Adults On The Autism Spectrum

Posted by Mamacita, Alumna Mentor @mamacita, Apr 29, 2018

Maybe you were really shy as a child. Perhaps you took home a huge stack of books from the school library, read them, and returned them the next day. Or did your best friend find you crying in your closet, unable to answer the question "Why?" At any rate, your life could be traced to the Self-Help section of the local bookstore. Unfortunately, most of the books were not much help. ADHD seemed to fit, at times. Your shrink said you might be Bi-Polar, although she wasn't really certain. All you knew was that you rarely fit in, anywhere. One day at work, it hit you square in the face: I don't speak these people's language! Really, it was like you were all playing this game, and everyone knew the rules but you. You couldn't tell a joke, and you never "got" any joke your co-worker tried to tell you. People started getting annoyed with you, because you had a memory like a steel trap. They didn't appreciate it when you called them on the carpet. Who knew? This was my life, and worse. I finally aced several tests that pointed me to the answer to my questions. The Autism Spectrum. Guess what? Little kids with Autism grow up to be Adults with Autism. Diagnosed late in life? This is the place for you!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Autism (ASD) Support Group.

@sirgalahad

I have almost joined Mamacita I have cellulitis from my lymphademea and just spent 5 hours getting to work

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@sirgalahad So sorry to hear you have cellulitis. Ouch! Hope you are able to get a quick reprieve from it.
Ginger

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Good afternoon everyone. Hope you all are having a lovely day.

I just returned from a CRNP appointment. She was kind and understanding. She is starting me back on flexeril at night, and Lyrica twice a day. At night, at first. To minimize any possible drowsiness or dizziness.

Nothing has worked for my Fibro pain since our vacation. That was in July. So I guess you could say I am a happy camper

Watching the movie Wonder with the Hubmeister. The tears are ruining my perfectly good make up.

Have a good day folks.

Love and light.

Mamacita Jane

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@gingerw

@sirgalahad So sorry to hear you have cellulitis. Ouch! Hope you are able to get a quick reprieve from it.
Ginger

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@sirgalahad, I don't know how they treat cellulitis in Australia. Here in Alabama they give various antibiotics and even sometimes perform surgery if the infection is bad enough.

Bless your heart! If it's not one thing, it's another. I trust you are taking good care and resting well after work. Lots of tasty fluids and hot soup to warm your bones. Snow in September is something I will most likely never see. But it sounds wonderful.

Not too thrilling when we become adults and have to trudge through it to get to work at the crack of dawn. Maybe you could take a couple of days off?

Please let us know how you are faring Down Under . Australia and we here are made all the better for having you with us.

Healing hugs and prayers sent your way.
Mamacita Jane

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@lisalucier

@mamacita - I'm very sorry to hear about this exclusion and pain you've endured. You are indeed a gem, and appreciated by many here on Connect. You are very real about life's challenges and how they affect you, yet you also consistently carry a sparkle of optimism.

Is Sir Arthur arthritis?

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@Lisalisalucier , you are very kind. I appreciate your words very much.

I cannot speak for everyone on the Spectrum. But I am sensitive. And friends mean a lot to me. It really hurt that I had made a least a few new friends and then there was suddenly no way to explain to them why I will never be back.

If I hadn't been coming out of a deep depression, it might not have mattered so much. They switched my meds and now I am on the ones that should really work the best with my particular chemistry.

Transparency breeds healing. For this reason I choose to be open about my circumstances. To help remove the stigma.

Thank you again for your compassion.

Mamacita Jane

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@mamacita, Good afternoon. I had hoped to note that everything was sunshine and roses for you by now. You are definitely worthy of positive regard no matter what happened or who made it happen. I have had some experience with this attempt to communicate. So here's the story. You knew I would have one because at 77 everyone has a lifetime of stories that seem to fit any situation.

So here's the story....for real this time. In 1998 I founded a non-profit art alliance to support performing and visual artists and their work in a mountain tourist town. At this point, it is phenomenally successful and I left it to fly on its own. In the beginning, visual artists thought there was too much emphasis on the galleries. At the annual meeting, their spokesperson stood up and read 5 pages of their complaints and demands. Boy was I caught flat-footed. The next thing was supposed to be me hanging in effigy in the center of town. I was flabbergasted and sad. Not angry. The board decided to proceed and I was stil the President but I never was able to sit down and have a conversation with the artist leaders. I just let my behavior speak for me.

Have a big dose of self-compassion today. Chris

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Oh my goodness, Chris Trout,@artscaping. That sure beats the stuffing out of my brush with the grand dames of southern society.

Thank you for telling it. Thank you for enduring it and coming out on the other side. All of these things that happen seem so unfair when they are right in front of us.

But later , given enough time, we understand that life just isn't fair. It sounds trite, but we win some and we lose some. My run in with the leader of the group and her assistant was something I will no doubt forget easily as time goes by.

And just maybe I will learn how to navigate the waters of social behavior a little better. We can hope.

Mamacita Jane

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Wednesday. Lazy day. Hump day. Getting used to Lyrica day. Beating myself up for surviving day. Guess I will have to bring that one up to the counselor tomorrow. When you are grateful for having survived. But you feel guilty because so many did not.

You can only do what you are able to do. Sometimes, yes, you can push through and do the unimaginable. But you cannot make anyone do anything.

Today was a good day. So much less pain. I hope everyone has a good evening.

Love and light,
Mamacita Jane

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Thank you for your thoughtful, meaningful post, @mamacita. Your reminder that "you cannot make anyone do anything" was a good one. I have often wasted a lot of energy trying to change someone else, or trying to get them to "see things my way."

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@hopeful33250

Thank you for your thoughtful, meaningful post, @mamacita. Your reminder that "you cannot make anyone do anything" was a good one. I have often wasted a lot of energy trying to change someone else, or trying to get them to "see things my way."

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@teresa, Volunteer Mentor, other people have been instrumental in changing me. By being honest, encouraging, by sharing stories of their own life experiences. By friending me, lifting me up, and showing me light and love

I've learned a thing or two. Enough to know that I need to learn a thing or two!

Today was a no pain day for me. First time in months. What a blessed gift!

Good evening to all. Hope to catch you all tomorrow.

Mamacita Jane

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@mamacita

@teresa, Volunteer Mentor, other people have been instrumental in changing me. By being honest, encouraging, by sharing stories of their own life experiences. By friending me, lifting me up, and showing me light and love

I've learned a thing or two. Enough to know that I need to learn a thing or two!

Today was a no pain day for me. First time in months. What a blessed gift!

Good evening to all. Hope to catch you all tomorrow.

Mamacita Jane

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Have a good night 😴

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