← Return to Experiences With Autism

Discussion

Experiences With Autism

Autism (ASD) | Last Active: Nov 8, 2022 | Replies (15)

Comment receiving replies
@auntieoakley

When I was finally diagnosed, I found out why I walked on my toes when I was young. I don’t anymore due to extreme disapproval from family, but I found it interesting to know.
I learned about stimming, no I don’t do this just to annoy others. Lol
I was surprised to learn that hyper focused learning isn’t really unique.
I am not the only one that tunes out everything while I consume every available scrap of information I can find about a topic before moving on to the next. My head is full of useless information. Hahahaa . I am really good at trivia.
I was surprised but happy to understand many of the ways I interact or don’t interact with others. In the years since, I still struggle with giving myself permission to participate differently or not at all.
Anyone else have these?

Jump to this post


Replies to "When I was finally diagnosed, I found out why I walked on my toes when I..."

Yes, I have a good measure of many features Chris mentioned. Rather than trivia I excelled in finding lost things. I was the family go to whenever any thing got misplaced. I can remember finding a lost ring in a large vacant lot of sand on a island for a neighbor as a child too. My ability in this arena has diminished as years march on sadly.

I was always a collector of all things trivia however, and amassed an impressive rock collection in my youth that my parents allowed me to keep when we moved (poor movers). I even have a folder of photos of neighbors I have found over the years in places like inside books in a neighborhood book exchange box. I plan to make a collage out of them. I have collected my family's cast-offs over the years to the point they avoid giving them to me now. I repurpose them as a hobby, a sibling says I am very good a repurposing things.

Writing and spelling has always been a struggle for me. I was diagnosed with dyslexia first. I am able to look at a word and know I have misspelled it though. Overall, I have used avenues such as I've mentioned to fill my days, avoiding writing and interacts with others often. But now due to the pandemic less interactions is no longer considered out of place!