Hello from East Anglia

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Well, I know who I am now. I also know there's a lot like me in the region where I live (East Anglia, United Kingdom). Some who don't have a formal diagnosis. Some who haven't "come out" about what they are. All of us have problems. Some are more successful in life than others.

But this is about me, so Hello to you all

I'm new to WP, but not to certain UK ASD/AS forums; I'm not ready to "come out" publicly with my real name & ID etc on a world-wide well-known forum like WP yet; there's advantages and disadvantages to doing so and I need to think them through. I use a UK Aspie forum that has closed membership so that wasn't a problem there, but the entire internet seems to know about this one.

Some of you may recognise me by my writing style and the few details I'm happy to share here, but please don't identify me on the forum if you do (it's easy to do by accident); please PM me if you want to talk or if you know me in RL we can talk in the Real World (tm) next time we meet.

For the record so far: I am a man in my late 40s, typical late diagnosis due to problems overlooked in youth (there was no diagnosis of AS in the UK when I was a child or young adult), have a technology background, seeking a career change to something less stressful, volunteering in the community / special needs sector while seeking work, learning new skills when courses are available (hope to do a customer service course next) and my hobbies are cats, walking and astronomy. For my sins, I serve on a committee of one of the clubs of which I am a member - not a picnic even for NTs

I don't watch much TV as it's rubbish and am single (have been all my life, though not by choice). I have improved socially since diagnosis and am please with my progress so far; but recent personal events have given me a wake-up call regarding how much further I have to go (especially as another person was hurt; put two people with AS together, especially if one hides it well and hasn't "come out" but just seems eccentric, and a screw-up is inevitable, mostly mine in this case ).

Still, I am doing things now, socially and in terms of job search, that I would never have believed I could, even four months ago, let alone four years ago, so I guess I shouldn't complain. Life's lessons do come at a price though; perhaps I should become the fifth Dark Judge and call for life to be made a crime

I hope to meet new friends here and talk about the horrors of AS and how it blighted our lives and also of the hope of better things to come.

Best wishes to you all
IKnowWhoIAmNow

Welcome to WP! Glad to have you here.
I have a penpal from East Anglia who has Aspergers (undiagnosed), so of course as you said, you are not alone. I live in a part of California that has a higher than usual incidence of autism spectrum disorders, so I know that my daughters and I are not alone either.
Your cats are beautiful!
Well, enjoy WP!