Calling All Senior Aspies!!

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Born in 1957. Mom may have been bipolar. She grew up being mentally, physically, verbally and emotionally abused, since her father was the town drunk. Dad was not much better. His father was supposedly the town Don Juan. He had severe abandonment issues growing up. Both beloved the only sure form of child discipline was spare the rod, spoil the child. Mom was the one that meted out the discipline the most. She would hit you with whatever she had in her hand at the time, when you set her off. It didn't matter if it was a curtain rod, a wire coat hanger, a marble rolling pin, a 2x4 that had nails in it, a belt, or her open Palm of her hand or her fist. Dad's favorite mode of discipline was the brass belt buckle that was on the end of his work belt, or his foot up your arse. Both parents believed Louis B. Mayer's dictum, "Those who see a psychiatrist ought to have their head examined." Both parents are now deceased, Dad since 1986, Mom since 2011.

The only reason I got diagnosed was my youngest brother and his wife saw the signs when I went through a psychiatric drug-induced presentation of bipolar disorder, as a result of a reaction to a drug cocktail of Viibryd and Buspar, Novolin-R, Lantus and a constellation of different statins. Besides, they have a son and a daughter that are non-verbal and low-functioning. They also has a son that is OCD, but only when he contracts a streph infection (it's called PANDAS, but is not recognized, as far as I can tell, in the DSM or ICD, although there is research into a similar disorder called PANS). In addition, Dad's youngest brother has an aspie grandson, so there's strong evidence that it's on Dad's side of the family. I may have my next to the youngest brother on the spectrum, but, like mom and dad, he feels that mental health is nothing but pseudo-scientific bullsh!t. He, and #2 brother feel that my youngest brothers kids are nothing more than mental ret*ds, and should be locked up in a group home, and be forgotten, since they are nothing more than an embarrassment. Any wonder I no longer talk to the middle brothers, since Mom's death?

No, it's no wonder at all. Sometimes you have to shake those ties off and move on, and I'm glad that you have.

Glad to meet everyone! I believe that so many seniors are walking around not even knowing the reason
why life was tough. I used to blame my own character (why can't I recognize these people, I work with them
every day?? I must be so self absorbed) etc for difficulties with work and relationships.

You will get a laugh with this story... thinking that maybe I was "socially inept" due to lack of experience, I checked
out videos on table manners, attended many free functions in town, trying to get the "necessary experience" to
fit in and be at ease socially!

By the way, I quit driving 30 years ago. I thought there was a problem with my vision! Of course, now I know
it was the over stimulation of driving, the speed, noise, etc more than my eyesight! But I spent hours seeing
various eye doctors to try to solve the problem! Now, it seems funny to me.

Glad we are all here now and here together. And as for what is a Boomer? Well, if you had a portable record player,
if you watched American Bandstand, remember ducks ass hair styles and if the movie American Graffiti is hilarious
to you, you are a Boomer! Also, if you recall the draft, Kennedy's murder, the British Invasion, the young
Bob Dylan, if you hitch hiked to San Francisco to hang out on the Haight, you are most likely a Boomer!