• Not dead yet, but the day is still young

I’m going to start using this one. It’s simple and effective.

They were the center of attraction for awhile though.

This is my experience with the Loop earplugs too. I use them in my office environment, because there’s always a ton of noise from the service department next door and the showroom on the other side of us. The in-body noises are weird at first but you get used to it (it might be harder if you have trouble regulating your voice volume; I always think I’m speaking more loudly than I do and this doesn’t help), and the amount of noise cancelling is incredible. I can hear people talking to me without feeling like everyone is yelling, phones aren’t as noisy, and even printers are less unpleasant.

Ah, the ekekekek! It’s so cute!

My therapist pointed out that a lot of autistic traits are extremely similar to trauma expression, and that it’s often hard to judge which is which.

I feel like I’m an oddball because I tend to trust people until they give me a reason but to. That’s led to some bad experiences, but it also gives my “this person is doing shady stuff” sense a boost. It’s not insincere, but neither is waiting to judge :)

Yup. My parents weren’t willing to even think about testing me, so it was “stop that, just be normal”.

But you can’t buy a car on Sunday in Chicagoland. Which is weird.

It’s been about 8 years since I spoke to my parents, and about 12 since I spoke to my younger brother. They were all different forms of abusive, addicted, and mentally ill, and life without their bullshit is so much nicer. I don’t have to listen to tirades about how my interests are wrong, or how I didn’t turn out to be the perfect daughter. I don’t have to pretend to accept apologies that are only to make someone else feel better. And I don’t feel pressured to make sure that my mother isn’t feeling hurt or put out by something I do that literally has nothing to do with her.

It was rough for the first few months, but I’d already grieved for the relationships that I wished I’d had and never got. I’m a lot happier without them, and much more able to care for my mental health now.

Please don’t be sorry! I don’t know much about it but everything I learn makes me so angry.

The neuropsych doctor I was tested by told me that she had been a special education teacher herself, and that during the 70s-90s (and probably even now tbh) there was a heavy emphasis on making students act “acceptably” by stopping them from making larger stim motions and that now they realize it’s a bad idea. It sucks.

I’m 37, and just got diagnosed at the beginning of this month, actually. I’ve never been quite “right” in social situations, and had “odd” interests and sensitivities. My dad is probably autistic but no one’s ever officially diagnosed him and he’d call it bullshit even if a professional said it.

My mother was a special education teacher, and she saw my stimming and sensory issues and decreed them to be a problem because I’d never be “normal” (and I use the term loosely). “You’re so smart! You can’t have any issue with anxiety! Lights are that bright for everyone, and no one else complains! Figure it out!”

Almost exactly a year ago I came across a TikTok channel talking about masking and how it can be stressful. The points she made about how autism presents differently in women struck a chord with me so I started doing research. So many issues and experiences I’d had just matched everything I was finding about very high functioning autism, and I asked about it. My therapist had said I have “autistic traits”, but trauma can also present in some of the same ways (and hoo boy is there trauma in my background). She suggested I meet with a neuropsych specialist in her office and get tested.

When I met with the doctor post-testing, she said that the tests confirmed my suspicions, but also that some of my mannerisms were textbook autism. Apparently looking away from someone while putting together a sentence isn’t me being rude, after all!

I still don’t know how I feel about the diagnosis. I’m working through a lot with my therapist under a different lens now seeing that a lot of things could have been explained if I had gotten diagnosed earlier. The big plus is that I am able to get accommodations at my job for things like light sensitivity and overstimulation now that I have an official diagnosis and letter.

I just got my formal diagnosis literally yesterday, and I’m still feeling…odd. It’s changed how I see myself, but it hasn’t changed anything at the same time.

I apologize on behalf of potatoes everywhere.

One of my nicknames growing up was Lil Miss Potatoes. But now I’m a grown up, so I’m Lady Taters.

Same.

Chuuuuuu

Had that same experience at work, and with someone who had just been hired and was being introduced to me for the first time. It wasn’t inappropriate but I’d heard it at least three times that week alone. She didn’t last terribly long in the office.