Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everybody. I’m still in this no man’s land awaiting the results of my assessment. I was seen on Feb 1st and my husband has been called in since then to complete a questionnaire on me. I’m not sure which one it was. What I really want to know is what does it look like to unmask? I know that this is one think that I will hope to be able to do when I get the results but what does that entail? I’m in my late 60’s and have built up this very respectable, quietly polite, ladylike demeanour……which becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. I struggle to think of conversations to have with people. What do I have to do to make changes? Thank you.
diagnosed at 62, and i'm 67 now. i've found quite a bit of spectrum behaviors i do, but was totally unaware of their existence previously.. also, at my age, it's hard to separate from old age weirdness. but quite a bit actually, seems to be autism related, and not dementia. so memory issues, repetitive speaking, super opionated jerkness, rocking, avoiding eye contact, being really really solitary, reclusive, and isolated. i lived with people when i was younger, but they were always room mates. i've lived alone, basically, for 30 years.
it's been a rocky road. hope yours goes better.
now, i self disclose, because i feel - hey, rather than people think i'm a jerk, i should just self disclose, and then do my best to not go too far off the rails i figure self disclosing is best, because , hey, they'll see it anyway. it's hard to hide. i figure everyone else sees what i am often unaware of.
i'm pretty interested now in trying to conserve my energy by 'unmasking.' i guess masking may result in autistic burnout, or fatigue, etc.