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I just found out the other night that my real father is in the autism spectrum (extreme language abilities, I already knew); he told me that my uncle. who passed last year, was extremely autistic, with superior math and engineering abilities. I've always been different, never diagnosed with anything but major depression. But, suddenly, with this new information, my whole childhood makes a lot more sense. Anyone else out there know what I'm talking about?

Yes it does. There are a lot of people with autism in my family also. I'm glad it's all snapping into place for you. It made a HUGE difference for me, having an answer; knowing I was not alone. Welcome!

Yes, I was a long time finding out that I was on the spectrum. 57 years to be exact. But I wonder - if I had found out before that, I would have lost my job(s). That's the way things were back then. 1994 was the year when a diagnosis was possible, by which I mean that the medical profession recognized it by putting it in their DSM (diagnostic manual).

This site was and is a godsend for me - I hope for you too - welcome!

Growing up one of my cousins the same age as me had Classic Autism. However being ignorant of what Autism was I never suspected my own oddness was Autism. Flash forward a few decades and my nephew (sisters son) was diagnosed with Asperger's. I didn't see the connection right away because my nephew reminds me more of my younger brother but as I learned more about the condition over the past few years I was convinced I was on to something.

The more I learned about Asperger's/autism the more I see it in my family. Almost all of my cousins and aunts on my mom side (including my mother) as well as my grandfather (RIP) and brother show several autistic traits and/or learning disabilities. One of my cousins has a 3 year old daughter recently diagnosed with Classic Autism.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welkome to WP

Mick

Hey Rainflower,
I know exactly how you feel. Simon Baron Cohen came up with some statistic about how much more likely you were to be autistic if you had an engineer parent or grandparent and my Dad is a draughtsman who has designed bridges. It wasn't until the last few years that I started to take the possibility of autism more seriously. After I found out more about it, including reading Look me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson, I felt incredible relief. I read something for the first time by someone who sounded just like me and who felt and thought things I had. I have other pressing health issues to deal with as well but I will get tested eventually.

Dude I'm sorry, that's an emotional bomb. But hey, my brother was an engineer and he was socialble and I visited him a lot at college. I meet all those engineer students and, I like them. you're an ok dude.

Welcome to WP!