Hello everybody.
My name isn’t Sia. The singer Sia once helped me feel empowered, and it's kind of ironic and funny now that she's considered a controversial name in the autistic community. Anyway…
I’m not new to the online community. I'm a long-time lurker who was diagnosed as autistic in January this year. I also have ADHD. My ADHD and autism were diagnosed in 2024 and 2026 respectively - to the surprise of absolutely nobody who knows me. At the time of writing, I'm 34.
With that said, I'm trying to reach out into supportive spaces where I can. It turns out that knowing a lot about autism and identifying as autistic (and ADHD!) still doesn't fortify you against the "But you were fine yesterday / last week / last month / last year / in your last job / when you were at school" brigade.
Here are a few things about me:
I have a brother with profound autism.
I currently work in the social care sector.
I love all kinds of music, especially metal, electronic music, 80s pop, and some genres I can't even begin to explain.
I love a good cover song.
I love oversized clothes.
I enjoy video games. I'm currently playing through Baldur’s Gate III and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, depending on the mood.
I love writing. It's incredibly therapeutic.
I play piano by ear.
I love learning. I recently completed a Level 3 mental health course just for the joy of it.
I’m either incredibly loud or incredibly quiet and "invisible". There's no middle ground.
I'm usually rubbish at remembering to check my messages, forums, and the like (thanks, ADHD), but I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's stories and maybe sharing some of my own. Or, maybe just have some lighthearted conversations about cover songs.
