Hello everyone, I am new here and I am so glad this group is here. I have spent most of my life as an actor. Not a paid actor, but an actor so I could fit in with society. It was only a few years ago that I found out why I had to be such an actor. It was my daughter that was the first to recognize what was going on. She was in college studying Pharmacy and came home one day and just told me. "Dad, I believe you have asperger's". I laughed because I thought she was trying to be funny. Then she said, "No dad, I am serious!" I denied it, but she told me to just look it up and think about it. I did what she said and researched the subject and suddenly my whole life made sense. After taking some tests, I found out that what my daughter said was true. It took me until I was 50 years old to figure out why I felt so different from everyone else. I am relieved and I am quite comfortable now with who I am, I just wish I could have found this out when I was young. I am glad that autism awareness is up and more people are being diagnosed at an early age. Life can be very awkward and embarrassing at times for someone on the spectrum, especially if they are not aware that they are on the spectrum.
Anyway, again I would like to say hello and thanks for having me in this group!
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Hello. I am also new to this group and am also relieved to find such a community. So for the moment I feel happy almost to the point of weeping. Over a span of 30 years I twice took the MMPI (Minnesota Multi Phasic Personality Inventory) and never heard any word of Aspergers until about 10 years ago when I just happened upon a newspaper article on the subject. My psychiatrist diagnosed me with depression several years ago. But when I recently asked him if I were on the spectrum he said "No, you would never have [maniaged to have] been in a relationship if you had Aspergers." I had indeed been married for 4 years a long time ago. So today I am inspired to look for the reason that I too have felt like an "actor" in my everyday life. Thank you for being here.
Jonathan1
Level 2
July 22, 2018
0
I applaud you for being open to hearing what your daughter told you. Not just listening to her, but also for actually hearing her and progressing from there. That was very brave of you, and probably very scary. I'm also glad you found this group. Welcome.
ArgosFriend
Level 7
Apr 27, 2018
2
Thank you. I am always good at researching things so all my daughter had to do was plant the seed. She did that by saying she thought I had Asperger's. She really didn't have to say anything else. Even though I thought she was joking at the time, just by saying that, I would have been on the internet as soon as she left researching Asperger's. She did more than plant the seed. She told me that the way I will repeat sentences , my extensive knowledge in astronomy and astrophysics, and my social difficulties were signs I may have Asperger's. She told me to just look it up and think about it. I read a lot about it, I watched a lot of YouTube videos from professionals and from those with Asperger's and realized that was the only thing that really made sense. I am in good company though, there are a lot of famous people on the spectrum so I am cool with it. I just wished it didn't take 50 years to find this out.
Welcome to the group. It's good to hear that your diagnosis has helped you make some sense of what's gone before. For some though it opens a can of worms (apologies for the analogy, they don't always make sense to someone with ASC) I started this group because my eldest daughter has Aspergers and I work with adults with autism so wanted somewhere for people to go to vent/talk/find out...whatever they need. And also for me to try and understand the condition better from the experts, those that have the condition 
ipdg77
Level 8
Apr 27, 2018
1
Welcome, finally diagnosed at 28.
TaraMarshall
Level 7
Apr 27, 2018
3
Thanks, I was so relieved to finally know.
Welcome StewartIrvin, I am sure that you will enjoy the community, people here are very kind and understanding.
Woodron
Level 7
Apr 27, 2018
2
Thanks, this does seem to be a great site! I am glad I found it. I am also very happy to have found this group.
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