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Hi all, my name is Brenden. I'm a 33 year old male living in Cascadia with my wife and kid.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome as a kid way back in 1996. My diagnosis was confirmed later on as an adult when I applied for social security disability in the late 2000s (I was denied benefits but they acknowledged that I was disabled. Ugghhh).

I've been on a kind of web 1.0 binge as of late, looking for old school forums / websites that are still active when I stumbled upon this forum. I didn't realize there was a forum for folks with ASD, otherwise I would've joined a long time ago!

Anyways I decided to try something new, and that is to use this forum as who I actually am, versus making an anonymous account. I realize that it's a bit risky but I'm hoping it'll result in new / better friendships / connections in the future.

In my spare time I like to read (mostly non-fiction stuff), listen to music (mainly rock / electronica), and play boardgames (especially Go, which I am not good at but I enjoy playing anyway). I'm a huge fan of older digital tech, especially "retro-futuristic" tech like Sony Minidisc, old digital cameras (stuff I wanted but couldn't afford in my youth ) and things of that nature. I'm pretty decent with a soldering iron and in general am a huge believer in fixing things rather than throwing them away.

As for work, well... like most people with ASD, I've had some major difficulties. I was a truck driver for most of the 2010s, but it was grinding, stressful, and I often ended up not getting paid for my work (I'm still getting random settlement checks from some companies I worked for a decade ago!).

Eventually my wife and I swapped places - she became the breadwinner, and I've been a stay at home dad, slowly grinding away at a college education so that we can eventually swap back again when I can get a job that 1.)that I can actually keep and 2.)actually pays me correctly and on time (pretty important when you have a kid!). So on top of making connections / friendships, I'm also here looking for tips on employment / work.

Anyways that's all I've got for now, see you in the forums

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Are your wife or kid on the spectrum as well?

Welcome to WP! I hope you find it to be a pleasant diversion.

And, you were diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in 1996...! I guess that makes you an early-bird. It was only added to the DSM in 1994 (the year I turned 40).

Asperger's Syndrome was then removed from the DSM in 2013, when it was rolled under the Autism Spectrum.

My 2019 (shortly before my 65th birthday) diagnosis was: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild) with an additional note that I also satisfied the criteria previously associated with Asperger's Syndrome.

Thanks!

My wife might be - she’s taken some online assessments that seem to indicate it. She’s interested in a formal test but right now the time/money just isn’t there.

Funny enough I think my kid is actually NT, though we won’t know for sure until they start public school in a few years. Funny how genes work sometimes



Yeah I had a pretty difficult childhood due to some very… complicated… family dynamics.

This resulted in the state getting involved very early in my childhood and by sheer chance I ended up being seen by a psychologist from a university who was part of a team developing new ABA techniques.

Needless to say, I have very strong feelings about ABA and other associated therapies. I firmly believe that they took away any cognitive advantages I had while not addressing any disadvantages or disabilities, which led me to be completely rudderless and IMO caused enormous harm over the long run that I am still struggling with.

Anyways the only diagnosis I got as an adult was through the social security administration in 2009 / 2010 where it was confirmed that I still had Asperger’s syndrome. I haven’t had any additional therapy or testing since then.

Well, you're reinforcing my opinion on ABA.

Regarding your bride...I hope one of the online assessments she found was AQ. When it said I was Autistic that is what convinced me it wasn't all in my imagination and that I really might be Autistic.

In my case it was the AQ result that convinced me it would be reasonable to get a formal assessment. I then called my insurance company to find out if there was any insurance coverage for it. There was good news and bad news regarding that. Good news: Yes, my insurance would help with the cost of the assessment. Bad news: I guess they don't get asked about Adult Autism Assessments very often because they didn't know what they were talking about. That wasted a few months in getting an assessment. (Hint: All you need is a psychologist who works with Autism and with patients as old as the adult being assessed. ABA credentials are not needed to do an assessment!)

If your bride does decide to get an Adult Autism Assessment I think there is more good news. It was kind of fun! Usually they are testing kids so parts of the test are designed for kids. I don't see any reason it would've invalidated the assessment result but my psychologist seemed a bit embarrassed.

Welcome to WP !

Thank you for sharing these thoughts and info about yourself. Welcome to WP!

welcom

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

You wrote, "Needless to say, I have very strong feelings about ABA and other associated therapies. I firmly believe that they took away any cognitive advantages I had while not addressing any disadvantages or disabilities, which led me to be completely rudderless and IMO caused enormous harm over the long run that I am still struggling with. "

Interesting theory. I have Asperger's Syndrome and did not even realize I had it until around 5 years ago when I reached age 70. The condition gave me several advantages. I had special abilities that other people do not have. I learned to use my advantages to overcome my disadvantages. As a result I lived a very interesting great life. It was just that I had to figure everything out on my own. There was no book that told me answers.

Many people with Asperger's Syndrome have very high I.Q.s The important journey in life is to figure out what these unique capabilities are and focus on using these special skills to the maximum.

Hi Brenden, welcome to the forum! It’s awesome that you found your way here and are embracing being yourself—definitely not an easy thing to do, but I hope it brings you the connections you're looking for. I can relate to the love for retro-futuristic tech, especially the appeal of fixing things instead of tossing them. Good luck with your studies and finding the right job down the line. Looking forward to seeing you around!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WP

Hey there! Welcome! I'm new here, too. I also live in the PNW.