I am almost 70. I have meowed, mooed and other sounds all my life. Recently I have found out that I have ADHD and some Autism as well. I am getting assessed.
It’s kind of a running joke in my family that I’m on the spectrum.
I mentioned getting an assessment to my wife, and she made what I felt was a pretty strong argument against it. Essentially that at 56 years old it wouldn’t change anything, and it would be time, effort, and money spent with no gain.
I’m wondering what you are expecting to achieve with your assessment.
Getting an ADHD diagnosis opens you up for medical help. Getting an autism diagnosis can to in some places. In some states you’ll get state sponsored healthcare. Depending on your needs of course.
I agree with this, and by all means healthcare should be provided if that is what you need. However, there’s a bunch to be said that if you’ve developed a bunch of coping mechanisms that fix or address certain aspects, that getting medicated could completely fuck up your flow of what you used to do and now need to learn new ways to deal with things with medication. But knowledge is power, but I don’t always agree that if you’ve lived 50 years unmedicated, and then getting medicated is always the answer but it absolutely should be available.
Yeah, it’s never a “have to”, or even a should. What I found is I’ve gotten older, is that my coping mechanisms didn’t hold up over time. Medication was right for me. That’s not going to be everyone though.
Being the child of silent generation parents and way older siblings I was just the weird kid. Always being told there was something wrong with me but never did anything about it. Once I got older I was just called quirky and uncle nutsy by my nieces and nephews. I first found out I have aphantasia and anendophasia only 3-4 years ago and reading all the younger folks stuff on reddit and here I figured maybe that is why I was the way I was. Asked my wife and doctor and they said well yes of course you are on the spectrum.
The hell if I know. Not a clue. It is my biggest question about them. I do think as I am typing and responding to you and all the other stuff I do but it is just there.
I kind of equate it to having a filing cabinet. And in that filing cabinet are tons of folders and I just refer to each one of them even though I don’t see them or know what’s in them. Both aphantasia and anendophasia are relatively new in their research. Some of it I read makes sense a lot does not.
I had a bad habit of making “boredom noises” for years until someone pointed it out and I had to start working on it. Turns out the technical term is “verbal stimming” and it’s definitely tied to either of those.
I hear that, but I deserve for my nervous system to be regulated, too. Just because clicking a pen calms someone down doesn’t mean they should do it at the expense of everyone else’s focus in an office setting, and the same goes for all stims. Situational awareness isn’t something to discourage
It becomes less problematic over time. Without learning how to mask or developing coping skills, life will just be harder in the long run. My career would certainly be less successful if I did not develop coping skills. Burnout can be avoided by finding healthy outlets and enforcing personal time to relax and recover.
I am almost 70. I have meowed, mooed and other sounds all my life. Recently I have found out that I have ADHD and some Autism as well. I am getting assessed.
It’s kind of a running joke in my family that I’m on the spectrum.
I mentioned getting an assessment to my wife, and she made what I felt was a pretty strong argument against it. Essentially that at 56 years old it wouldn’t change anything, and it would be time, effort, and money spent with no gain.
I’m wondering what you are expecting to achieve with your assessment.
Also, meow.
I’ve been peer reviewed, but I’ve never bothered with a diagnosis
I just don’t see the point. I’m already officially neurodivergent, and there’s no treatment options that open to me with an autism diagnosis
If saw a reason, I’d get tested. But I don’t need a label for the sake of a label
Know thyself.
Getting an ADHD diagnosis opens you up for medical help. Getting an autism diagnosis can to in some places. In some states you’ll get state sponsored healthcare. Depending on your needs of course.
Gnothi seauton!
I learned who I was. And I would have been a slob even if I hadn’t.
I agree with this, and by all means healthcare should be provided if that is what you need. However, there’s a bunch to be said that if you’ve developed a bunch of coping mechanisms that fix or address certain aspects, that getting medicated could completely fuck up your flow of what you used to do and now need to learn new ways to deal with things with medication. But knowledge is power, but I don’t always agree that if you’ve lived 50 years unmedicated, and then getting medicated is always the answer but it absolutely should be available.
Yeah, it’s never a “have to”, or even a should. What I found is I’ve gotten older, is that my coping mechanisms didn’t hold up over time. Medication was right for me. That’s not going to be everyone though.
Being the child of silent generation parents and way older siblings I was just the weird kid. Always being told there was something wrong with me but never did anything about it. Once I got older I was just called quirky and uncle nutsy by my nieces and nephews. I first found out I have aphantasia and anendophasia only 3-4 years ago and reading all the younger folks stuff on reddit and here I figured maybe that is why I was the way I was. Asked my wife and doctor and they said well yes of course you are on the spectrum.
So if you don’t think in words and also not in images… How do you think? I’m curious because I can’t imagine thinking without either of those.
The hell if I know. Not a clue. It is my biggest question about them. I do think as I am typing and responding to you and all the other stuff I do but it is just there. I kind of equate it to having a filing cabinet. And in that filing cabinet are tons of folders and I just refer to each one of them even though I don’t see them or know what’s in them. Both aphantasia and anendophasia are relatively new in their research. Some of it I read makes sense a lot does not.
I had a bad habit of making “boredom noises” for years until someone pointed it out and I had to start working on it. Turns out the technical term is “verbal stimming” and it’s definitely tied to either of those.
It wasn’t a bad habit dude, it was just your natural way of regulating your nervous system
I hear that, but I deserve for my nervous system to be regulated, too. Just because clicking a pen calms someone down doesn’t mean they should do it at the expense of everyone else’s focus in an office setting, and the same goes for all stims. Situational awareness isn’t something to discourage
True, accomodations that fit everyone must be made, but they shouldn’t consider a natural reaction to being neurodivergent a “bad habit to quit”.
We all have to wear masks, my guy. It takes a lot of effort to not be “the weird guy” at work.
But does it, in the end, take less effort than constantly fighting yourself?
Life isn’t a choice between easy and hard, it’s mostly a choice between hard now or way harder later.
It becomes less problematic over time. Without learning how to mask or developing coping skills, life will just be harder in the long run. My career would certainly be less successful if I did not develop coping skills. Burnout can be avoided by finding healthy outlets and enforcing personal time to relax and recover.
Congrats on discovering your membership to the Cool Kids’ Club! :D We’re glad to have you.
Meow!