Only took me 34 years...

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...to seek out like-minded individuals, but here I am. Hi!

I'm Heather. I'm 34 years old. I work in IT for a living at a pretty large, well-known company, on their cloud infrastructure. Hobbies include knitting (crafts of all sorts, really) and Olympic weightlifting. Current official diagnoses - ADHD (inattentive), major depressive disorder, panic disorder. I suspect I've been an Aspie for my entire life, but I didn't have access to mental health care as a child, and I haven't yet brought up the topic with my therapist or psychiatrist.

For as long as I can remember I've felt different than most folks. I never understood a lot of what the other kids were saying. I was too literal, too awkward, too shy. A lot of things that came out of my mouth had zero tact. I got upset over changes in plans - my mother even told me a story once how I got upset in kindergarten because we had an assembly instead of the math class that usually took place. My favorite things as a kid were logic puzzles, and drawing geometric patterns. I even had a coloring book of geometric patterns. I spent hours on that thing.

I feel like I've improved considerably over the years, but still have a long way to go. I'm in a happy relationship (we're celebrating 1 year together in a week!), and he completely understands my mannerisms, but often still calls me out on them - especially the lack of tact and empathy. I still struggle with speech sometimes. My vocabulary is extensive, but one of two things happens - either my brain goes too fast for my mouth and I end up blending words together when I speak, or I stop dead in my tracks unable to articulate the thoughts that I'm trying to get across. The latter often ends up in frustration and tears.

I decided on a whim to join the forums today, because I'm at home with not much else to do. I'm recovering from shoulder surgery and thus have had a lot of time to ruminate. Most of it tended towards myself, and how to improve. I figured a place full of like-minded individuals was a good place to start. I'm grateful that a place like this exists!!

Welcome here!

It's not uncommon for ASD to be mis-diagnosed as any one or more of those you've listed.
I would encourage you to read lots of books, and get another diagnosis from a specialist in Autism and Asperger?s.

And welcome.

PS: Asperger's only became a formaly diagnosable condition in 1990. Prior to that, you would have been found to have (ADHD (inattentive), major depressive disorder, panic disorder.)

Hey bofhgirl welcome.

Thank you all for the welcome!

Hi, I've just joined. I have had the feeling of being different all my life. I've suffered from depression since my childhood...in kindergarten...I preferred to play alone and didn't enjoy group activities. I've always been very shy...it's improved with age! I feel very much at home in this forum!