Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone,
My name is Jenn, I was dx'ed a couple of years ago with ADHD and AS. I have two boys (10 & 6) both with ASD and one also has a DX of Tourette's Syndrome. I am also married to another late diagnosed Aspie, who also has Tourette's Syndrome, ADHD and other issues and a long list of co-morbids.
We have been Indepentantly Educating our boys from home for almost the last year and I also run a business from home.
I am here to try and see if I can help, where possible, learn from others and hopefully help give some positives to ASD.
I know ASD is not easy, but for me, I see more postives than negetigve. It certainly makes for an interesting ride:)
Well looking forwarding to reading all about everyone else and please feel free to contact me should you wish to.
All the best,
Jenn
Hi Jenn B.
I was very interested in your post, as it mentions something that has really become clear to me in the last few days, about the positive aspects of ASD. I only recently joined the forum, having had an Initial Assessment for ASD in June, and am being referred on for a Full Assessment.
Since discovering in May that I may be on the spectrum, I've recognised many ASD traits in myself, some which I now recognise have had a negative impact on me through life, but when looking at the positive aspects of ASD, I can recognise several in myself which I feel are an asset, for example: attention to detail, logic over emotion, focus, and so on.
Last weekend in a bookshop, I was looking through the pages of a book by Temple Grandin, the autism activist, and in one section she too, mentioned many of the positive aspects of ASD. One of the functions of the NAS is, of course, to help the public understand these positive points, but it would be good if the neurotypical world in general could see more examples.
How that could be achieved I'm not sure, but I understand from speaking to a helpline worker that there are autism-friendly employers for instance, so we just need to make sure that all employers eventually become autism-friendly.
One of the difficulties I've had throughout my working life is not understanding or comprehending some verbal instructions which I know is a problem for many on the spectrum, and it's only been since my recognition of possible ASD in my own case that I think this might be the problem. However, there have also been some areas of work in which I've done very well, especially including the point mentioned earlier about attention to detail, focus, etc. I'm only suggesting these points at the moment, as I won't know until my Full Assessment if this applies to me.
But I know that, given the right support, it should make things much easier for me, which again goes to show that the positive traits of ASD, if made clear more often to the neurotypical world, could benefit everyone and help more understanding of autism by NTs.