*waves* Hey all

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Hey all,

I'm a 37 year old aspie (biologically female) from Austria. I was diagnosed almost four years ago, after a harrowing journey through the medical system since childhood. Before the ASD diagnosis I was stuck with whatever diagnosis the psychiatrists and/or therapists felt was the best; that way, I was "diagnosed" (aka "cursorily glanced at and then put into a neat category") with everything from psychosis to - I kid you not - hysteria (damn that wandering uterus!). I had to pay for and organise my diagnosis myself, since I was told repeatedly that as an adult woman who is bad at maths I simply could not be on the spectrum. Well, turned out I am very much on the spectrum!
I had hoped that that would be the end of my odyssey, hoping to find doctors who are willing to help and understand. That, however, turned out to be hopelessly naive of me. I recently lost my general practitioner because she felt that she knows what someone with autism and ADHD (got that too) looks like, and I didn't fit that idea of hers. Good times.

I struggle a lot. I am too 'high functioning' to qualify for help by the only autism help centre we have, but I need help with a lot of things. My sensory sensitivities are making any activities outside my home a precarious gable (will I collapse on public transport from the bright lights and noises or not? How about the store?), and... and I'm so ANGRY. Angry at the health system. Angry at my life. Angry at how little anyone seems to care that people on the spectrum exist who are not immediately identifiable, at how little people want to learn. At how the world is built for neurotypicals, ignoring any other experience.

*takes a deep breath*

My favourite topics are the development of cuneiform writing, Sumerian (language and writing), the Paleolithic and Neolithic of SW Asia, and ancient Mesopotamia up to ca. 1600 BCE. I managed to make my special interests my job (currently working on a PhD, but had to take a break because I got PTSD), so yay for socially accepted hyperfocus and infodumping! I am working very hard on trying to come across as "normal" to people, because I have been bullied since I entered elementary school and am scared to provoke the normies. Even at university and at work in the museum sector that remained a problem. However, I realise that masking all the time (even at home) has taken its toll, and I want to learn how to be myself.
I also have two cats, who are my best friends and help calming me down. Other topics I love are myths and deities, the deep sea, and some smattering of astrophysics.

One of my goals is to find a way to make students (especially female or non-binary ones) with ASD more visible to teachers and other educators, so that nobody else has to go through what I did. I hope to have some smaller stuff like a poster and flyers up for next year's autism awareness month!

So.... yeah. That's the intro to me.

____

Edit:
Oh gods, I forgot about the reading and stuff! I love fantasy books, and have been a roleplaying nerd since my teens. I am a walking library of Planescape, Ravenloft, Forgotten Realms, and old WoD lore. I started playing again (as a player, not as a DM for the first time!) two weeks ago, and man, the endorphins produced by playing a gruff ranger in an online group has made me realise how much I missed gaming. I also play computer games, but try not to do that too often because then I forget to do other things like eating or studying...

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Outer space and large places of water interest me a lot too.

Hello. Welcome.

Hi!

I can't do much except welcome you to WP.

And ask that you scrootch the kitties for me. They are superior beings and I know it and they know it.

And it is great you managed to match your interests to your formal studies. That should help. (I did Computer Science.)

Welcome. Any education to teachers about the female presentation of autism is needed

Hi, I am new here but enjoying learning about others who have similar struggles and problems in an NT world. I too am a cat person. I currently look after 6 strays who befriended us (the walking stomachs). I remember a wonderful description about cats that I once saw: "they were once revered as Gods and they've never forgotten". The ones we cater to are always hanging around looking for treats. Seriously denting my pension (and by proxy, savings). But my wife and I do love them. Many tears are shed when one has died in the past. Many more to come in that department no doubt.