Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone. I'm Natalie. I found out that I am autistic a few months ago at the age of 36 (although I always felt I was different). I am struggling to understand what this means for me although I am very relieved to have the diagnosis. My main struggles are with sensory stuff - noises, smells and bright lights are awful and I can't go shopping, and trips to cafes or restaurants take a lot of forward planning! I get very overwhelmed by new things, changes to plans and decision making often results in a massive melt down. I'm actually very empathic and am struggling with people assuming that I'm not because I'm autistic.
I love nature, wildlife and birds in particular - I love going birdwatching at my local nature reserves. Any other bird enthusiasts out there? I also love listening to my favourite music, rock and metal but really can't tollerate most other types of music.
I'm hoping to join in discussions here and hopefully learn something.
Hi Natalie, welcome aboard and hope you get a lot of comfort and support from this lovely community.
"Any other bird enthusiasts out there?" I like looking at the little ones that visit my feeder, but have no idea what 90% of them are! You may already be aware, but Chris Packham (famous bird enthusiast and presenter) is openly autistic and has been a powerful force for autistic advocacy and awareness, even making a documentary or two about the lived experience and how to process that "what this means for me" that you are understandably thinking a lot about. I imagine the iPlayer still has those programmes to view, although I have now strayed quite some way from the topic of birdwataching! Er, anyway, best wishes to you.
Shardovan said: I like looking at the little ones that visit my feeder, but have no idea what 90% of them are!
That's great, it doesn't matter if you don't know what they're called, they're still beautiful to watch.
I loved the BBC autism documentaries Chris Packham did, they were really helpful and encouraging. I think it's great that he's openly autistic, I've always loved watching his documentaries, his enthusiasm and knowledge about nature is amazing.