Hello all

Sorry yes I wasn't very clear! He has just been diagnosed too in December just after me. It takes a very long time here, but it wasn't such a big deal as his teachers had accomodations for him since then, so it was more getting it just in time before high school.

Yes it's really rewarding to get to show the kids about animation, it's just some basic stuff I've been doing so far, but it's gone down well! Showing how you can add character to a simple bouncing ball really engaged them! I had brought in a great book, 'The Animators Survival Kit', as it's got some great examples in case your son was interested, though Christmas has just passed!

And very kind about the art, you can see what I spent most of my childhood doing! I was adament I was going to do something with art as a child, and watching animation was always a big love, so I've been very lucky getting to do what I wanted to (it helped my husband, then boyfriend helped get me my first job at a games company after uni, it can be a tough industry to break into). 

Hello Lonehare12. Lovely to receive your message. Im so pleased you are enjoying the book I mentioned . I feel lucky to have had her work recommended to me by an old friend at this early stage in my post diagnosis journey. Currently im half way through listening to her best seller book ' 'Wintering' - its the perfect time of the year to read and im really enjoying it too. I plan to read all her work now! I do this - when I find a gem of a writer. 

I will probably come and go a bit from here as Im not usually so engaged with any kind of social media. Ive enjoyed engaging on here so far and its been really helpful and supportive to connnect with the NAS community. Im learning and understanding lots more about autism too   I look forward to hearing more from you too. I have just one son too who is 'growing up fast' as people say!   I suppose thats how it does feel - especially now he is entering teens. 

Hi JennyB 

Welcome and congratulations on your diagnosis.

I was diagnosed last year, I have AUDHD. I'm in my fifties.

I'm a mum to one son. He has left home now though and lives in another country.

I just wanted to to thank you for the heads up about the Katherine May audiobook...I am currently listening to it and it's so different from all the other autism related things I've read or listened to.

It's really helping me.

Keep connecting.

(⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠)

I hope your son gets invited for assessment soon or perhaps i miss understand and he went private too. It took a while for my nephew through nhs - seems to be longer for children because i suppose needs to be in person. I feel very lucky to have got an assessment via nhs after about a year waiting. I hope others still can. Well done for taking action for yourself too. 

I know so little of the video games world - how many worlds within worlds there are - in this world!!Thats wonderful to take your creative skills into schools - so valuable an opportunity for children to explore. My son loves having a go at animation when given the chance.

Thats so impressive to recite Raven - especially your daughter. I find poetry is always there for us - whatever challenges or indeed joy that we face. Ahhh Robbie Burns  -so full of passion

You are clearly a talented artist. I look forward to seeing more. Im having a think about what to share - thank you for encouragement (my confidence in my work is a little up and down tbh - im finding my feet with it)

JennyB said:

i get the impression that in many areas in America the understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity is a little ahead of us here.?

Ah well, maybe in some areas? Where I live - the Midwest - there seems to be a lot more misinformation. We have several “red states” that follow Trump and RFK’s notions about Autism. “Blue states” might be a little more ahead, though.

JennyB said:

I have wondered for others in my family and thought if I start the process of finding out first it may get the ball rolling for others!

That was actually a good reason for me to pursue a diagnosis since we just had our first child before I was diagnosed. It wasn’t too long after we recognized the signs of her missing milestones and such. So I understand getting the ball rolling!

JennyB said:

What sort of writing do you do?

Mostly like fantasy horror. I oftentimes keep whatever I write mostly to myself, since I’m too afraid of upsetting others with what I write lol

Masking is interesting. It means different things to different people. As you probably noticed from the masking questionnaire, there are 3 components. The mix and extent of each changes your experience. The key thing is whether effort is involved. The interesting thing is what is normal learning and adaptation and what is something else. It is in relational and emotional areas that more problems tend to arrise, because they require more intuitive unwritten rules.

Sometimes I think about this masking and I wonder if it’s even a thing  everybody has always described me as random and eccentric so now I’m wondering if all this fitting in I was doing even worked. I think I tend to try to join in on conversations I wouldn’t normally engage in if it was just me…. I prefer my own company so having to go and bed social is hard work but I also do love my friends so still do socialise 

This is a problem I have with masking, addressing the reality. We are all truth seekers so we should embrace that.  It’s a constant revision with the knowledge you have now. Having a formal diagnosis changes the context of everything once you see what you believed as totally real. 

Yeah I know that what you mean about autism being in the family, I managed to speak to some of my siblings over Christmas and one already knew they must have it too though not diagnosed. My son had been on the NHS waiting list for ages, but in the summer I had suffered from burnout and needed to know if it was me too, so I went for private, it's the only option for adults in my area.

I mostly animate for computer games, though I've dabbled in narrative based animation in my spare time. Some people I've worked with went into film and TV, but you tend to need to be a London which isn't a place I wanted to move to. My husband is a video game programmer and he's been teaching coding in the school for a few years, and this year I've been going in too now my daughter's old enough to join and teaching them some animation tricks too. I love to see how young people have such ideas and energy to make their own stuff! 

Your poetry sounds amazing, there is a poetry thread too, I enjoy reading others work on there but haven't contributed anything myself yet, there is some great stuff on there. I'm so impressed you've done an open mic night, delivery is such a big part of a poetry reading, so must have been immensely satisfying. I would like to go to something like that, but where I live now is more rural.

I learned The Raven most recently, mainly as my daughter decided to learn it last year when she was 7. I learned it both to help her and as it sparked my interest too. Reciting the whole myself is fun for the nuance, but was highly impressed she managed to get up to about 5-6 verses with a few prompts! I know some Robbie Burns too, so I can annoy the kids on Burns night (we are on Scotland).

And thank you for your comment on my rabbit sketch on the creative thread, there is a lot of variety there, feel free to drop anything on it youself -though I know how hard it is to find the time. I do hope you enjoy the poetry thread!

Ornamental plants have such variety. Thanks in part to the plant hunters in Victorian and later times.

Rhododendrons are always popular along with magnolias. 

I read a book on Joseph D. Hooker and his travels to Antarctica, Himalayas, US. I've wondered  about the Kerguelen cabbage ever since. He was a friend of Darwin and ran Kew for 20 years. 

In phalaenopsis orchids, and others, the root is the central wire inside the silvery or green cover. It has its own sort of soil inside the cover. The roots don't need to be potted, they wrap around trees in nature and need good air circulation. They soak up water and nutrients  then don't need anything till they go silvery. You can grow them hanging in mid air  long as you spray them often.

Hello pietro_21 

Thank you! I am 45 - im finding it quite a big deal to find out at this age despite years of suspecting it. Im so highly masking that I was always met with discouraging responses from friends or family when i suggested i might have it that In the end i went through the journey without telling anyone except the infomant for the assessment - because i just needed to be clear / sure.   Its a relief to know and i know ive a good few months (years?!) of learning and understanding about how it all is for me - ahead of me.

Seems you have some interests in common with me and i look forward to getting to know you. Best wishes 

Yes growing some vegetables organically can be tricky especially F1 varieties.

I work as a self employed gardener by trade ( for 20 years now). I think i turned my autistic 'safe activity' into my work! I trained in horticulture and then did additional courses to learn about organic growing methods for environmentally conscientious reasons.

Mostly I care for residential gardens - ornamental plants and so I dont grow as much vegetables these days though have in the past.

Growing pears or apples from seed will always result in a different plant to the parent - thats why all paticular varieties come from the same parent plant  eg there is only one original Bramley apple and all others are basically from cuttings from that tree or trees from that tree and grafted onto root stock. I expect you know this.  I remember being amazed by that fact when I found out in horticulture school years ago. While you may not get a pear tree with paticularly interesting fruit - you may also discover something uniquely delicious!  Its so satisfying growing anything from seed. Thanks for the kind offer of more information - however, when i ran a house plant area in a garden centre a few years ago - I invited an orchid expert in to give a talk. I have lots of notes from then that I can return to if i decide to care for orchids again.

Did you know orchids often hang 'upside down' in cracks of tree branches in the wild - you can buy pots that can be hung from the ceiling to simulate this!   

Thanks for this detailed book report - looks great! Its a little different to what i tend to read however I can be open minded and sometimes i try something a little different 'just to see' and i have enjoyed dark humour so maybe Ill give it a whirl one day!

Yes - My son plays games that involve shooting or sometimes one that involves a skateboarder doing the most alarming jumps! I like your suggestions - especially Sims 4 and i think my son may enjoy that too  Thanks so much for the tips

Thats great - seems we are at a similar stage with our processing journey in terms of being creative with or about it. I look forward to reading or hearing your work one day. I just had a go this afternoon at writing about the experience of being given the diagnosis - watch this space. Maybe i will share it at somepoint in a thread. 

Wow - you can eat the leaves too, i didnt know that though i did know about the pods sometimes called 'poor-man's' capers! I love learning about plant uses and also their stories in history or even their symbolic/folklore meanings - its a great way to help remember their names for taking horticulture exams!

Please let me know if you share your work  

Im glad you found out about your autism when you did and that it helped make an important decision. Im enjoying the stage I am at now and its interesting how as a parent we really move on from the early years stage and its hard to imagine being back in that again. I enjoy having a little more time to myself again as my child gains more independence and we can enjoy activities together that we are both interetsed in / can connect over. 

 I dont know a great deal about your area of interest - seems mind expanding. I just googled paleocontact - fascinating to think of.

I also find some movies a struggle to watch and simply avoid very high action or violent or frightening films these days. I tend toward art-house films or films about peoples lives though i often woud rather curl up with a good book!

Ooh I’d love to hear more about your reads! I just got into fiction this year, before I only read non-fiction and fact books, but I’ve learned that not everything has to be factual and reading can be soooo much fun! 

I haven’t read Vanishing World yet but it’s downloaded on my e-reader! Ooh I haven’t read those other ones I’ll need to add them to my list! 

I absolutely love my e-reader, I got the Kobo over the Kindle and it’s amazing how much money I’ve saved on books already !! 

Been thinking about reading Heated Rivalry since everyone is talking about it and I love a queer romance … the only thing is I don’t think I’m very into hockey haha 

Hi Jenny,

Congratulations with your diagnosis! I got mine last August I'm 46.

I went to art school, and did a degree in fine art and have explored different interests. I can't imagine life without music. I grow ornamental trees.. 

Welcome.

I guess your organic growing is mostly food crops. I am not so good at them. The pests are a nuisance.

Things like marrow or courgette and beans are easy though. 

It took me 3 years to get a  metasequoia seed to germinate. It's in a pot and root bound. It still grows 50cm a year. Being deciduous you can prune it hard into old wood, unlike almost all other conifers. In good soil they are like swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum) and will grow to 30m or more. They grow fast, 1m a year. I would love to plant it but then it will just grow too fast and very hard to keep in bounds.

I have done cuttings (hard and soft), leaf cuttings, bulbs, corms, layering, seeds, etc . The only thing I haven't done is tried grafting as I can't be bothered to grow the root stock.

Plant multiplication is easy.

Seeds are great. You can just take the seeds from tomatoes or peppers/chillis from the supermarket and grow your own. No need to even buy seed packets.

I am growing a pear tree from seed from a nice one I ate. I think it will take around 7-8 years to fruit. From the leaves it looks like it has reverted to type (Pyrus communis). If so it will be thrown away as the fruit will be small and hard. I only wanted to see what it would do.

Orchid are mostly about neglect. You do little, but you need to.do it right. Careful observation is needed. The phalaenopsis you normally buy from shops will very often die. You have to take them out of the pot and repot the day you get them if you want to keep them alive. I can tell you how and why if you are interested.

Hello Cinnabar_wing 

Im glad you messaged me, thank you - good to meet you.  My son isnt that much older than your eldest and is just about to become a teen. Ive suspected others in my family have it too, younger and older. It seemed more pressing to find out for myself first. I expect my diagnosis may pave the way for others in my family to investigate too eventually. To start with I just wanted to do this for myself - for various reasons.

Thats so brilliant you are an animator - my son dabbles with animation and would think it very cool to have a parent who is an animator. Im wondering if you make animation for adults /children or both.

For me the best Poetry has a musicality about it and therefore can be very mathematical too. I mostly write 'free-verse' poetry. Im impressed you recite from memory - i love listening to poems freely expressed in this way. I recently read one out at an open mic in this way though it wasnt a very long one and it was liberating! I tend to read from the page. Im also fairly new to sharing my work - i went to my first open mic last year.

Im also wondering if you share your work and if you share any in the creative group on this website? I just learned about this group and may head there now to take a look! Ive some time to myself this weekend while my son is away with his father. Please take your time - no pressure with responding as I know being a mother is all-consuming at times.  Best wishes