Its all new to me

Thank u

Dear Rainbow,

Welcome to the community and congratulations on your diagnosis! I know many of our community have mixed feeling about being diagnosed, but whatever you are currently feeling you are welcome to share with us. 

Best wishes,

Olivia Mod

• Oh welcome to the club! The thing is God always understands us even when we dont understand ourselves. I like to think i find this world difficult because it's a world where it's hard to be individual. That i fit in with God instead. That standing out should be celebrated. I feel so bad for my younger self. Never like other teens. Never like typical ppl who can keep a job. But we can't measure ourselves by the worlds view. All cynical and pressure to succeed. God thinks we r great. And we contribute to living with kindness and loving others. To God that matters more.

Lovely to meet u. Having a diagnosis really does help with self acceptance. Ppl can be so flippant cant they. With these unhelpful comments. I hope a diagnosis is a positive thing for you. I have had lots of types of therapy but although c.b t was invaluable and I use it. My latest psychiatrist has referred me to get sensory support. Which isnt something ever offered b4. So a diagnosis can get you more support. I have a terrible reaction to base music. From neighbours. I literally meltdown. And I thought why does it impact me so much. Now I realise I can't help it. But I love earrpods. Recently got a cuddle animal with weighted arms. Can't say the name as might b seen as advertisement but especially for autism. I never carried a teddy around after age 8 but this animal is soft like a cat but I dont have to feed lol. Stroking is calming. The weighted arms r like a hug. B4 I wouldnt have even thought of this. Also have a weighted blanket. There's lots of things that help.

Thank you, I really needed to hear that today.

Thanks so much for the recommendations. That's interesting about Jesus. He was happy to be different. I like how Simon in The series The Chosen Has a physical disability and Matthew is autistic. Showing that Jesus was and is inclusive and looks at our hearts and gifts and doesn't judge us by difficulties. He embraces uniqueness. And we have ppl still following trends or famous ppl on how to think, dress and be. We were meant to all be different. In terms of shaky in your faith. God understands why we struggle. I've had times of feeling so sad I struggle so much and have done all my life. And there's a loss to grieve. Especially with a new diagnosis. If only I'd known. But I do think it's a positive thing. I've had times of rebellion with God; from hurt and impatience. Doing things my way lol which never works. So God has grace for times when we have  been shaky . He is always there when we return to him. Whatever reason for u. He is full of compassion. 

Oh that sounds amazing. I loved rainbow brite as a kid. And care bears. Colour is so uplifting.

Welcome and I am glad that you got the right diagnosis in the end. I read some of your posts on here in this post. I am glad that you found the right church for you. I am also a Christian and diagnosed autistic. 

Hi and welcome. I used to be into rainbows. When I was younger I had a wooden rainbow with raindrops suspended, a blue lampshade with a  rainbow and a jumper with one.

Welcome to the community! I was diagnosed depression and tourette and told many times, that i just need to take less stress, not take everything seriously and literally and just find some friends. Nobody understood that I just can't be like others. I'm on my way, my assessment is planned for October/November this year. I wish you all best and hope that you enjoy being here.

Hi Rainbow

I'm 49 and was diagnosed a few months ago. I was also brought up as Christian and still go to church, although my faith is shaky at best at the moment (but not because of my diagnosis!).

You're absolutely right about not being defined by a diagnosis. I know it's a bit of a cliché now but "if you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person!" - in other words, no two of us are alike even though we share some traits with each other.

I've been doing a lot of reading into autism lately and am happy to recommend some books that might help. Some of these are heavier going than others!

• Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian's Guide to Autism by Pierre Novellie - a fun and light-hearted read that also delves into quite a few of the more common comorbidities
• The Chimp Paradox: How Our Impulses and Emotions Can Determine Success and Happiness and How We Can Control Them by Steve Peters - not a book about autism at all but a helpful way of thinking about our brains and how they function, particularly the emotional side of things
• Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman - a more in-depth look at the brain and how it works. Again, not specific to autism but there are some helpful insights
• NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman - a complete history of autism from its initial discovery right through to the present day, including where a lot of the misinformation and misconceptions came from and how they're gradually being corrected

Although being autistic doesn't make us expert psychologists by any means, once you know more about it you do start to spot tell-tale signs and traits in other people, and you realise there are almost certainly more autistic people around than anybody previously acknowledged. I liken it to "gaydar" - being able to spot a fellow autistic brain!

And that has also made me think about the life of Jesus as depicted in the gospels. He demonstrated some tell-tale autistic traits; "black-and-white thinking" (Matthew 12:30), possibly an autistic meltdown (Matt 21:12-13 / Mark 11:15-18), withdrawing from crowds (Mark 3:7 among others). We are in good company!

It can be so tough being me. Sorry for what you've been through. I've had difficult and wonderful experiences of church.

Thank u so much

Thank you.

Always been obsessed with rainbows since I was young. Thank u for welcoming me.

Ha love that expression. Thank u.

Hi Alice.

I absolutely feel sometimes very disabled, frustrated and low rather than positive and having a super power. But I also want to embrace being different. I am so sorry u were bullied. I was too when I was a teen. It's hard being different, but ultimately for me makes life richer.

• I am also so sorry for the terrible treatment you received at church. I too have felt misunderstood at church at times. Restricted in serving whilst in recovery. I have had remarkably wonderful experiences too. Church is filled with flawed people and there can be an ignorance about mental health. But I also know Jesus loves and accepts you and he is the only one who doesn't judge people for being different. I am in a church now where no person is perfect,  but I have found a fit where people are genuine and loving and supportive.

Absolutely, we are as we are and I take the good with bad.

Like you I was misdiagnosed for twenty years. It was said to be bipolar so they put me on anti psychotics which did great harm to me. I succeeded in getting that dx removed but in the process I made a subject access request for my records and they were riddled with errors, and one section was clearly copied and pasted from someone else’s consultation. I wanted them to recognise a mistake had been made and take ownership of it, but they wouldn’t, presumably for fear I would sue them (I wouldn’t have, I just wanted an apology). At my original assessment I was diagnosed with bipolar despite my mood swing events, which I now know are meltdowns and shutdowns, being way too short to get anywhere near diagnostic lengths in their manuals ICD and DSM. They were negligent.

Being different isnt always a superpower, being different can be a cause of people being bullied and abused, which is what happened to me. Im now correctly diagnosed with c-ptsd as well as asc. 

I should add that a lot of the abuse I was at the receiving end of originated within the christian church. I was indeed different to their idea of an acceptable disciple and what was done to me defies comprehension. I would add that this wasn’t some weird cult but mainstream denominations. 

Alice

Welcome to our pea pod.