Hello from Arizona, USA

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Hello everyone,
begin and admin on my own forum, I know it is expected to introduce oneself to the community. Though I find myself at a loss in this community. About a year and a half ago my wife told me that she suspected I was autistic. At the time, I was annoyed and bothered by the suggestion. I had little knowledge of autism except that it was a disability and I did (do) not consider myself disabled. However, the thought stuck with me and spun my then-special interest to the back burner. I began researching autism, quickly identifying that my son is most likely autistic. the more I learned the more I could see spectrum traits in myself. My wife and I decided that we should get our children assessed, my son (age 5) is likely to have some problems in school and we hope to help him as best we can along the way. My daughter (7), I'm convinced has ADHD and we would also like to know how to help her. They have appointments to be assessed in about a month. We decided that I would get assessed first so that I knew what I was getting my children into and could back out if I thought it would cause them problems. My appointment was about a week and a half ago with a follow-up on the same day as my children's appointments. Based on the visit summary and the discussions with the psychiatrist it looks like ill be officially diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, and OCD. I've looked around this community before while researching, but have only now decided to reach out and engage with others.

Welcome to WP!

welcome.

where abouts in arizona are you from?

also i hope your staying cool. my friend in phoenix has been telling me how hot its been recently.

Welcome to WP! I hope you find it a nice place to revisit.

I was 64 before I became curious as to whether I was on the Autism Spectrum. Before that I knew virtually nothing about Autism and would have abruptly dismissed any suggestion that I might be Autistic.

But I was increasingly convinced I was fundamentally different from everyone else.

My Dad was still alive then and was visited by a kid thought to be Autistic. The reports I received said Dad said the kid was doing the same "weird" things I used to do. Dad saw the kid in 2018 and I would've been his age in the late 50s! Even though I was skeptical I read about Autism on the Internet and was surprised it described me. In 2019 I got a formal diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild).

The only practical benefit of the diagnosis was finally having an answer about being different. But by that point I was married, retired, and 64 years old. And I had done reasonably well in life (luck and perseverance were factors in that).

Anyways, welcome to WP!

P.S. I hate hot weather.

Double Retired,
thank you. I too hate the hot weather. It is actually a sensory problem for me, but I have a lot of family here and my wife has a medical condition that makes cold extremely painful so I endure.

Hello and welcome swrider!

I'm glad you decided to join our wacky little family.

My grandparents had a winter place in Arizona.
I still have the sunburn marks to prove it, too!

Stay cool!

IsabellaLinton

Thank you. Yeah I cant stand the feel of the sun on my skin, but better sunburn than sunscreen I always say. (how did I not know I was autistic?). What part of Arizona was the cabin in?

Lake Havasu.

They used to baste me in baby oil and make me lie on big silver sheets like tin foil.
I also had to put fresh lemon juice in my hair to make it go more blonde than auburn.
I was never good enough as the pale, freckled, pre-cancerous and moody kid that I was.

My dad died of Melanoma, and my brother and mum have it now.
I'm in the process of being tested.

Fun times.

*They lived in CA, but during the winter it was too drear, so they needed to go fry themselves in AZ.*

Wow I'm also a red head and that sounds horrible. I wish you the best with the testing, and I'm sorry to hear about your dad and other family members.

You're a redhead and you live in AZ? On purpose? Oh goodness. I do hope you take care and get your skin checked at least once a year. I'm on a skin cancer crusade as my 36 year-old friend Sarah died from Melanoma on August 1st.

I know you don't like sunscreen but jeez .... don't do sunburns. Be careful with your kids too.

I've had scores of spots burnt and cut off me over the years, likely about 20. The most recent was just done by my GP because there's a huge backlog for Derm, like a year just for a skin check with a referral. I'm going back next week for other tests so I'll let you know.

I haven't been to Tucson but we went through Phoenix once, and I've also done Death Valley. Yuck!

I don't even like sunshine because it hurts my eyes.

My family moved out here when I was 13. My wife family also lives here. We like being close to them. I can tolerate them spray sunscreen and I work in a windowless building. My wife makes sure the kids are taken care of and I do my best.... I suck at making sure they wear sunscreen, though. I'm sorry to hear about your friend, I'm 36 myself so that is a scarry thought. I should probably ask about a check on my skin. I'll fit it in with all the other medical priorities.

Welcome to the site. I have Asperger's Syndrome. In short, I am an Aspie.
Being an Aspie gives me a different skill set.
Most people have +s and -s.
But Aspies have ++s and --s.
And some of use are literally off the charts with +++++s and -----s.
The main goal is to use you +s to overcome your -s.

Thanks for the welcome jimmy m

Welcome aboard.