New Diagnosis

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Hi everyone.

Newly diagnosed, as the title says. I'm really choking on one aspect of it, though: they designated me as level 3.

I am independent adult with a family, have worked everything from corporate office to secret clearance jobs. Granted, I've had significant issues in that arena (always have immaculate work and hard skills, but tend to get fired after bumping heads with a higher up) nonetheless, I can't seem to wrap my head around this.

Also incredulous because I've been in psychiatric care since I was a child, and don't understand how something like this could be missed for so long. Although, to be fair, it appears to have been seen, just misdiagnosed. (ADHD, ODD, catatonic features, etc)

The one thing that has made a tremendous difference, and instills hope like I cannot express- I finally understand why I get so upset over lies (especially those 'little white lies') and the unnecessary but intentional ambiguity in conversation.

There is a whole community of people out there that also rigidly stick to factual, logical information and truth; who also believe many of the social rules are silly and counterproductive and create so much more trouble than needed?!

I was getting in trouble in school for wearing sunglasses indoors, insisting that the lights were too bright, and the school was just sure I was up to something nefarious.

To be able to say, ah, there really is a reason! In fact, I can relay that experience to someone in the autistic community and they will likely instantly understand exactly what I'm talking about.

The relief there is...wow!

Anyways, interests include animals, art, history (ancient Egypt, Greece, Celts, Picts, Gauls, WWII, Cossacks, Tudor England, etc), languages and etymology, pretty much anything philosophy, mythology, or theology related. Politics, currents events. Cooking. Martial arts.

My idea of a good time is going down the rabbit hole trying to debunk a conspiracy theory.

Glad to be here!

yes, what a relief! It throws the past into a different perspective. So many "aha" moments. Those "levels" we are assigned are meant to help us with getting help if we need it, but are misleading because autism causes all of us to have varying performance in different areas we are tested for... brilliant sometimes in some ways and dismal in others. Its a lot to sort, over time it does get easier. glad you are with us!

Welcome to WP! I hope you like the company here.

And, from what you said, I also don't understand how you could be called Level 3. I wonder if they are assuming an extreme level of practical support from your spouse.

I was diagnosed Level 1. I'd been living on my own for more than 20 years before I got married. I was getting a long just fine...though my future bride's jaw dropped the first time she visited my home. She had planned to cook a meal for me, until she saw my kitchen. It easily met my needs (I could go in there and in a few minutes get a meal I liked). Her assessment was that it was empty and she'd have to bring everything!

But, hey, I may not have lived like an NT but I was doing just fine. (And I miss the unclutteredness I used to have.)

Thank you for the welcomes. Seems like it'llbe good company around here

It must be along those lines. I'm thinking they must have been factoring in a lifetime of case management, psychiatric care, hospital stays, medication and all that jazz.

And severe sleep and stimming issues. I've been on what sometimes feels like every otc and rx sleep med under the sun, and still stay up for days at a time no matter what I do. Can't stay still.

Oh, and seizures from sensory overload. Or at least appears to be connected. The old cause or correlation riddle.



And to think, some couples fight over the which way the toilet paper goes. That's actually a really cute story.

Impressive that you were independent for 20 years. I'm probably going off stereotypes of autism though tbh..?

My husband installed two sets of overhead LED lights in the kitchen. Did it completely by himself and he was so, so proud.
He realized over time I'd started cooking with the lights off. Didn't want to hurt his feelings when he asked, but told him they were too bright, and the one was too loud.

Created a funny situation where we both thought the other was pulling our leg, where he didn't believe anyone could hear lights, and I didn't believe he, or anyone, couldn't.

So I googled it. First result was about how yes, humans can hear electricity (for all intents and purposes; there's more to it than that) but that most NTs automatically filter it out. And then it talked about autism, and the lightbulb went on. No pun intended, lol.

The bad news is our kitchen is now an avalanche hazard zone. In general I'm afraid to touch anything not on the "Husband Food" shelf or in the few square refrigerator inches set aside for things I use.

The good news is she likes to cook and I like to eat.

Welcome!

Your experience is not unusual.

Women have an easier time hiding autism than men.
Many times they aren't diagnosed until one of their kids are diagnosed.
Then the connection gets made...

Welcome!

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

Welcome! It is such a relief. So glad you have some answers now. Have fun on the site.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome! The level 3 thing does seem odd. Overall sounds like a good thing though!

Welcome!

I read this first:

And thought to myself: I'll bet she's a woman. Then I looked over at your profile, and sure enough.

Give yourself a lot of credit (and probably your spouse too) for managing to cope so well without the accommodations that would have helped, thanks to being misdiagnosed your entire life. It's exhausting. Lay that burden down.

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

You wrote, "I finally understand why I get so upset over lies (especially those 'little white lies') and the unnecessary but intentional ambiguity in conversation."

Let me try and explain this. Humans brains have two sides, one on the left and one on the right side. The left side is dominant. As we grow up, our right side will normally become our sleep time brain. It exist in REM and NREM sleep states. Our brain has two sides with a little interconnecting tissue in between.

But humans are much more complex then almost anything that has ever existed on our planet or any planet in the known universe. It is because we have multiple beings inside us. Sometimes things happen during early childhood (before age 11 or 12) and we die. Sometimes it happens even before we are born. Our right brain is given a choice to exist. I died when a large bull struck me around age 3. It was like being attacked by a dinosaur. I stood next to my dead body and saw my parents in utter fear for loosing me. But I came back from death. My right side of my brain came back and became my primary brain. This brain is so much different then my left side brain. It was like it exploded in knowledge ability. But also what came with it was many strange broken parts. Normally these parts are discarded when we transition from childhood into adulthood. But if we do not make that transition, they remain. So I have many quirks.

You mentioned about wearing sun glasses in the daytime. I do that also. But I wear a strange sort of sunglasses. It is similar to the sunglasses the police wear. The lenses only permit light to pass through to my eyes if the lite is horizontal or vertical. All the other angles are blocked. I can walk indoors with these glasses and there is very little loss of light. But no one can see my eyes. They are one way glasses.

Let's see, what was the point. LITTLE WHITE LIES. The right side sees life only in terms of True and False. The left side of the brain sees everything in terms of various shades of truth. In a way from the left brain side, everything can fall anywhere along the stream of true and false.

I look outside and there is a few drops of rain falling from the sky. I tell my wife its raining outside. She says no. For her it has to be coming down in buckets for you to call it rain. To her it is just a sprinkle. For some people it must be a flood for them to consider it a rain. The left side of the brain measures everything in a thousand shades of gray. There is no black and white but rather just somewhere on the spectrum of grays.

Welcome to WP