Published on 12, July, 2020
I joined here around 5 months ago.
Since that time it's come to mean different things to me.
I think sharing experiences is invaluable but equally invaluable is the honesty I find here.
It's a place where we can talk about shared experience /our emotions/difficulties in a way that's impossible in the 'real' world - or at least if we speak about it there, it's unlikely to be understood.
It's a place to connect in a world where we often find connecting difficult.
I've received some PMs recently that have made me focus more on how very important this community can be to us as individuals.
Luna RIP called this her 'forum family'.
As a person who doesn't seek friendship (?or thinks she doesn't?), some surprising and valuable friendships have evolved from here for me.
How about you?
100% agree. Don't worry about what others think of you. You're awesome how you are and if they can't see it that's their loss :-)
I'm happy to admit it. No point hiding from things - I like to try and embrace myself and who I am.
Number said:.I'm just VERY happy to know that I do belong somewhere! I have only known this for a tiny fraction of my life on this planet.....and this recent self-knowledge has calmed me very much indeed. I'm happier.
That's good. There's few places that I can say 'I belong',even if only to some extent. IRL I have a chosen family I love more than words can say, but there are no friends. I tend to put people off. Too weird. Too aloof(not true but the usual reaction to someone who finds it hard,IRL, to be proactive in approaching people and initiating conversations).
I think many here aren't high functioning but appear to be because it's the online world.
There's a phrase I often use, that being 'adaptive functioning'. Using simpler words you could call it 'practical-daily living skills'. I don't know about anyone else here, but it's always been something I've struggled with. The vast majority of people, including,sadly, many (mental) health professionals, are totally clueless that you can be intelligent yet struggle with those daily living skills. I'm very open about my significantly large adaptive functioning < IQ gap,but I've come across very few other autistic people who'll readily admit 'Yes, that's me too!'.
I feel the same, I've been a member for a little while now. I like to read the posts a I feel connected and it helps to not feel alone. The NT's just don't get it and I struggle to be able to try and explain. But here there are people with similar stories and feeling which helps.
The forum is my safe haven. My friend Lu once declared it as her online family and I agree with that statement. You are my brothers and sisters. We have fun and during the difficult times our lives throw at us we look out for each other.
I count myself as extremely fortuitous that I was directed here by a friend.
TS.
firemonkey said: I'm in that vast,middle, space occupied by those who don't regard ASD as a 'super power'
I'm with you in that space.....and based on how I perceive the vast majority of other souls in this place, neither you nor I need to consider ourselves lonely.
I am neither happy nor sad about where I find myself....I'm just VERY happy to know that I do belong somewhere! I have only known this for a tiny fraction of my life on this planet.....and this recent self-knowledge has calmed me very much indeed. I'm happier.
I think many here aren't high functioning but appear to be because it's the online world. In the real world we don't function the same. You fit in here, even if you don't see it at the moment. A few members here have schizophrenia as well as autism. So you're not alone. X
i’ve not been here long, but the amount of understanding, care and acceptance to just be myself and be allowed to struggle at times has been amazing.
I wish i could have friends like this in the real world too!
thank you to everyone
Thank you for the kind words. I'm in that vast,middle, space occupied by those who don't regard ASD as a 'super power' /haven't achieved great things in life, but equally so are not at the severe,need 24x 7 care and support, level. It's hard to feel that I fit in , given the number of very high functioning people who post here.
Sometimes though it is nice to see an old name return for a time like Kate Kestrel, you for example... TS... I always enjoy it when you come back
Luna's death came as such a surprise. Even now I feel sad thinking about her. I didn't know her as well as Steven did but her death hit me hard all the same.
L is a different member, she was regular here a while ago but she struggled mentally and I last heard of her from TS and she had blinded herself more less with bleach after a schizophrenic episode which I also found extremely upsetting. She's ok now but I don't think she'll be here again.
Well, whether you like it or not, I think of you as part of this team.....perhaps the cool name, cool profile pic, or the fact that some of your posts have "spoken" loudly to this place in the past. Nice to see you back again.
Kind regards
Number.
This is just somewhere I occasionally post on. I don't have the sense of belonging that the rest of you do. Maybe it's because I have both an ASD and schizophrenia/schizoaffective dx.
The only place I am truly myself (even with a pseudonym!)
im new to the forum but seems like such a great place to talk and grown from likeminded people
Well Debbie as long as you are happy here then that's the main thing.Can't ask more than that huh ?Any friendships that sprout are a bonus.Def.
A couple of the names mentioned by Steven are still here Nata, although possibly wouldn't be obvious due to Steven inadvertently not using the usernames they are more commonly known by.
Out of the members on your list, L (I assume you're referring to Luna) is the one that stands out, due to the tragic circumstances that resulted in her no longer being active on these forums, which I don't think any of us had seen coming.
I have to say I have grown to like and think of many here as friends. I'm not the most active but we have a good band of people here and perhaps a few new members I've noticed might join this band, if they choose to stay.
How do you mean? How wouldyou compare the two points in time..?
More than it did a year ago.