Have you found these forums helpful?

Post Reply New Topic

This is a question directed at the regulars of WP (say if you've been here for at least a couple of months and visit here on a fairly regular basis) and concerns not just this forum, but all of the forums on WP. If you're not sure whether to brand your entire experience on the forums "helpful", try to consider the net worth of the insight and advice from people of these forums that you've put to proper use weighed against the amount of time you've spent reading and posting on these forums.

The motivation behind my posting this is that I see these forums as essentially being support forums, and I do not feel that reading and posting here has been of much benefit to me overall. But I will feel a bit better about it if I feel like this community has been a genuine help to other people.

I more or less expected to find intelligent people who could relate and understand me. I have found I'm going to say maybe 2 people through this forum who really get me. Another 2-3 that I consider friends despite not a whole hell of a lot of interaction.

I've learned my lesson, when I want to be understood I'll join a car forum or a sex forum. Not a forum full of people who are supposedly socially similar to myself. I've tried to quit this forum twice this month now. I went missing for about four days. Coincidentally, nobody noticed.

I didn't come here for help/support, and I didn't find any.

Some of the posts do provide new insight, but a lot of times it's just a blind person leading another blind person and/or people repeating cliched advice that just doesn't work. This forum would probably benefit some people who'd like to relate to other people with AS, though.

I came here not for support, but to compare myself to other people to see since I got the notion that I might have AS.

Yes. Swapping strategies is useful.

I must admit, yes, I have indeed found this very useful to me and it has gotten me to gain more confidence which is amazing.

I made some good friends and have somewhere I can dump my crazy thoughts without anyone taking exception. I've probably learned a lot too, but I quickly forget what.

Yes, very much.

I believe that the only reason that I was able to get my current job is because I found this site.

I didn't come here looking for support. I came here because it came up when I was searching Google to see if I could find any other people who had the same sensory sensitivities because I'd never met someone who did, and one of the search results was this site.

Before I found this site, I didn't know what AS was. I didn't have any concept of the specific social actions that a person would do to get a job, or how to behave in the different situations that would be encountered when trying to get a job.

After finding this site, I realized that maybe there was a fundamental difference in the way that I thought and acted, in comparison to the way others think and act. So I read this site for many many months, and I read stories about people's problems interacting with others.

I had applied for jobs many years before, but had never been hired. It was confusing to me because compared to anyone else I've ever met I was and am the most knowledgeable person about the particular subject. So I didn't understand why I couldn't get a job doing the most basic work related to this particular subject. I was convinced that no one would ever give me a chance. I had no concept of social networking for the purpose of getting a job.

This site and the stories on it, and the fact that others did describe having jobs made me think that I could get a job, so for many months I researched specific things about how to get jobs. I researched every detail, how to fill out applications, how to compose the best résumés, the best way to present a résumé, even the best colors and paper weights to use.

After composing what I thought would be the best résumés, I decided to watch YouTube videos about interviews. I had very little understanding about how to conduct an interview, and very rudimentary understanding of body language. I watched many many YouTube videos.

Because I researched those things, and because I applied what I learned, I was able to get a job. I still have that job.

I would never have gotten my job if I hadn't found this site and read other people's stories.

If I hadn't, I would not have become a regular.

Sometimes. Some of the forums did help me understand the world around me, but not all of the answers I got were helpful though.

I offer support to those going through a hard time. It's all about the attitudes behind the posts as to whether i give support to specific issues.

I don't expect any support back, because its the internet and the internet is not "supportive". If you want only support and no opinions your best bet is a 1 on 1 councillor.

In Help We Trust topic

In forums where I have specifically asked, the help has been there.

I feel that this site has been helpful for me. I get to support people, blow off steam, share my interests, while learning how to talk about a variety of things, express my opinions, play games and joke around while showing my sensitive side. This is the site for me.

I found this site to be very helpful. I was certain I has AS, but after a lot of research (which I did mostly here) and talking to a professional I was diagnosed with ADHD. I may still be autistic, even according to the psychiatrist, but the treatment of the ADHD has done a lot for me. I would not have gotten to this point had I not started posting here.

I have also enjoyed much of the conversation and learned a lot about autism and people in general. I don't think it is a good idea to come to an internet forum expecting psychological help. Forums are full of people from all over the world, all types of lifestyles, ages, etc. That is great for conversation but you cant use it as therapy. You are not going to find experts who can give you the type of help that real counseling will give.

So I came here looking for information and I got it- I also got a lot of good laughs and got to know some awesome people as well as anyone knows another person on the Internet. I don't visit as much as I used to but I have more work to do these days an stuff like that.