Hello

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What is your first name? Anthony

Age: 51

Location: Philadelphia

Hobbies and Interests: Music, computers, cooking

Why are you here? Assuming this is not a philosophical question . I'm here to seek some kind of understanding about myself in this new light.

When were you diagnosed?: May, 2014

Favorite subjects: Almost any science

Year/Grade: Out of official school for a while now

Favorite music: Everything, but especially ambient, electronic, and power pop

Books: Mostly non-fiction. Most fiction is either "hard" sci-fi or cyberpunk

TV shows/Movies: Dr. Who (fan since 1973, when it first came to America), science documentaries, cooking shows

Instrument: Guitar, voice, keyboards

Do you like sports? No

Family: Married to my childhood sweetheart (after a long and unfortunate loss of contact). Two step children. Two grown children from first marriage.

Clothing: Yes

How did you find this website? Autism Speaks resources page

Job: Database administrator, composer/songwriter/producer

Plans for the future? Coming out Asperger's, making more music.

Hi,
What is that Avatar pic. It looks familiar. Was it a Disney automaton?

You might want to keep the Aspie stuff mostly private, or at least especially at first. It can have varied effects and is something to consider well.

The avatar is an animatronic figure, but I'm not sure specifically where it's from. I think it's from MIT lab or some such place.

I agree with staying private-- for now. I do want to get involved in some kind of advocacy work, which would require some degree of outing myself; but I'm in no hurry to disclose to anyone except those that need to know at this point. I'm too busy right now just with the adjustments to think about doing anything that public at the moment.

Thanks for the reply!

hi,

i'm 57 and, like you, married to a wonderful person. i was a biology major in college and keep up with medical info religiously. i sing and play rhythm guitar. looking forward to getting to know you better.

Welcome. I am also here to enhance my knowledge about my own condition. Together we can help out each other a lot.

Love your avatar. Looking forward to learning more about you when you are more comfortable with sharing.

Hi BlankReg and welcome!! !
(Feels funny saying saying that already, as I only discovered what my problem was 3 days ago)

I am also 51 and my first name is Antony (without the 'h').

It felt very strange reading people's intro messages on here at the weekend. So many people talking about themselves, describing characteristics I'd always thought peculiar to myself. It felt a little like I'd been reunited with a family I'd never known.
I always knew that I was different, as did all my friends and family. It's just no-one ever thought to ask the question 'Why?'. I guess it never seemed necessary... after all, we're all 'unique', though I now realise that I'm not nearly as 'unique' as I thought I was.

I'm sure you'll learn a lot about your 'condition' on here too and I hope it proves to be a positive experience. It certainly has been for me so far, though I'm still in the process of coming to terms.
I have already noticed an improvement in my attitude towards my students (I teach English as a foreign language). I feel more empathetic, more patient and altogether more relaxed than before. I think it's that now I know I have a problem, I'm less critical of them.

It's also helped seeing a list of famous people with aspies. Many of my 'heros' are on that list!

Try Googling it if you haven't already.

Funny you should mention that. Just before I got my diagnosis I had a chance to meet Gary Numan, who has been a hero of mine since the late '70s. In fact, it was my wife's looking at his history (although also a musician, she's into the people side of things more) that started her wondering about a year ago if that's what was up with me.

Now I usually am fairly uncomfortable around people I admire simply because I feel like all I really can say with any sincerity is, "I love your work." And that's not much of a conversation starter-- especially for someone who probably hears that a lot. But I was able to talk to him as a fellow Aspie (although undiagnosed at the time), and we had a great conversation. He was very compassionate and it felt great to connect on that level as well as the fact that he was such an influence on me as a musician.

So yeah, very cool to find a place, if virtual, where we can all let our freak flags fly-- as it were.