Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello. My name is William and I am 23 years old tomorrow. I have always struggled interacting with others and prefer being by myself. I don't currently have any friends. Back in 2016 I started studying computer science at university. I passed my first year but at the start of second year I stopped going to classes. I felt I didn’t fit in with the other students. I stayed in halls during my time at uni. I would spend most of the time in my room on my own. I wouldn't go to meals and I would always listen to make sure the corridor was empty before leaving my room so I wouldn't have to speak to anyone.
At the start of second year I got a job in a supermarket in the town I studied at. I still have this job. I've worked there 3 and a half years. I like it as I work the same shifts every day and know what tasks need done at what times. I enjoy doing tasks like counting, filling and checking for reduced items but don't really like being on the tills. I usually spend most of my break in the toilet unless I know nobody else is on their break. I still haven't told my work I'm not at uni. I don't really know how to approach this conversation. I don't know how to explain it.
I tried a college course last year in networking. Because of covid this was all online. I struggle talking to people over the phone or Internet and wasn't able to complete the course. I withdrew after a couple of weeks.
I haven't really spoken to my parents about any of this. I told them I'm not at uni because I didn't get good enough grades. I am scared to tell them I didn't go to class. I am bad at knowing how to approch difficult conversations. I don't really have any explanation for what has happened.
I appreciate any help anyone here is able to give.
Thanks,
William
Hey William,
I'm 22 and I've struggled with the same things as you I'm not good with interactions and reading social cues and social anxiety I was diagnosed just over a month ago now the day after my 22nd bday, I didn't know anything about autism before I looked into it. I was having a hard time with my mental health a few months before I got my diagnosis and I wanted to know what was the matter with me.
I would say to you that you should do as much research as you possible can in autism in adults and how it presents it's self.
I'm actually in he middle of doing a full stack developer course that's all online, I'm doing it through thelearningpeople.com if you want to have a look at that they do lots of courses, might be worth a look if you want to pursue a career within IT.
I eventually got the courage to tell my mum I thought I'm autistic, it was hard and I cried because I got overwhelmed but she helped me get my diagnosis and it's helped me get a much better understanding of who I am, I've always felt very lost and not knowing my place in the world and just who I am as a person. My diagnosis has helped me with that, but at the same time it did cause me to look back on my life and I realised countless things that happened and I've gone "oh that was an autism if only I knew about this when I was young my life would be a lot different now" .
I can go on and on for pages and pages it'll take forever to read through if you have any questions about something more specific let me know and I'll try and answer as best I can.
O
Hey O, that's great doing a full stack course online, how are you finding it? i'm a programmer too!
I'm really enjoying it, I've always struggled to learn things in an academic way but for some reason my mind just grasps the concepts I've learnt so far really well, I have read that people on the spectrum can be quite gifted when learning code and it comes quite easily to us, I think that might be happening with me, I don't know how hard it is supposed to be to learn but at the risk of sounding big headed I find it really easy so far at at least. Hopefully it stays that way.
I don't know I've still got a long way to go before finishing the course and there's a whole careers team that you get access to at the end so I can sort that out once I'm done.
That's great they help with job opportunities when you finish, what are you looking to go into, software or web development?
Hopefully it does they even help me find a job once I've completed the course, hoping to finally get my life on track I really want to move out getting a good job in this will help me do that
That's great, there are certainly a lot of opportunities out there at the moment and quite a few working remotely which if you don't particularly like socialising with people is great.
I'm not on the spectrum, my son is, some aspects of it i've found harder than others, I also think it depends on the person, i've never been the best at reading material and picking things up from there, I have to do things and see how it works and be more hands on.
I hope it all goes well for you! And why not sound big headed, if you are good at something don't hide your light under a bushel!