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.
Welcome to the community
I love getting out into nature and birdwatching too.
Little Owl said:I'm actually very empathic and am struggling with people assuming that I'm not because I'm autistic.
It's sad that autism continues to be so misunderstand by so many people. Autistic people can show empathy in different ways and many actually have hyper empathy.
https://www.autismeye.com/autistic-people-hyper-empathy/
Thank you for the welcome! Thanks for that article, that describes me really well. I just wish other people wouldn't make assumptions.