Me:
67 year old male. Married with two grown children. Retired for 5 years.
History:
I studied at university and have a post graduate degree. I was a better than average student. After graduation I worked for the same company for 40 years. My career was successful but not outstanding. Later on I was pigeon holed into roles that involved problem solving. The company leveraged my talent for problem solving but, always chastised for not being a team player. But hey I survived 40 years.
As a child I was always bullied and made fun of because I was different. I preferred talking with adults. In high school I was called nerd / geek. That didn't bother me. I just hung out with other nerds. I could always make presentations to important people without any stress. I even made a presentation to a CEO of a large company at the age of 15. How did I do that? I created a character that excelled in public. Just like I created a character that could survive social situations (parties).
I was flabbergasted when I received the diagnosis. I always believed the Autism stigmas. How could I survive 67 years and then be given this diagnosis?
