Introduce yourself to the community here!

Why not introduce yourself to the rest of the community? Say hello and maybe

share something interesting about yourself by commenting below. Alternatively, you

can introduce yourself in your own blog post.

Welcome!

[tiger21972]

hello everybody my name is sara and i am an adult with autism, i now run my own autistic spectrum condition group facebook, which can now be accessed. i am also chair of my local autism partnership board here in grimsby north east lincolnshire being a passionate advocate for all those on the autistic spectrum,

i also do alot of voluntry work around autism awareness training sessions here in grimsby north east lincolnshire, working in partnership with our local fire services [humberside fire and rescue service] training up all the crew up on autism. i have also won an aware through the above fire service for all my volunteer work around autism awareness training, and it will always be the most special rememberd occasion in my life/

[costa]

hi sara i also got my dougther who got autism ,i sometimes need help.bye

[costa]

Hello to everyones ..

[wallflower_fairy]

Hi everyone

I wondered when they were going to bring a community for ASD, I saw it a few days ago, before any members have joined. I have written this so many times already.

ASD is a pretty sensitive area for me, more sensitive than any of my other problems, so you'll have to bare with. So.. I was diagnosed with the condition when I was 7, but it doesn't really affect me now, I just find it interesting. I study, Psychology, Sociology, and English Language, in sixth form at my old secondary school - I'm in my final year, it wasn't easy staying to do my A levels there, as I've never enjoyed it. Not until recently anyway. I still get all the sensory issues, walking across the corridors is somewhat reminiscent of being swallowed and then spat out again, I hate being surrounded and smothered in the crowds of younger students - as they are so noisy and rough. I describe it as being caught up in a sea of blue (the colour of the uniform) as the sea goes one way, when I want to go the other. I have no problem blending in with my peers and fit socially into the sixth form space. I successfully made a new group of friends in my last year (I stayed a year later because I did a different subject in my first year and then changed) and that would be hard for anyone to do, even without the condition - so it definitely shows how far I've come. However, that part of my life is private, and I won't share it with anyone who doesn't all already know. Because people look at you in a different way. It doesn't matter that you're still the same person. What can I say? Human nature I suppose. I don't see why they would need to know as the problems I experienced are in the past.

One more thing might be important for you to know, I have a condition called Fibromyalgia (Bit of a gobble isn't it? it's not very well known either, so you mightn't of heard of it - but it's a condition which affects the nervous system, and it affects my senses even more so) I just thought that you should know because sometimes it can make my messages appear incoherant, unnecessarily repetitive, or fragmented - and when it flares up it can slow me down, albeit I've always been a little bit slower (get there in the end though).

Before I sign out would just like to say I am looking forward to interacting with a diverse range of people. If you ever need any advice. I am happy for you to contact me. I even went to a special needs evening for parents who's children are attending the school, and I gave them a lot of interesting points. I was also asked to mentor younger students last year. So if you ever need any advice than I am happy to help. You could say I have Experience. Ok. I'm going to press the button now. This is the first time I've ever been honest about this so it's a big thing for me to do.

Holds breath.

[Hidden]

Hi funkyfairy! Haven't had the chance quit yet to read through this lovely post you've just left but ill surely get back to you tomorrow just want to acknowledge that. Either way welcome! Very glad to have you here. X

[wallflower_fairy in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. It's good to be here! xx

[Hidden]

Welcome again Funkyfairy - I can now properly respond to your post. By the way, I think that blog was really good and because it only showed up as a comment on my post, maybe you can make it your own blog instead. That way more people will see it and be able to comment.

I also noticed you are quite the HU veteran! So I guess you're familiar with how things work. I think you can provide a great perspective in this community between the parents of autistic children and those with autism because you've experienced aspects of ASD. I think that could be very helpful here, and hope you'll stick around

All the best to you

[costa]

all the best

[wallflower_fairy in reply to costa]

Thanks guys. (I put it on the blog and made it a little more detailed)

[wallflower_fairy]

Edited a few times but it should be ok now. Albeit it's a little... long. xx

[Hidden in reply to wallflower_fairy]

Cool!

[only1Salome]

Hello everyone. I am new to the world of ASD - married 7 years ago and found my husband's behaviour at times bewildering and bizarre (for a neuro-typical!) as well as frustrating and it led to countless heated arguments and terrifying melt-downs

It was only when an old mentor of my husband's asked me if I thought he might have Aspergers, that the penny dropped. He was assessed last year and diagnosed with High Functioning Autism.

I am still learning how to best help him in difficult situations, but things have been much better as we both have learnt how to cope with situations that he finds difficult.

It has saved our marriage, but most of my friends want nothing to do with him. It is a very lonely, isolating place with NO HELP from doctors, etc. Everythign I have learnt has been from doing my own research on the net.

I have started writing a blog but not made it public yet as I have 7 years of memories to try and put down in a cohesive journal!

Well, that's me.

I hope to learn even more here, and perhaps contribute something if I am able to

[Hidden in reply to only1Salome]

A warm welcome to you only1Salome. Thanks for sharing your story - it is interesting to hear a perspective of an adult being diagnosed with HFA.

Hopefully you can find what you are looking for here

[only1Salome in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, LoraHU.

Thank you for the welcome.

[bev1616]

hi everyone, just joined im bev 1616 my son is nearly 10 and is severley autistic none verbal, and i have a typical child too she is 11. my son is getting quite difficult and has started to lash out ,im finding him difficult at the moment this is the first time im not sure what to do!!! any adivice anyone.

[Hidden in reply to bev1616]

Welcome bev1616! It would be great for more people to see this post - maybe you can try posting a blog or a question? I think that will draw more attention to what you need.

All the very best to you

[missiechrissie]

Hi I'm 36 and just got diagnosed on march 4th 2013 with ASD ADHD OCD agoraphobia a. Small dose of personality disorder and anxiety disorder and that's just some of the ingredients God used to make me so uniquely interesting.

I get very absorbed into my interests.

I Hated school. It was v.boring.

I have 3 nephews 2 are aspie teens and I Love having ASD because it proved that I'm not insane. I was misdiagnosed with paranoid psychotic schizophrenia and mistreated with antipsychotics for 15years. I have 3 children that have gone to Heaven one baby had trisomy 18 and was a carer for my Man who passed of cancer recently and my Dad has diabetes. People can't understand how I cope but I think the ASD must help in some way oh and God.

I'm an artist and can play the harp. Self taught. I have awful short term memory but can remember an entire phone directory at times.

I am a great codebreaker but sometimes I think I have broken a few hearts unintentionally.

Peace and Love to you all.

[Hidden in reply to missiechrissie]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your journey - sounds very interesting!

[rosie-in-the-garden]

Hi, my name is Helen (aka rosie-in-the-garden) and I have a niece with a 4 years old son who has, among other conditions, autism. We are a very close-knit family, which can be a curse at times (but I wouldn't have it any other way) although it does mean a lot of support and help.

I have been given the task of how best to start his education (unfortunately state as I've read quite a bit about good private schools). So any advise/experiences whatever would be so welcome.

I am a 52 years old gardener so any advice wanted there, I certainly will try to help. I am married and have one daughter aged 18 who at the moment doesn't have much of an idea where she would like her life to go. I'd also like a change of career but am jack of all trades and master of none. I do however love a charity shop and have a very good eye for putting outfits together and I'm a wicked seamstress (self taught) so maybe something along those lines, suggestions welcome.

Even if I didn't need this site and it's connections, I would find all of you so inspiring. You are all such kind and helpful people and it's my pleasure to introduce myself to you.

[kenziesnan]

HI. i am a 58 year old nan with a 7 year old autistic grandson. He is very intellegent with a photographic memory and is a whiz with computers. He has recently had a lot of upset in his life and sometimes gets quite angry. He is obsessed with playstation games (especially lego batman 2) and it is hard to get him to stop and play with toys. Any suggestions?

[LittleClapham]

Hello I am Lucy and I am autistic and have Tourettes, ADHD and OCD. I'll do a proper introduction in a blog but hi!

[Aurora-auspice]

Hello everybody

Thank you so much for letting me join. I've just done my first post/blog which was great but of course I'm now obsessing that it's inappropriate. Probably just my perception! It was good to just write something playing on my mind from last night and watch it spin off into cyberspace.

Hope everyone is well

Aurora auspice x

[151bill]

Hi everyone! My name is Bill. I live in Milwaukee,Wisconsin,I have been a member of HealthUnlocked for a while but have been in the Parkinson's Community. I was diagnosed with P.D. three years ago. I find that being part of a community very helpful, I feel less alone when in contact with other people,even though most of them are in the U.K., who understand what I am going through. So what am I doing over here? I have a thirty year old son who is Autistic. His first six years were hell.I have been through the trench. I hope I can offer other parents support and maybe answer your questions. I'll talk to you soon.

[Hidden in reply to 151bill]

Welcome Bill, a HealthUnlocked veteran from across the pond! Glad you found this community too, and hope you can offer some good advice to parents in real need

[Springsong]

Hi everyone, I'm a 34yr old mum with Aspergers & Hypermobility Syndrome myself, my 3yr old daughter has Autism & is being looked at for possible hypermobility & my 20mth old daughter is being looked at for hypermobility also. Hoping to share experiences & swap tips with you all.

[Deepraj_Das]

Hello everyone,

Very interesting posting. You can get details in my profile. I am a student of Biochemistry and love to write articles and blogs on the devastating and deadly diseases. Now I am studying autism and found some interesting things which I want to make know every one.

You can check my posts here and also can go through articlesbase.com/authors/de...

It is my goal to aware people more about this genetic neuropsychiatric disorder.

Thanks,

[Bonnet]

I am a grand mother who remarried late in life to an autistic or ADD man. Don't know for sure, but I am going crazy right now and need to understand more about this possible condition. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[blacktabbycat]

Hi - Im cheryl - im 45 and 3 sons and one daughter aged between 18 and 7 - im after some advice really - i havent got a proper diagnosis for my son but have been saying since he was 7 that somethings not right - he has seen paedetricians, CAHMS (from tier 1 to tier 3) and we have just got an appointment through for a speech and language therapist - i have no idea what this is for and am pretty much fed up with the whole system to be honest - his counsellor told me that she thought he was on the spectrum and that was it.  What im concerned about it is he seems to be getting more aggressive and the way he speaks to me and his dad is really getting me down.  He has major meltdowns and tells me all the time that his life is rubbish and he hates - strong words for a 10 year old! Anyway im waffling - if anyone can point me in the right direction as to getting advice on how to cope id be most grateful!!

[gueracalichic]

Hello my name is michelle I'm a very proud aunty-dad to my jus turnin3 nephew and he was diagnosed ad " borderline autism" WTH does that mean??he said hell re evaluate him in 4 yrs Wow really that's it no instead thy hav these students come 5 days aweek for it was 2 hrs a day but thy decided 5 hrs were MRE appropriate for a 2 in a half yrs old who doesn't knw ths person so you hav to leave the room while yur child is screaming for an hour n not intetupt I'm sry that jus doesn't seem rite so I interrupted and held my nephew I was literally crying is that normal??? Somebody please help!!!!!!

[Queen-Ali-Marie]

Hello I came across this site in a desperate hope to find out what is wrong with my husband. He is 63 and we have been married 5 and a half years and his behaviour is increasingly bizarre. He is obsessive about things and seems to be constantly angry, he says the most hurtful things to me then tells me I should not take any notice of him. I feel I am getting more and more isolated from family and friends who do not understand how I can live with this.

He is also drinking a lot and has attacked me a couple of times. As I obviously do what I can to defend myself he always insists he was defending himself from me. He actually believes this. From what I have read he seems to have several issues how do I go about getting the help he needs?

[Kpickens]

Hi☺

[Jasperspace]

Hi 🙋. Diagnosed with ASD & EPILEPSY since birth 1985 recently diagnosed with BPD in 2016 after struggling with suicide & self harm.

[Racheal1980]

Hey am Racheal i have a 5 year old who is showing signs of autism after getting involved in a minor accident at 3 and half years he is now 5 years old but he only talks baby talk, he soils in his pants, he gets excited out of nowhere i am confused and deeply worried he was talking and very normal before a sharp object pierced him near his left eye but the scar has already healed but the outcome is terrifying.

[MSGSTL]

Hello!

Glad to be here! Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Level One back in June 2016. Explained a lot of things...

[elijah_effaces]

Hey, I'm Elijah. I was formally diagnosed at 11 but they tried to diagnose me in year 1, however my dad didn't want the stereotypes that come attached to the diagnosis. Originally AS, but now it's been changed to "childhood autism" which is worrying, because I don't know what'll happen to my diagnosis when I turn 18. I like maths, bass, music, animals and motorbikes and aspire to improve the system in the UK by becoming a clinical psychologist but then work my way up. Ig that's it?

[Gaia_rising]

Hello from me.

I probably ought to have drafted this out first, before launching straight in, but I know I'll end up 'answering my own question', which might be 'a good answer, but not the right answer'.

I'm a 43 year old female, with a 'complex presentation', according to the psychiatrist who gave me the autistic spectrum diagnosis last September. In addition to the autistic spectrum diagnosis, there's C-PTSD, so many physical conditions that it looks like I do my shopping at NHS direct, and Acquired Brain Injuries after a life-altering brain haemorrhage nearly 5 years ago. I'm on the waiting list for my local Neurodevelopmental Centre, to see if they have any tips, or 'life hacks' that I haven't already tried, to assist me moving forwards.

I've been bounced from pillar to post all my life within the brilliant, but catastrophically under-funded NHS, I suspect, partly due to the ASC. My communication style has confused many doctors and consultants, because I'm clear/linear/focussed, when the accepted-norm is that I ought to be 'a bit weepy'- it's OK, that GP has retired now.

I was, more or less, able to function within the ASC and C-PTSD, without blowing my own trumpet, I was genuinely phenomenal in some areas, (Hello, Spikey-profile!) with the ABI on top of everything else, the 'masking' that only occupied part of my cognitive functioning for most of my life is now a painfully exhausting process. I'm falling through the gaps in the NHS, because everything is spread-too-thin, and dysfunctionally reductive. (I'm not kidding, I'm still reeling from a review/referral last week, where the practitioner insisted I 'pick one' of my many issues, rather than look holistically at how they interlink.)

I'm awaiting the decision from PIP, after my last assessment, and I suppose that my question here is in relation to ASC and PIP. With 'just' the ABI and 'has mental health issues', I was granted a 3-year award, backdated to the date of my 2017 application. (See above, the ABI occurred in 2015, I tried to go back to work, didn't entirely go to plan.) Any advice/guidance? I'm concerned that the 'decision maker' will decide I'm fully fit for all/any work, whereas my over-analytical brain insists that throwing me into any/all employment, without regard for the sensory overloads that cause fatigue, which presents risk to self or others will be an issue.

[Teenlife]

hello = frendships while in lockdown - Essex uk. autism spectrum .. hi

[Porbander]

Hi Hello everyone, I am new to this group, my son is 25years old has autism with learning difficulties , he doesn't have any friends feeling isolated, spend his time in his bedroom his has involved himself into astrology asking them questions eg I am looking for love etc he has been calling them giving his details, I am really worried that hope he doesn't get involved into any problems. Please help I am really lost and worried

[LDAutie in reply to Porbander]

Hi Porbander, I think for people like us we need to look at using specialist groups or sites that are used only by adults with LD,whilst the covid situation is still going.

there is a social network just for adults with disabilities called ‘you belong’ unfortunately you need the app and I have it on my iPad so I don’t know if it’s on Android.

I am similar in different ways-I have classic Autism,communicate mainly with proloquo2go and I have mild LD although I am totally non sexual/non romantic so don’t care about relationships,there is places like gateway clubs or under one roof to go to to look for a relationship but these aren’t yet back running.

There is a friendship and dating agency for adults with LD but I have forgotten the name of it,it goes by two different names in south and north and costs money per year,you have to send off for a registration pack,they were first advertised on the undateables-do you want me to find the name for it? if you aren’t in Sertain areas you can only go to their meet up sessions which may mean a bit of travelling,I don’t know why.

There used to be a great social networking site for adults With learning disability called special friends online,and it cost £5 a year I think which stopped trolls,bullies, predators and a lot of other horrible people from joining. However, they then made it free and let a lot of people on who didn’t have LD as well as trolls and people joining to be nasty.

I tried making one myself aimed at all levels of LD,even if it was just for someone to press keys and feel a part of it.

with the help of my social services LD community team I created a social network just for adults with LD and carers of people with LD but it became swamped with people who were not LD,and I really struggled without people supporting me as fellow admin and moderators. The term learning disability means something different in the USA so I had lots of disabled but not LD adults joining which takes away the the point of the site and coud leave people open to abuse. I dumped it but I am going to be making another free web based social network soon for LD adults and carers.

I was nearly given funding by SS to use a special software on my network which turned each word hovered on into pictorials,the company stopped making it and you had to have a good server to run it on.

I am sorry about the amount of text I have quite bad epilepsy which has wiped out my Working and short term memory.

[Snifflez1488]

Hello my name is Angela I am a 33 year old mother of 6 amazing children 3 girls 2 have ADHD and mentally disorders, my oldest daughter also has major depression and anxiety issues. I have 3 boy all 3 have ADHD and my 7 year old son has autism, mental disabilities, and ADHD. Then my baby my 3 year old son has autism and ADHD he is non verbal he only says mommy and daddy I don’t know how bad his actually is yet but all my babies are so special and so perfect just the way they are I am here to have support from people who can relate to my life that not many people understand at all hello guys

[Icare50]

Just saying hello my name is Michelle and at this stage of my life I am in wales

[FirstCoffee]

Hi there, I’m a newby here. My daughter has had a recent diagnosis of ADHD and ASD and I’m looking for support and advice. Feel free to say hello. Thanks

[Blucher67]

Work has told me that it is my sole responsibility to fix my autism - No support in Mid-Kent (Canterbury area) - Any suggestions?

I have a doctorate in chemistry. In two meetings that were "Informal" I was reduced to that vulnerable autistic inner child. Accused of bad behaviour and intimidating because I raised my voice (I have a naturally loud voice) and I jestured to point at one of my accusers. I was lynched by the HR Consultant with the managing director and my new manager looking on.

They refused to discuss the rcommendations from the Occupational Health Company that had been commisioned. Only next month management are going on a Neuro-Diversity Course. One year after I was diagnosed as Autistic (formerly known as Aspergers). My "bad behaviour" etc... is solely my problem to resolve and they have refused to consider it is their legal obligation to give me suitable support. I am being occassionally triggered and then shammed for responding.

Does anybody know anybody to will advocate, support or say anything. I have contacted all the Autistic charities, mental health, advocacy organisations and disability action. This amounts to 26 organisations. I get we do not cover your area, not in our remit, you are employed (seems to a crime to be autistic and so unusual), too old at 55 we support up to 25 years, you are a functioning person with autism, we only deal with social care.

Thoughts and suggestions as I am at the end of the tether.

[hbanana23]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 34 year old female and think I might be autistic. I was born prematurely and had a brain haemorrhage so it's been suggested that I'm on the mild end of the spectrum but I never really thought about it until recently.

I was at an appointment and the guy I saw said he's autistic and he thinks I am as well. It makes a lot of sense but I'm finding the idea quite scary as I have so many medical labels already! I've always found life extra challenging and hard to navigate, don't have anyone who I'd call a close friend and I think I might be quite adept at masking.

I'm interested to learn more and read about other ladies' experiences.