This week’s story is another anonymous contribution:
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to stay anonymous due to the fact that my workplace isn’t ready to find out. And I think they’d better never find out.”
I enjoy nature, arts and literature. I also like butterflies (see my painting above). They are like some Aspies, very sensitive and unstable, but soft and pretty in disguise.
Anonymous Diagnosis Story: From Larva to Beautiful Butterfly
This week’s diagnosis story comes from Sara. Sara is a 27-year-old Autistic woman with a degree in Intercultural Communication who taught English in Japan from 2014-2017. She writes, “Seeking Sara,” where she explores life on the Spectrum. Sara lives in the United States where she enjoys some of her special interests like reading, writing, studying Japanese, and taking pictures of flowers.
I wasn’t “less Autistic,” just coping with things better and going through a time when my traits weren’t as noticeable–even to myself.
If you haven’t already, please read my blog post “13: Women and Girls” to better understand this post!
Welp, here it is!
Today is the day that I share my news with friends and family via Facebook. I was originally going to share my blog with everyone on Friday, but I’m too anxious to wait another day. *tries not to vomit*
One major reason I started this blog was to have a vehicle to come out to people about being diagnosed as Autistic. Masking my Autism has become so incredibly tiring and I’m really burnt out. I also feel like I’m hiding such a huge part of myself from the people I care about! (See: 6: Why I’m Writing This Blog for more on that.) I’ve been feeling pretty lonely and isolated lately and I want that to end.
Today’s story is another anonymous contribution. The reason is again for fear of damage to professional reputation in a world that is still not ready to accept the strengths of autism.
It seemed that even in this day and age, disclosure so early on in my career might have unfortunate repercussions and I was advised to consider the impact this may have on my career … the irony for me was that the one thing that helped me perform above others in my field was the same thing I had been gently advised to keep hidden away.
the more adept I became at camouflaging, the more I suffered with social hangovers
Driving home I was at the end of my rope. I’d HAD IT with the world! I was completely over it all. I wanted to just give up now, collapse right here, and never get up again…. pretty extreme stuff… Continue reading →
AWEgust for AWEtism is a month-long campaign run by the I CAN Network which raises funds to support peer to peer mentoring in high schools. It aims to bring out the AWE in AWEtism by encouraging us to take on a personal challenge and move past the self-limiting beliefs that hold us back.
Last year for AWEgust I shaved my head live on camera – leaving behind the dreadlocks that had been my safety blanket for nearly 15 years. This year my new challenge is to run a half-marathon. This is another seemingly ridiculous goal that I never thought I would be able to do… Continue reading →
When I first shared with some close friends that my next blog entry was going to be called “Rejection is the story of my life” a common reaction was something like:
“Is that really true? I mean, you have friends. People care about you. I’m sure you often feel rejected but is it really your defining experience?”
Well actually, if I had to name the defining Aspergers experience, rejection might very well be at the top of the list. Continue reading →
In Australia this is such a common greeting. Hey, how’s it going? How’s things? Most of the time the socially acceptable reply is… “good”. Most of the time conforming to this little ritual is not a problem for me. It feels natural, simple and effortless. It’s the times when I cannot honestly answer ‘good’ that things get tricky. Continue reading →
I have this constant feeling that I have to prove myself. I’m so aware of my own weaknesses. I’m so aware of the ‘special considerations’ that I often ask of people. I’m so aware of how much trust it takes Continue reading →
Aspergers From The Inside 