of date criteria and seem to think that is okay. In any job you have to continue learning. Lawyers for example can't just stick to law books from the 80s - things change.

I recently had to visit hospital, while I was being asked questions by a nurse about my back which is why I was there, I told her all about my medication, why I chose to keep the dose as low as possible, basically a great deal of information. She asked “ are you medically trained as you seem extremely well briefed on medicine and research relating to specific medicines even I didn’t know about”

No I replied I am a builder ground worker, the look on her face was of total shock and sunrise, 

I then told her rather bravely that I was autistic, oh she said we covered that in one of our lessons, I said so you understand a little about it?

well yes but you seem to be coping extremely well, I could hear the tone of her voice change as it very slightly sounded like she was talking to a child, ( poor thing, bless)I then said have you heard of Asperger?

” Oh yes they did mention that, oh so you are one of the really clever ones, no wonder you are so good understanding such complex medical terminology’s “.said with a tone of voice that was professional and quite technically minded, ( you and I are similar)

I was in a great deal of pain, had waited many hours to be seen and wasn’t about to try and explain that the “ clever” ones were no better or worse off than the not so clever ones with autism, 

I have also had “ oh bless it doesn’t mean you can’t get on in life  though does it” grrrr gritted teeth, and breath,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,not about to try and change that perception in so shirt a time. Wished I had.

 I often tell the person I am autistic after they start asking me why I dress the way I do, or why I enjoy colourful clothing, they ask in a nice way, perceptions are so very wrong, they appear confused when I tell them if my liking for colour and then texture, if it feels wrong no amount of pattern or colour will change my view, no way ...yuk,,,

I was talking to a psychology student recently who said they only get about half a day on Autism in their entire degree. To say I was shocked would be an understatement! 

That's great, thanks. It's good that aspies are helping to identify other aspies. A lot of GPs just don't have a clue. My friend did a medical orientated degree and she said the mental health section of it was very small. 

We are really well-placed to recognise other autistic people who have not had a diagnosis. Funnily enough the only person to actually say that I might be autistic was an autistic service user I worked with a few years ago.

You've did such a lovely thing in sharing information with the woman at the resource centre. It's easy to see how women have ended up with the wrong diagnoses, and so sad too. 

Just wanted to add my thanks for what your doing, meeting up and just talking to like minded people is such a good way of accepting there is nothing at all wrong with any of us, we see and feel things in a different way not a wrong one. 

Good luck and I hope you get a meet going soon.

I am based more Oxfordshire area. Not looked to hard but found a regular meeting held in a pub during the quite times, and tea and coffee plentiful, no pressure to join in and apparently quite a few turn up.

where I am working right now we park beside a “ resource “ centre, most attending are with issues, they do crafts and such things,

I got talking to one who said it was the best thing she does, stating the years of councilling hasn’t helped only caused more issues, she was diagnosed bipolar when young, her son is diagnosed autistic,

I really think she is autistic with a wrong diagnosis, asked her many questions, ticked many boxes,,,I gave her this site and links to Tania marshals site and said said just pop in and read a few accounts from women about your age, it may give you some help understanding who you are. Hope she does. 

What's the saying... all work and no play... I need a better work life balance! One of the psychologists who contacted me tonight seems to think they've got all the information they need now. Although I keep thinking of new and better examples I could give them, probably best to let them get on with reaching their conclusions now! 

Lots of responsibility. I admire your work ethic, you should be really proud of yourself.

It's definitely a good idea to have an interval of reflection between those chapters. 

I'm the main wage earner so I need to work quite a few hours. I'd prefer one job as life would be much simpler but funding cuts are making that difficult. A diagnosis would enable me to ask for workplace adjustments. 

I'm putting off going through the next few chapters of my life at the moment. So much to look back on, such a lot of which only really makes sense now! 

Hi Zomted! That's brilliant and much appreciated. There are a couple of people interested at this stage, so hopefully that will only continue to grow over the next few days. I was only diagnosed this September so I can relate :)

Are the five jobs for financial reasons or because it suits you better to have an arrangement like that? It does sound like a lot of juggling!

I understand, I had a bit of a downer after mine because it was uncomfortable going through my whole life from start to finish. I was only diagnosed this September. Good luck with that, hopefully it should help make things a little clearer.

HelloLyddybird, that’s a wonderful idea. I’m newly diagnosed and in the Merseyside area too and would really like to come along to something like this. Like you say there isn’t anything much in the area and it would be great to meet some people in a similar situation. I’ll try to get in touch via Facebook too. :o)