Hello,
I am a 35-year-old male from Texas, and I was diagnosed on October 2, 2019, with high-functioning autism (formerly Asperger's), ADHD combined type, and generalized anxiety disorder. Before this, in 2009 I was incorrectly diagnosed as bipolar 1 which led to a multitude of difficulties with poor medication results in my 20s into my early 30s. Most of the symptoms I exhibit are in the social domain, with difficulty describing and perceiving emotions, formal communication modes, difficulty with facial recognition, non-verbal social cues, body language interpretation, and displaying empathy. I also tend to be highly logical and practical first and foremost, though I am working on connecting this mode of thinking with my emotional centers. As a child, I developed rapidly academically but found my social issues caused me to be the target of severe bullying and exclusion, furthering stunting my social and emotional development. I have been lucky as I have been able to work since graduating high school and college, though its history was especially spotty between 2013-2017. I also exhibit some more subtle symptoms, such as keen hearing and sight, hypersensitivity to touch, an inability to "shut off" sensory input or discriminate against it, and preference for odd postures when sitting. I am easily startled by sudden and loud noises and bright light is physically painful. I do maintain narrow and encyclopedic interests though they are over an eclectic area, from computing and science to history and pop culture. I have a near eidetic memory, so after being exposed to certain sequences of information one or two times I can recall them with almost perfect accuracy, which to the detriment of those around me manifests as inappropriately timed and relevant but obscure quotes and references. However, I can also leverage this academically and professionally for studying and recall of information.
Beyond those symptoms, I also show the classic signs of ADHD--impulsivity, inattention, hyperactivity, mood regulation issues, and insomnia. The primary symptom of my anxiety is a continually high resting heart rate and hypervigilance which renders me in a constantly tense state that other people find obvious but I tend to not perceive. I manage these symptoms with medication.
On a more personal note, I have been married eleven years, I have two dogs and three cats, and I am currently working as a senior systems administrator for a medium-sized hospital system. I have a bachelor's in computer science, a master's in IT Management and I am in a PhD program for information technology. I am looking into adoption or foster care to start a family as we have been unsuccessful in having our own children.
My interests include any domain of knowledge such as science, engineering, technology, and mathematics primarily, but I am also interested in religion, art, history, politics, and culture. My hobbies are video games, computers, martial arts (I study tang soo do), television, reading books, and music, with my favorite genres being heavy metal and comedy such as Weird Al Yankovic.
I found this site through a few different resources after my initial diagnosis and am hoping to make some acquaintances and friends here, people who deal with the same issues I do. It is nice to meet you all!
23 Oct 2019, 2:44 pm
