• Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 68 subscribers
  • Views 66 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Hello!

SparkleMane

Hello everyone!

I signed up a little while ago however I found it too daunting to post. I was diagnosed in June 2024 after years of speculation. I always suspected there was something different from a very young age, however I was told it was simply anxiety. 

I struggled at school socially which has led to lifelong issues surrounding my self-esteem. I was bullied throughout school for my mannerisms, my interests and the way I looked. However, because I performed well academically, I was labelled as gifted and quirky despite my declining mental health. I had multiple breakdowns as a teenager and a young adult which were explained away as extreme anxiety and perfectionism. 

When I graduated university, I began working as a special needs teaching assistant which is where my journey of diagnosis began. I saw aspects of myself in the students and started to research extensively. I realised my extreme sensitivity to light and noise isn’t typical, that not everyone scripted and practised conversations in the mirror. My entire life I felt like an alien trying to comprehend human behaviour. My diagnosis helped me realise I wasn’t broken or “inhuman” after all. 

Something more positive about me. My lifelong special interest is horses. Not necessarily riding but I love horse care and learning about breeds of horse. I was the horse girl of the class growing up and I continue to be known as the horse obsessed relative/friend. Alongside this, ghosts have been a prominent special interest of mine. My favourite film is Ghostbusters and I have been known to watch it up to three times a day if possible. I don’t know if anyone else relates to having a comfort character but mine is Egon Spengler Sweat smile Growing up I didn’t have friends so I adopted fictional characters instead. He’s faithfully stuck around for over two decades now and I suspect not going away anytime soon. I have a multitude of interests including art and insects but I thought I’d focus on the main two. 

Thank you for letting me ramble and share bits and bobs about myself! 

Sparkle x 

Parents

  • Hi and welcome to the community. Although I'm a lot older than you, we have a few things in common.

    I'm a woman in my mid sixties, and retired. My main interests now are reading and playing video games, but I've had lots of others over the years.

    I was horse obsessed from the age of 10-15 and read lots about them and drew them, and the first poster I put on my bedroom wall was of horses running on a beach. I also enjoyed playing some of the Assassins creed games in the past couple of years because you can ride a horse in them, and in the Odyssey game you can get a skin for your horse which makes it into a unicorn which is lovely.

    I worked as a special needs teaching assistant for 5 years in my early thirties - I had no idea I could be on the spectrum then, but when I was doing my work based training my mentor gave me feedback that I was very sensitive to the needs of the children I worked with.

    Ghostbusters is one of my top favourite films. My favourite line from Egon is when Janine says to him "I bet you like to read a lot too" and he gives the deadpan reply "Print is dead".

    I see from your profile that you like 80s music. That's the music of my youth and I like lots of bands and artists from that era, including David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Japan, Robert Palmer, The Psychedelic furs and The Clash.

    I hope you enjoy chatting with us.

Reply

  • Hi and welcome to the community. Although I'm a lot older than you, we have a few things in common.

    I'm a woman in my mid sixties, and retired. My main interests now are reading and playing video games, but I've had lots of others over the years.

    I was horse obsessed from the age of 10-15 and read lots about them and drew them, and the first poster I put on my bedroom wall was of horses running on a beach. I also enjoyed playing some of the Assassins creed games in the past couple of years because you can ride a horse in them, and in the Odyssey game you can get a skin for your horse which makes it into a unicorn which is lovely.

    I worked as a special needs teaching assistant for 5 years in my early thirties - I had no idea I could be on the spectrum then, but when I was doing my work based training my mentor gave me feedback that I was very sensitive to the needs of the children I worked with.

    Ghostbusters is one of my top favourite films. My favourite line from Egon is when Janine says to him "I bet you like to read a lot too" and he gives the deadpan reply "Print is dead".

    I see from your profile that you like 80s music. That's the music of my youth and I like lots of bands and artists from that era, including David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Japan, Robert Palmer, The Psychedelic furs and The Clash.

    I hope you enjoy chatting with us.

Children
No Data