Hi from new mexico

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Hello
Coming in from the cold rather late I suppose. When I was diagnosed ten years ago, there was nothing like this, just sites talking about this "devastating disease" that (presumably) only affected children.

Speaking of, I was personally devastated for awhile. Not about autism, not really, just of the confirmation that something was fundamentally "wrong" with me (as I'd suspected of course) that wasn't curable. I was pretty ignorant. Like I said, there wasn't much out there in those days.

Maybe I should rephrase that. Even ignorant as I was, I didn't want to be cured even then. I intuited that I wouldn't be me anymore. Weirdness and all, I like who I am. I guess I was hoping there'd be a pill to take the edge off or something.

Coming to terms with the dx was productive. I had "permission" to formalize the direction my tendencies were driving my career. It was OKAY for me to work solo via the web. I learned to ask for accommodations when I needed them (from clients when traveling etc). One on one, I've been pleased with people's willingness. At first my disclosure (I'm "out") put people off for a couple of years. They thought I was mentally ill (not that that is mutually exclusive of course) so my sales were affected. Now that more people know about it, they don't seem to care. The only annoyance I have with others is when they send me the latest on cures. Ugh. I've developed a tactful autoresponder for those emails.

It's hard to explain what I do easily. I'm a pattern maker (read: product design/materials/industrial engineer) in the garment industry. To my dismay, I don't make many patterns these days because accidentally along the way, I became a writer. I write about manufacturing. I wrote a book that's often described as the "blue book" of the apparel industry. Then I started blogging (over three years now). I'm fairly well known in the trade. Many (auties and NTs alike) have described me as "the temple grandin" of the fashion industry. It's not really true tho. I'm not known as a famous autistic. I'm prominent for what I do, not what I am.

Personal stuff:
I am female, soon to be 47, remarried (my ex divorced me once he realized I couldn't be cured; at least he admitted it) to an engineer who is not AS but shares sufficient characteristics to enjoy my differences. He is endlessly amused with them. He is quite good natured and accepting. I have one child who is 21, a boy, PDD-NOS with other problems. His father (I've been married three times) developed schizophrenia and my son has it too. At times, it is difficult to sort the PDD from the schizophrenia. The boy isn't as high functioning either because of an injury (brain was oxygen deprived). He is sufficiently competent to get into trouble but not enough to get himself out. Iow, it is highly unlikely he'll live independently.

I've been a crunchy-granola sustainability freak for 35 years, a vegetarian off and on for the last 25 years but permanently so for the past eight years. I read a lot, mostly non-fiction (econ, industrial engineering, apparel related) but what fiction I do read is science fiction (naturally). I am not well educated. I never finished high school. I used to be morbidly obese. I lost 150 lbs, over 20 years ago by selling my car and buying a bicycle. I still ride a bike to work every day.

My perseveration is anthropometry. I collect data sets from all eras, anecdotal and empirical. I'm considered to be an international authority on women's body sizes. I'm also into something too arcane to explain. I describe it as ourobus pattern drafting. Really, anything mind-numbingly complex. I like to make patterns for styles that require over 150 pattern pieces. Obviously, few of these are manufactured! I'm also obsessed with women's hand sizes. I enjoy people watching and analyzing at a glance if they're right or left handed, drive a stick shift or automatic, or have broken a bone (and which it was).

I have some weird research related questions about clothing to pose on the forums so I thought I should introduce myself first.

Welcome to WP!

hi to new mexico.

Howdy! Welcome to the forums!

Welcome...44 and recently DXed here. Interesting sounding career, that has been the most difficult asect of being AS for me, still trying to find my nitch. Hope you enjoy the site.

Welcome,

It sounds like fun to me.

Welcome! Actually, we have already met on your site! I've only been here for a few weeks myself, but have learned quite a lot in already.

Welcome kathleenf,

Good to see you married an Engineer... (not that I'm one though I nearly was).

Anyway, engineers seem to have very compatible personalities with aspies.

Also, it's quite interesting how you've found a special interest that affords you a good career.. better than some of mine since it's hard to make a caree out of a TV Show. At least I have computing to fall back on.

anyway - Welcome!

Hi kathleenf welcome to the "right" planet..

I was diagnosed only last year 49 now and a little shocked at first, but then came a wonderful sense of knowing and understanding as things in my life begun to make sense... my older son has now been diagnosed and we are both very happy and proud apsies..

Schizophrenia one of those words that people find harder to say even than autism.. so misunderstood. Have know some amazing people with schizophrenia, bipolar when growing up, its what people use to be diagnosed with years ago instead of autism. To me autism is in the cent re of a huge web and surrounded with many associated conditions schizophrenia being one of them.

Someone I know back in the UK has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and know how hard it can be to have anyone labelled with it, a huge part of that is because of all the bad press and a huge lack of real understanding, just like autism.

Nice to meet you, kathleenf.

Ha! Inventor beat me to it... yeah, what you wrote sounds really cool.

Plus I like New Mexico.
I lived in El Paso, Texas for many years several times and ventured into New Mexico quite a lot!

My favorite drive going back home is to drive I40 through Flagstaff... I like that town.

I do like the Southern parts too... Silver City, the Gila Wilderness, Hatch.

I took a dive class once and we did our 'open water' dive at the Blue Hole.

OH.. and WELCOME!

Hi.
Welcome to WrongPlanet.

To WrongPlanet!! !

Hi again
How weird I never got notification of responses. I was feeling a little left out.

I also sent Alex $50 in support of the site. If he acknowledged it, I haven't gotten that either. I thought I was supposed to get some kind of badge.

~sigh~

Hope everyone is having a relaxing holiday.

I actually sent Alex a check and never saw any notice of him receiving it other than it getting cashed

That's okay though. I'm fine without a banner or attention.

How's things in the Land of Enchantment?
Been out enchanting anyone lately?