Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone .
My name is Philip , I'm 42 years old and after waiting for 3 years I was diagnosed with ASD on the 30h November 2022. I am very surprised with the diagnosis . I've always known there was something 'different' about me but I never imagined it was ASD .
I was my fathers carer for many years and we kind of looked after each other . He knew how to deal with me ,he was always kind , patient and would always explain things in a way I understood but he passed away in 2020 from Cancer.
I have been under the care of the Community Mental Health team who caused me more distress and difficulty. Now I have been discharged because they don't deal with people with ASD and with no services in my area which have all apparently been closed due to lack of funding , I am isolated and alone.
For the most part I thrive and love being alone but since we are social animals it would be nice to be able to relate and connect with other people. I have never had friends , I have no family , the only contact with people I have is with an Ex Neighbour who has been amazing, I can never thank him enough for how he's helped me but he has a family and his own responsibilities, I want to remain as unobtrusive as possible.
I am hesitant to come here because of how I've been treated by people in the past . I was abused by my Mother when I was younger ,bullied, taken advantage of and mocked by people because of my differences. If I had a pound for every time I was called 'weird' I'd be opening an Animal sanctuary to help poorly animals and the entrance would have a statue of a fox with a butterfly on their nose ( I love foxes )
It seems there are more cruel people than there are kind ones and coming here is my last attempt at making some kind of contact with people. I have often spoken with the Samaritans which have made me more self conscious with their comments, I don't think they mean to be . Maybe there should be a free phone service for people with ASD ... I don't know.. I have never actually spoken with people with the condition. I was always under the stereotype of people with ASD being very highly intelligent where as I'm an idiot.
I haven't wrote any of this for Sympathy , don't get me wrong .I unfortunately am too honest for my own good.
Thank you for taking the time to read my introduction and take care.
Hello! I think the people here are very nice, not cruel at all.
Re: highly intelligent vs. idiot, I think this is very subjective and arbitrary. I am in some ways very intelligent (book learning especially), but am also capable of spectacular failures of executive function, memory and auditory processing that must make look like an idiot to other people. They certainly make me feel like an idiot. OTOH, I don't think anyone here actually is an idiot.
Hello NAS91091 Hope you're well.
Thank you very much for the message , you've given me more information in this message than a lot of people have in three years . When you say ' NT ' do you mean Neurotypical people ? I have never heard it abbreviated before. I agree with you . They are cruel, heartless gossips who don't think twice about taking advantage of people.
I live in the Rossendale area and will certainly look into the options you've provided . Thank you very much for your help and support. Take care and all the best.
Hello AuTriker . Thank you for your kind words . It's nice to meet you .
My Psychologist said something interesting once about finding 'my people' or 'my tribe' I would like to think and hope I have found them here .
Welcome! You sound like you'll fit right in here :) I love the idea of your animal sanctuary fox statue. Everything you have written, you will find people here who have had very similar experiences.