Time to go home... back to the wrong planet.

Post Reply New Topic

I know this forum is supposed to be about employment, but for me It's always been a question of survival. I would love to be able to thrive in this world, but chaos and confusion seem to be lurking around every corner.

I've lived in South Korea for the past 2 years, teaching English as Foreign Language. Adapting to foreign culture has been as stressful as it has been rewarding. That's part of what's eventually led to my recent self-diagnosis as ASpie.

General acceptance of my social awkwardness with Korean acquaintances is encouraging, but my increased awkwardness with other English speaking expatriates is distressing.

So, I've decided to go back to New Mexico (USA) where I was barely able to scrape out a living doing part-time/ odd-jobs, and dumpster-diving for food. I had a lot of difficulty attempting to start my own green construction business before I threw in the towel, and headed East. When I go back to the U.S., My Korean fiance will be joining me there, as well, and we'll be married sometime this year.

I'm seeking counseling for my AS and my relationship, but it seems like I need employment counseling, as well. Maybe I should marry a prof therapist.

Adults recently diagnosed with AS: -did you go through a period of restructuring your lifestyle to fit the reality of your new situation? Reading Tony Atwood's Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome has been like a series of epiphanies.

But where do I go from here?

Well, I don't really fall under the recently diagnosed Adults with AS category... at all hahaha... but I guess the best thing to do once you've isolated your differences, talents, and problems, and discovered the cause of them (AS), I guess (just referring to problems, as far as the other aspects of AS go, just continue on as you have) work on strategies to solve them.

Say you know that your AS is causing communication problems, and you've found out that it's because you have trouble reading body language, a good idea to go with from there is to read a few books on body language and start trying to link your new found knowledge to the things you see around you. Also, knowing you have AS means that you know that you are missing things that might be going on around you (subtle social cues, etc), so you know to watch more closely for that kind of thing.

Once you know you have AS, the best thing to do is to aim to improve the areas you now know for a fact you have deficits in/problems with. Use your strong points to cover your weak points. That sort of thing..