Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there,
My name's Gary and, at 49 years of age, I've been diagnosed with autism quite late in life.
What started the ball rolling with regards to eventually getting this diagnosis was that I was seeing a psychologist for counselling following my beloved foster mum's murder and it was my mentions of feeling strangely disconnected compared to how the rest of my family were that particularly interested her.
At first my psychologist was looking at PTSD and dissociation disorder, but then when I happened to mention that I went to a special educational needs school when I was young she became quite curious as to what diagnosis I'd been given way back then.
'Oh I wasn't given a diagnosis' I replied, adding: 'I was just told by everyone that I was slow - though that's never sat well with me, but hey, this was the 1970s. I have wondered whether there was something like an autistic spectrum disorder or ADD going on back then, though - something that would be recognised now, but "didn't exist" back then'.
...Anyway, that started the ball rolling with various assessments last summer and has led up to my eventual diagnosis this July.
I decided to have a look at this forum because I was curious to see if anyone has had a similar experience to me with regards to being diagnosed with an ASD relatively late in life.
Hi Gary
Welcome aboard You're not alone - I was diagnosed in my 40s too.
Hi Plastic!
Great to make your acquaintance and it's good to know I'm not alone.
What do you do? I'm a retired techy-nerd - I do lots of hobbies like making big RC models and classic cars - and lots of serious DIY.
Martin said:One of my old schoolfriends, John Tomlinson, edited both 2000AD and Judge Dredd comics in the 1990s
That's really cool, Martin. One of my old art college friends - Lee Carter - illustrated, amongst other things, a comic strip called Indigo Prime for 2000AD.
This is one of my biggest regrets about all the years I was drinking... the fact that I got so little artwork done and the fact that I could have have made a name for myself but just sunk into alcoholic oblivion instead. So many wasted years.
Still, I'm sober now and grateful for the 8 years of sobriety that I have under my belt. Plus being sober has allowed me to address things like my autism.
Nero-Boss said:Sounds like you have a lot of fun! I've just recently purchased an Xbox Ultimate Game Pass and I've been meaning to get into Doom.
Doom2 was one of my first PC games back in the 90s - I loved the challenge and the simplicity- and plying others over a network as a team or deathmatch is great fun - especially when you know the levels well.
Martin said:One of my old schoolfriends, John Tomlinson, edited both 2000AD and Judge Dredd comics in the 1990s.
Awesome! Tell him thanks for the great work!
Sounds like you have a lot of fun! I've just recently purchased an Xbox Ultimate Game Pass and I've been meaning to get into Doom.
Hi Aidie,
Thanks for the compliment. I only converted to digital art just over 2 years ago... before that I tended to work in acrylics a lot, but I must say I wish I'd made the transition much sooner as I find it amazing how fast I can get a pice of artwork done now.
One of my old schoolfriends, John Tomlinson, edited both 2000AD and Judge Dredd comics in the 1990s.
Nero-Boss said:Ah, that's really interesting, as it's the other way around with a lot of people. Personally, I find things to like with both films.
I found the Stallone film more in keeping with the humour of the comics - the colour, the costumes - all very true to character (except him taking the helmet off - noooooooo!)
The second was just nasty gore and violence with the Dredd name loosely attached.
thats good stuff ---- it a surprisingly handy skill ---- in my work we need it on a regular basis for logos and educational stuff as well
We normally go in costume too - wife likes to go as a Halo / Doom / Quake soldier- daughter goes as various Manga characters.
Hi BJS!
Nice to make your acquaintance.
Re: Photoshop... yeah, there is a bit of a learning curve... at least, as you say, it's quite straightforward with traditional photography (though I seem to remember failing the photography module when I wasat art college for some reason)
Plastic said:I'm also a huge fan of the Stallone film version - didn't like the later 'Dredd' version.
Ah, that's really interesting, as it's the other way around with a lot of people. Personally, I find things to like with both films.
Plastic said:We do ComicCon at Excel every year - seen plenty of DIY Batmen
I love Comic Con! It truly feels like I'm "amongst my tribe" whenever I go to one...here's a photo of me clowning around at Newcastle Comic Con a few years ago.
Welcome to the forum and cool graphics. I keep trying to learn how to use Photoshop to edit my photographs but just can't get into it, I did used to like getting into a darkroom with a load of chemicals.
No insult intended
I'm a 2000AD fan - used to have the comic from about 1990 to 2000 - I'm also a huge fan of the Stallone film version - didn't like the later 'Dredd' version.
We do ComicCon at Excel every year - seen plenty of DIY Batmen
Oh that's my mate Michael, Plastic... because he's a huge 2000AD fan I decided to depict him as a Mega City judge and in order to ensure that I didn't obscure his likeness I decided to forgo the helmet.
On the left is his younger brother Steve, who I've depicted as a "DIY Batman".
(Shame I have to squash down the size of these images on here - I tried to post some bigger resolution/more detailed images, but the page crashed on me.)
Very Cool! Dredd with his helmet off? 2050AD?
I'm a published illustrator.
- - - Currently not working because a combination of booze addiction and bipolar disorder made me pretty much unemployable for many years; however, now that I've got 8 years sobriety under my belt I'm keen to get into self-publishing webcomics.
Most recently I've really embraced digital art, getting into Photoshop big time and have been having fun doing some caricatures of friends.
Here's an example of the type of thing I do (hope these will load on the page okay).