Being autistic does NOT mean I can't succeed.

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Being autistic does NOT mean I can't be a scientist and get my name there in scientific research.

Science is my life. I WILL make a life in science.

I REFUSE to be a prisoner in my own head.

I will fight my challenges. I will succeed.

Good for you. In fact if you utilise some of the things it might bring (obviously without generalising, but these could include attention to detail and sheer single mindedness) while being aware of some of the things come more naturally to NTs (particularly some of the more collaborative aspects of research) then it could be a real benefit. I work in a maths area, and I don't see it as a barrier at all. Keep up the determination, but be prepared to take setbacks along the way - those happen to everyone, on or off the autism spectrum!

I hate platitude, but you are who you are, and I'm glad you have that certain fire. I know I definitely have that fire, as well. Physical strength doesn't mean much if you lack mental strength. Enough said.

Keep strong, my brother. I'm determined to succeed more than any of my NT peers in high school.

Yes, you are right, being autistic does not mean that you can't succeed at what you want to do in life.

Thank you all.

You better believe it, Steel Maiden!

You will be a great scientist!

I don't give a rat's butt how "Platitudinous" this is!

Of course you can succeed. Just have confidence , make a plan and follow it.

That is a good attitude to have. You shouldn't let the fact that you are autistic/AS stop you from reaching your goals and achieving great things.

I also don't let it stop me from accomplishing anything or giving up on myself. I can thank my parents for that. They taught me that I shouldn't give up or let my autism be a roadblock for achievement in anything.

I may have not been able to talk when I was younger, but they put me through years of speech therapy to help me. It was hard work, but in the end it was worth it.

I failed math in 2nd grade. No problem. They put me in tutoring for 7 years. Fast forward to today and I get A's in math.

I had bad hand writing. They put me in a program to help improve hand-eye coordination. I can now write neatly and I can draw pretty well too.

I was not very coordinated, I was pretty clumsy as a little kid. I was put in dance and sports to help. I do martial arts now, and it has made a big difference.

They also made an effort to teach etiquette and proper social skills, and I worked hard to learn them, and I still do. All of it took a lot of work, but without it, I would not be who I am today.

^^^Eggsellent eggsamples

I was horribly uncoordinated and crappy EF when I started college, but I decided to major in chemistry, not knowing that chemistry required both coordination and EF, and I had to drop my first chemistry lab due to horrible coordination and EF, but I signed up for another, harder lab later in freshman year, and I did much better the second time around.

Get 'em! Best of luck.

Thanks all.

I started reading at 2 3/4 years of age and could do arithmetic by the time I was 4 years old. But I was extremely aggressive, overactive and often violent. After being expelled twice, I was put in a primary school for gifted children (after my IQ was assessed to be 160 - although I had a range from 120 - 190 in the individual subtests). I flourished there and they pushed me to my intellectual limits and extended them. I calmed down, I was able to interact with the other children, I could sit for hours on a single task if it needed hours.

I believe that by continuing to push myself I will go foward and not regress.

My secondary school pushed me hard and I got into the top 250 16-18 year olds in the country in a national mathematics challenge. I excelled highly in my exams. My teaching assistant was great and I actually made two friends at school (they were loners like me and we sort of teamed up, with help from my teaching assistant).

I regressed a bit in the last year in terms of autism. But I am going to try really hard to push myself. I don't care for socialising, but I will push myself academically. Currently doing a BSc Pharmacology course part-time at University College London. I wish I didn't have to do it part-time but it seems I have to. I'm going to try real hard.

I want to devote my life to science. Science is my safe place where I feel good.

I know you don't like to socialize. I can see it's really a thorn on your side.

But I believe part of improving one's autism is creating for one's self a social outlet--however indirect that might be.

It's great that we have computers now, and emails, websites, etc. It helps much with avoiding direct social contact.

Do you believe you could use the memories of your positive secondary school experiences as a model for your future?

When you conduct research, you have to consult with your colleagues at times. Most of the time, email would be sufficient; however, there might be the odd occasion where you might have to actually SPEAK with someone.

I'm rooting for you, Steel Maiden!

Thanks Kraftiekortie. I am aware that there needs to be some socialising in place. My support worker is training me in how to socialise a little without it totally draining me. I went out with my mum yesterday locally and she is very, very social and very, very NT. I had to take clonazepam before seeing her (she chats nonstop) but I used a trick my support worker taught me to feign interest in what she was saying (in order to keep her happy - she is my mum after all) and it worked.

I am working on the meltdowns too. Emailed my psychiatrist about it and also been using my techniques to spot a meltdown coming on and to try and avert it.

One thing I've noticed about you: You respond promptly to questions posed in your threads. You feel it is proper and appropriate to respond.

I am frequently online and if I'm not in front of a computer, I have email alerts on my mobile phone.

I see it this way: if a person asks a question, they obviously want an answer. So I'll give them my best answer.

I'm not so good with texts and awful with phone calls. I don't always reply to texts (especially if they're social) and calls I usually text in response or ignore them altogether.

I am quite verbose on a computer, but when it comes to speaking I find it hard. I am working on that with my support worker and mental health team.