Hello. Are there any people here who were born in the 70s and 80s, always different, now diagnosed with high-functioning autism? Like me?

I'm almost 50 years old, and I've always felt I was different. Even in preschool, at the age of three, I felt it clearly. But it wasn't a problem for me. I functioned very well. I asked my mother why the children at preschool were different from me. She didn't understand my questions. So I decided she was different too. As if it were natural that most people are different from me, although I don't know why. But I never wanted to be like those others, even at three or four years old. In a sense, I felt they were a separate species, even though they looked the same. To simplify a bit – like a dog and a cat. Both species, in a simplified description, have the same physical characteristics: fur, four legs, a tail, ears... But they're different species. And that's normal. That's how I felt in preschool. After that, it was different.

Parents
  • I was diagnosed at the tender age of 53 and it wasn't remotely surprising as I've never really felt at ease anywhere.

    An ADHD-i diagnosis happened 8 months later and I've discovered that stimulant medication really doesn't do anything for me other than causing concerning side effects at higher doses.

    I don't advertise the fact that I'm diagnosed as I can live without the extra scrutiny and if they hadn't figured it out by now I'm not going to enlighten them unless I have to.

    I was diagnosed with depression at 18 that was ungraded to difficult to treat/treatment resistant between then and now, that's what ultimately led to my autism assessment, as apparently there's usually a reason?

    The more I learn about being neurodivergent the more I notice those characteristics in others.

    Isn't life just grand?

Reply
  • I was diagnosed at the tender age of 53 and it wasn't remotely surprising as I've never really felt at ease anywhere.

    An ADHD-i diagnosis happened 8 months later and I've discovered that stimulant medication really doesn't do anything for me other than causing concerning side effects at higher doses.

    I don't advertise the fact that I'm diagnosed as I can live without the extra scrutiny and if they hadn't figured it out by now I'm not going to enlighten them unless I have to.

    I was diagnosed with depression at 18 that was ungraded to difficult to treat/treatment resistant between then and now, that's what ultimately led to my autism assessment, as apparently there's usually a reason?

    The more I learn about being neurodivergent the more I notice those characteristics in others.

    Isn't life just grand?

Children
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