14 Apr 2009, 4:51 pm
I pass as normal to passerbys... But to people who have to be around me, I am definitly not normal. Although under the effects of alcohol I am more normal than I would usually be, but thats something entirely different... I do prefer people to know I am autistic, especially if I can trust them, and as a bonus, I am diagnosed.
Yeah if someone talks to me they don't notice anything it's when they really get to know me the traits start peeping through. About the alchohol thing, once I went on a trip and we had this fizzy grape juice, I thought it was alchoholic because it tasted wine-ish, and I was suddenly really sociable becuase I thought it was the imaginary "alchohol" lol it was almost a placebo affect that made me some sort of social butterfly
.Yeah, my experience wasn't a placebo effect... It was the rel thing, and I didn't realise how normal it made me until after being drunk (and the alcohol had minimal effects on me compared to what it should have).
whipstitches
Deinonychus
Joined: 12 Feb 2009
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 323
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
15 Apr 2009, 9:29 am
I am just like those of you who can "pass for normal". I interview well and have never been fired from a job. I have even held some leadership roles! I was the head teaching assistant for my graduate program a few years back. For the most part, people just think I am "eccentric" and then move on....... I have always needed a separate space to get away from noise, but people know how jumpy I am with sudden loud noises and tend to just think I am sensitive. I don't socialize a lot, but people just assume it is because I have a preschooler. They don't know that I wouldn't socailize much if I were single with no children, either! Working at a university has been a great experience because you can be a little (or a lot) weird and no one really cares all that much so long as you are getting your work done. I have been able to get by with wearing the same green pants for a month and occasionally wearing house slippers to the lab! I was in shock when my graduate school experience was over because the "real" world isn't as forgiving. That is when I started my "zen journey" to discover why I feel so different from everyone else. It was because I knew that I was going to have a hard time outside of the university setting. I can handle wearing real shoes, but I do have a problem with clothing. People "think" I am wearing the same couple outfits all the time, but what they usually fail to notice is that I just buy the same color clothing all the time. I either wear cream colored pants with a black knit shirt or a brown knit shirt -OR- I wear olive green colored pants with a black knit shirt or a brown knit shirt. To mix it up, I might wear a denim shirt over my black or brown shirt. I make my own pants because I can't handle a tight waist band. As a result.... I also tend to make them too short because I don't like it when the cuffs drag the ground and they all have the same shaped pockets and are made from the same fabric. So.... you can see how people would think that I just wear the same cloths all the time (never stopping to notice that I am always CLEAN). I don't have really serious hygene issues. I go in for a soaker every other day (three days max) wheather I need it or not!! HEHEHEHEHE Back to the "eccentric" stuff..... I also tend to always eat the same lunch everyday, park in the same spot, show up at the same time, leave at the same time, etc.... like clockwork. All of these things could probably work out well for me in a work situation, but I don't know what would happen to me if I told the head of the data entry department that I need my own office because the "cube farm" is too loud for me to concentrate(I am just selecting a generic occuapational setting to illustrate my point). I am actually rather lucky because I lived with my mom after graduate school and then I met my husband and now I am a stay-at-home mother. I don't know what will happen to me when I enter the work force one day...... That is why I am just going to go back for another post graduate degree. I am funded, so I might as well.....
For those of you who are curious.........I have a bachelors in geology and was in a doctorate program in geology for a few years. I had to leave the program to care for my mother because she was dying from cancer. I met my husband during that time and had my daughter. That is why I didn't finish my PhD. I am just going back to the drawing board.... only this time I am going for a geography degree! I am hoping to land a government job or maybe even land an adjunct position when I am finished. I think that the "weird" thing will not become an issue in these settings. Ya know?
15 Apr 2009, 10:42 am
amazon_television
Veteran
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,605
Location: I woke up on 7th street
15 Apr 2009, 11:37 am
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