Greetings! New to The Planet

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Good [appropriate time of day greeting], folks.

I received my diagnosis of autism and ADHD (combined) a sliver over two weeks ago. So I've found my way here, and I offer something of an introduction. I'm safely into my 40s, a cisgendered heterosexual male, married, child-free, and underemployed in I.T. I am the oldest of six full-blooded siblings, two of whom are also diagnosed as neurodiverse.

As with many other folks of similar neurological make-ups, I have few friends and a history of being misunderstood - even/especially by my family. I've spent most of my life heavily masked; the doctor who diagnosed me mention that my masking was high even compared to other autistic folks. I have a poor sense of self and few friends, none of whom are local to my area.

Needless to say, knowing myself is also a goal of paramount importance to me. I've learned the hard way that no person is an island. I was raised in a semi-religious (Abrahamic) household, but I found little sense of community or support and left in my 20s as an agnostic (and now atheist). I'm a member of a non-theistic religion of folks who embrace their outsider status, and it has a supportive community of folks who are distinctly "not cut of the same cloth" as most of society's members.

To avoid putting all of my eggs in one basket, and with insight into why I am as I am, I'm making effort to acquire information about autism + ADHD through reading books and web sites like this. I'm also cautiously growing into communities of like-minded individuals, and I look forward to the experience.

So, hello to you!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hello and welcome! Your post was very interesting to read, you sound like a pretty cool person. I'm 32 and have recently being going through a similar process of learning about myself and autism, and making effort to connect with like-minded people. I wish you good luck

Welcome to WP! I hope you like it here.

If you find yourself in a conversation here that you do not like, please just leave that conversation, not the whole planet.

And remember that folk here come with a variety of Autism severity.