Who knew there was such a thing as a ‘typical’ world?

Hi everyone,

I have been browsing the forum for a while now and wasn’t sure the best time to pop in and say hello. I am only just starting on my looooooooong journey along the diagnosis road but this site and forum posts have been very helpful in these early stages to gain some clarity and perspective.

During a recent therapy session my therapist said I show ‘clear autistic traits’ (I didn’t know what autistic traits were at the time). This isn’t the first time someone has discussed me and autism in the same sentence but to be honest I had never really given it much thought because I assumed this would have been picked up in my childhood. Unfortunately my parents were a bit shabby at parenting, so my upbringing was a little bit of a patchwork quilt until I was older and then cared for by another family member. So perhaps I was somewhat naive to have assumed it would have been picked up in childhood. I was given a questionnaire and was told a referral for ASD, ADHD and dyslexia would be made, I know this will be a long wait, twelve months at least and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind while I allow it to all sink in. To be honest I didn’t really know anything about autism 8 weeks ago, but in a short time I have started to learn that my 30 odd years of struggling could be due to undiagnosed autism. I am shocked to find out that there is an alternative life that is considered ‘normal’ or more formally ‘typical’ (both of which I am not comfortable with yet) and many facets of that world are troublesome for a group of people who are not typical. As I’m sure you can see I am a little confused by it all at the moment, I am only at the very start of this journey and I know there is so much to catch up on and learn.

Thank you for having me here.

Parents Reply Children
  • I would recommend starting specific threads if it is specific things. "Autistic Adults" tends to be a bit more serious, whereas "Miscellaneous and Chat" is more about music, biscuits etc. Ans "parents and carers" obviously for those with kids.