Published on 12, July, 2020
Hey all, hope this is okay to post.
I’ve recently started to realise I may have autism - I originally thought it was ADHD but when I started looking at the crossover I realise that autism might be playing a role too!
I was just wondering what were the signs that originally made you realise you have/might have autism? Especially if you were diagnosed as an adult rather than as a child.
And a follow on question - looking back what did you do as a child that was likely due to autism? I want to get tested but seeing other peoples experiences I’m worried about the process - my memory is so rubbish I’m worried they’ll think I’m just wasting their time.
Thanks in advance!
I had a slight hint about a decade ago because I was really having difficulty dealing with people.
But I shrugged it off, feeling a little better, and I didn't think about it again.
Then, about 5 years ago, I was beginning to feel very burnt out and irritable and was looking to change career, or just looking for something to change.
A colleague had been observing me for about a year and they said.
"I've been watching you all this time and I've noticed you don't read body language at all well. You don't notice when people are tired, bored, or upset. You interrupt and talk over people. You get moody about the smallest things. You're definitely autistic, maybe you should look into it"
My response was to chuckle, yeah maybe.
A while later, I finally realised/accepted that something was going on, so I went to my GP and 'demanded' a referral.
I suppose one sign was that I took a carrier bag of printouts, surveys, anecdotes to the surgery. They fortunately had no reservations about referring me.
As a child, I always had the loner/outsider thing. I often felt I was living in a movie and that people were merely interesting entities to observe and try to understand. There was a distinct sense of separateness.
Somehow, it all seemed to go unnoticed for nearly 5 decades...
very much like my life's story, I noticed, that I do not fit anywhere for the first time during 3rd year of primary, so at age of 10. The feeling of longing for someone like me accompanied me ever since, until discovery of this forum.
I interject alot of my humor, so as to cloud people's perception of all those things I do because I do not notice when to stop, plus it makes life a bit more endurable.
''Enjoy the little things'' rule number 47 in Zombie Survival guide :P
Yes, I always wanted to connect with people but I never felt comfortable, even with a group of friends.
Somehow I'd always feel disconnected, so I eventually got used to being an anomaly.
I was fortunate enough to fall into a career, that I never wanted but was pretty good at, which allowed me to craft an environment of my own making... but not knowing why, apart from the fact that I didn't want an actual job.
I work around/for people on a one to one basis, but dealing with people wa/is one of my biggest difficulties. It was also the only way I would really interact with anyone. I always thought it odd that I chose to do something that causes me so much stress
At least now I have an idea of the internal mechanisms at play.
I'm not sure about my sense of humour, people can't seem to tell when I'm joking...
Probably a bit weird, and I'm not stalking, but I noticed you're in Btn. I've been there since the early 90s.
Small world.
Yes, some people are just too thick to realise it's a joke, why bother eh.