Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone. I am 40 and currently undiagnosed with any ASD, but, particularly in the last year or two, after reading reams of information regarding Asperger's/ASDs I genuinely feel that I was born with it, although my memory is a little clouded by the fact that after anaphylaxia I stopped breathing for...I don't know how long, I, nor my parents, were ever told how long to my knowledge, but I believe that I suffered brain damage which has, I think, caused me to display autistic tendencies/behaviours ever since I suffered the anaphylaxia. This has recently been exacerbated by the fact that I have Hydrocephalus, which, my parents tell me, anyway, as I can't remember, has led to me recently(it seems longer to me)developing sensory problems. I find our HDTV incredibly difficult to watch, and, because my parents are now quite old, my mother needs the volume set at a level that I find almost unbearable. This has led to meltdowns and bad behaviour on my part, and I have no doubt that I must drive them insane.
In the intervening years I have become increasingly secluded, have lost friends because of my reactions to how they have behaved, and now I spend most of my time in my house with my parents. After speaking to a sibling yesterday on skype(I have barely spoken to her face to face since I was 17)I have come to realise that I find face to face communication almost impossible now with anyone new, and I have no interest whatsoever in making new friends. I would much rather spend my time on the computer or reading, which I love, and I would consider one of my special interests to be the attainment of general knowledge, and I absolutely love answering questions on quizzes like The Chase.
This is just a little about me, and I look forward to reading any replies I receive.
Thank you all for reading this post.
Thank you for the kind welcome. To answer your question, I had anaphylaxis when I was 17, at the beginning of a serious illness which caused my lungs to collapse, kidneys to fail, I had septicaemia and 2/3 of my stomach removed because of bleeding ulceration. Unfortunately, at the beginning of treatment for the kidney failure, I was catheterised with a latex catheter. I have been allergic to latex since at least junior school-age, and, although we told the hospital about the allergy, they did not make a note of it.
At the moment I am still coming to terms with the possibility/probability of being on the autistic spectrum, and also taking steps to cope with the sensory issues, something which so far is quite difficult as my parents do not yet believe that I am on the autistic spectrum. I am hoping to see my neurologist in the very near future, and hopefully he will be able to tell me if my symptoms are more likely to be due to the hydrocephalus which I currently have at the back of my head, or autism, or, indeed a combination of the two.
Over the years I have done many things to practice communicating with others, although, in the last few years I have become even more isolated, due to the loss of the one good friendship that I did have, and, as situations arise I will, of course, attempt to accomodate others wherever I possibly can. I think at the moment I am just overwhelmed by the possibilities of diagnosis and need time to adjust/come to terms with what the future may hold.
Thank you once again for the warm, kind welcome to the forum.