My 2-Year Diagnosis Anniversary

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Hi friends, it's been a little while since I posted here (at least a month or so I think), I've just been sort of distracted by life... and deviantart. I just wanted to make a post to observe the fact that today is the second anniversary of the day I was diagnosed. It's more for myself really, than because I have any expectation that others will find the occasion interesting. Dates are a bit of an obsession of mine, and I like to acknowledge those of significance to me, so I treat April 10th like my own private celebration; I buy one of those little single-serve cakes from Walmart (and because I work there decorating cakes, I get to write on it myself -- I always put "Happy Autism Day" on it), and a few days in advance I visit Amazon and get myself an anniversary present, which, if it arrives early, I don't open until the 10th, something small that I've perhaps had my eye on but couldn't justify buying arbitrarily. I then spend the evening doing autism-related things like perusing WP, watching autism-themed movies, and reading back over my diagnostic report. It's actually a lot more fun than celebrations I go to which involve other people, because there's no social overwhelm, and I'm in control of everything.

So what about the rest of you? Do you remember the day you were diagnosed, and do you do anything special to mark the event, or am I the only one crazy enough to throw my own one-man "autism day" party?

Happy Anniversary, StarTrekker!

Now you've got me curious as to what your present was ...

Happy anniversary! I don't think that what you do is strange. I think getting a diagnosis can be a life-changing event for some people, especially if they are diagnosed later in life.

I was only diagnosed this year so I have no special practices to remember it. I probably won't do anything on that date but reflect upon how things have changed, and what I've learned about myself.

I view my diagnosis as a second birthday. It is both a day to celebrate that unlike the generation before me I got to know who I really am and reflect. My first and second anniversaries occurred under such radically different circumstances in my life that I can not have a definitive view on the day other then I will probably always note it and it will be a positive in some manner.

Hope you enjoyed the day

Thanks guys ASPOM, I view it rather like a second birthday as well, the day my full understanding of my eccentricities and where I fit in in the world was born, so to speak.

Phoenix, I've been getting back into pokemon of late, it was an obsession of mine when I was younger, and I've been drawn back into it (although a lot has changed since my day; I have a lot of catching up to do!) Subsequently, I found a very cute little Mew beanie baby online that I thought would make a very fitting anniversary gift. Mew serves the added purpose of being a good metaphorical reminder of today for me. He's legendary, but very small and cute-looking, so he has a lot of power, but people underestimate him a lot because of his size and appearance. He reminds me a lot of autistics, because so many NTs have no idea what we're capable of, and can't see past our "disabled", "quirky", or "cute" exterior.

I found out I wasn't really diagnosed until early 1998 but before that it was just ASD. I don't have anything special about it and I don't even remember getting diagnosed.

I was first diagnosed with autism about 52 years ago. Wouldn't it be great if I knew the exact date?

Anyway....congratulations on your anniversary!

Could you create icing for yourself on a cake which reflects this?

Hi Kraftie I did; I did the borders in red, blue, yellow and green, like the autism-representative puzzle pieces (not a huge fan of the puzzle metaphor, but it's the most iconic one we have), and wrote the words in my synesthetic colours, which, statistically, I probably have my autism to thank for as well (autistics are four times as likely as the NT population to be synesthetic thanks to our abnormal brain wirings).

Happy Anniversary!

My 2 year diagnosis anniversary is coming up very soon also. I remember I was diagnosed in April of 2014, April 24 I think. Once I knew I had Asperger's, many things from the past really started to make sense, as did things in the present. Not sure what I will do to celebrate, if anything. I guess it was a life changing event, though.

I do remember the date: Aug. 20, 2015, just after 3:00 p.m. (DST). I haven't had my first anniversary yet, but that is coming soon in four months, one week. I went to dinner (alone) at one of Salt Lake City's nicest restaurants about five days after my diagnosis (wait list). I was planning on doing the same this year, and I love the idea of giving oneself a cake and presents on the anniversary. Now I have even better plans than just dinner. Maybe this time, I won't be dining alone.

Thanks CockneyRebel Happy almost-anniversary ProfessorJohn and AspieUtah I hope you both have a good time! It is interesting to reflect back on the time that's passed. I find it hard to believe that it's been two years now, sometimes it feels like only yesterday. Sometimes I find it unnerving how quickly time passes us by. I still remember how I felt the day I walked out of the clinician's office with my diagnosis in hand; it was sort of a surreal feeling, like a fantastic dream that I'd suddenly wake up from and discover none of it was real. I was over the moon for days, planning out all the things I could do now that I had my suspicions confirmed on paper. For the first time in my life, I felt like I fit somewhere, like I had a place to belong and that I wasn't just a crazy person to whom the world never made sense. That feeling is part of what I celebrate every April 10th.

Cool news.
Thanks for sharing.
I'm at 51 days, 4 hours and 38 minutes.

Congrats on your anniversary

Four years for me now as an official aspie. I tend to celebrate mine by just smiling just a little bit the day of (a tiny indulgence I guess).

Happy Anniversary.

I don't celebrate it myself, but I remember I was diagnosed in November 2013 so it's been about two and a half years. Not much has changed, except I'm living somewhere else and I have a different job (not much better than the earlier one). So the diagnosis wasn't a life-changing event or anything. I had been expecting it ever since they told me what autism was.

It's nice that some of you guys got something positive out of it, though.

Happy anniversary.

Live long and prosper.