My Aspergers Diagnosis Journey: Part 2 - Revelation

Would you like to share your diagnosis story too? I'm compiling stories for a special project at the end of the month. To be involved simply message me or reply to this comment and I'll give you more info! :)

It hurts when people perceive you as emotionless or robot like, when in fact your overburdened with emotion and feeling. I'm often accused of this and it hurts me very much.

I just came out to my parents about being on the spectrum. Mom said " So you hate people and you're not interested in friendships?" Dad argued endlessly about it being introversion and not autism. So, I guess I'm going to seek a diagnosis. For them, not for me.

Rambling is okay, rabbit holes lead to interesting points too.

He seems to me more normal than regular people in a sense of being more humane, kind and smart :)

OMG. I am in my early 70's. I am a professional graphic designer, (still employed, lol) and I have enjoyed a long, beautiful, healthy life, while wondering from time to time if I am on the spectrum. I connect organically with things like your "semi-circle" and being told it was a "half-circle", or your division of the rectangle diagonally. I did the exact same thing, with the same exact results! Anyway, an even earlier indicator was when I was a toddler and walking in the neighborhood with my mother, she'd say, "Now, Pammy, watch the cars!" and I would stand perfectly still and look at the cars. Then she would say "What are you doing? Let's go!" and I would say "You told me to watch the cars, so that is what I am doing!" The literal interpretation of words. I've been puzzled by difficulties in communication all my life, and you have given me some insight, especially with your personal self-diagnosis, and your intuitive, low-key method of discovery, i.e. the support group. Thank you!

This is so relatable. I have always been "weird". Now I understand why. I am lucky I have found a partner who is also like me. The problem is - if it is a problem - is that we don't care. Naturally our social life is very limited and we rarely go out, but that's not such a problem.

No - you weren't rambling... I was feeling your words! I was going "yes. Yes - they don't get it" "yes - this 'aspergers from the inside ' is a FLIPPING BRILLIANT IDEA!!! More people with autism should do!

youtube recommended this to me. it is obviously a diagnosis

I also have a suspicion that many geniueses were aspies... They dared to think outside the box... They were laser focused... They, many times, had odd social behavior. I'm just saying.

I've recently been talking to my family about how they perceive me. My sister would tell me, basic on her observations, how I was feeling. She was totally wrong. I explained to her what I was feeling. She acknowledge that certain behaviour in me meant something different then that same behaviour in her husband. Understanding that neuro-typical people, who care about me, treat me in a way I find very confusing because they misread me. They got frustrated with me because they did the "right" thing but I got frustrated and angry.

"You're not crazy....this is actually a real thing..." Very well said! Being misunderstood CONSTANTLY is the life of an Aspie. Excellent video.

I am having happy tears for probably the first time in my life.

I believe my son, 28, has Aspergers, and just watching you move as you talk about this reminds me so much of him. It's like movement helps him think.

This resonates completely with me too. Learning about ASD online and taking the online quizzes all point to a very loud and resounding YES I am autistic (and probably not even all that high functioning considering I haven't had a job in 20+ years). But my family all give me the look and tone of total disbelief with a high dose of "you are just a little bit crazy" when I try to list examples of how I am autistic. To the point where it might even be worth a few thousand dollars just to get an official diagnosis. And yet ASD explains me so well that if some professional said I wasn't autistic, I would probably break down in tears and be utterly crushed. It's not that I want a medical excuse for the way I am. It's that it so perfectly explains the way I am, and I want to be able to offer outside, unbiased, expert evidence that backs me up when I say "stop trying to shove me into your NT box! I don't work that way, and ASD is why!" I've always been labeled the weird one, never understood why I didn't fit in no matter how hard I tried or how many books I read and took copious notes from on how to make friends and hold a conversation and be a good listener. Understanding that I'm autistic has, for the first time in my life, helped me truly feel that I am not broken.

I suspected I had aspergers for many years. I have 7 children who also show signs of this amazing thing given to us by God. We are uniquely made. I homeschooled all of them until they were seniors in HS. Since they all had it (I didn’t know but suspected) I was able to encourage them to explore everything they were interested in. So now I have engineers, nurses, psychologists in professional capacities in all of my children. Happy healthy and loved. They are so diverse, 2 of them had careers and are now retired at the ripe age of 28 and 32 and are exploring other careers. It’s so fun to watch and I’m so proud of them. Sometimes they do act a little out there but its just based on their unique selves and what God has blessed them with in their brains. Thanks for this channel and more clarity. I feel validated.

You said that people "need to meet people on the spectrum in real life". I suspect everyone does know people on the spectrum, they just probably don't know that they do.

I just recently found your channel and it's like having an audio diary but with a nice Australian accent. So much of what you share about your thought process and solutions are almost identical to what I had to learn to do to be able to interface with society.

I found out I have aspergers a year ago, but every time you talk about your aspie traits, I still want to scream OMG I TOTALLY RELATE TO THIS!!! in my computer. :-D

Watching your videos makes me incredibly emotional. That strong desire to fit in and be understood is overwhelming at times. I'm struggling to fit in and find my place in this world. I'm struggling to find a job that is a fit for me. I want to be loved and accepted as who I am rather than who I am try to be to fit in.