So are any of you closeted about your autism?

Post Reply New Topic

I don't t tell anyone about it. Maybe if we were talking about special education and our personal lives and what we were through as children, then maybe. I would mention about being diagnosed with it.

No - not closeted. Don't write "Aspergers" on my forehead but I'm not closeted.

This is not information that I share with others because I fail to see how it's any of their business.

Immediately after I was diagnosed, I decided to share my diagnosis (which, at the time was Aspergers) with several people -- including my wife, parents, siblings, an uncle, a cousin, a lifelong friend and 2 former work colleagues. I was keenly interested in discussing this (my diagnosis) with others as I wanted to gauge their reaction (because, at the time, I had some doubts). Anyways, I quickly learned that they were simply not interested in discussing this topic. So, I dropped it.

Nowadays, I don?t discuss my diagnosis with many people (other than my wife, my kids, my therapist and, most recently, an autism researcher).

I am interested in meeting other people with autism (if you call that ?coming out of the closet?). I felt an instant affinity with the autism researcher that I recently met (who also is on the spectrum). Though, I am not certain if this is because we are both on the spectrum or because we both share the same special interest (autism/psychology).

Count me in with the crowd that doesn't keep it a secret, but doesn't advertise it either. I am more open about my bipolar, because I think that is the catalyst that drives most of my issues. I think AS is a secondary issue.

I don't like telling people that I was diagnosed with autism because I'm not entirely sure if that's the right diagnosis. Even if it is, it's definitely not my main issue. When people hear about autism they probably automatically assume that's the main issue. I've also had some negative experiences telling people. They often end up treating me like I'm younger, telling other people without permission, and they just stop understanding me. The people that didn't react like that didn't really need to know anyways.

I don't want to be treated differently from everyone else and I hate pity parties so I don't tell. Hardly anyone really needs to know. People do find or figure it out and that is their deal however my personal presentation and interaction with them don't include anything about AS.

I don't tell many people, because of some bad experiences I have had telling people. Especially my mother. For most of my childhood, my mother was constantly telling me to "just be normal", and when I had some trouble with ways I was different, she would say "everybody is a little different, you are not the only one". She would also say that I should "stop acting like my father". They were divorced when I was young, on bad terms, and my dad's side of the family has had a history of autism. Many people I know on that side of the family have autistic traits.

So, you can imagine my mom's reaction when I told her I had been diagnosed with autism. I only brought it up once. The same has gone for some acquaintances that used to be friends, as well as my sister. The response that I have gotten is that I basically need to just grow up or get ahold of myself and stop acting this way. That I am just being stubborn by not being like everyone else.

Do they think that the many years of depression and self-destructive behavior I went through were something I could just snap my fingers and turn off? They didn't feel the anguish and alienation of growing up in an environment where there were strict expectations to behave, think, and even FEEL a certain way, a way that wasn't the least bit natural. I seriously doubt they ever will understand. Hence, I am building a life of my own, on my own. It's lonely, hard, yet worth it.

So, yeah, I am reluctant to tell people.

Don't need to be, people can smell it from miles away unless I focus on hiding it. But usually I'm not going to waste my energy on that.

Only people close to me who have an understanding or autism know

Nope, having Aspergers makes me feel free to be myself.

I am not closeted with adults or extremely close friends, but I'd die if my peers were to find out.

I am semi-open about my OCD, because it dominates over my Asperger's, and sometimes my peers need to know why I do certain things etc.

I don't advertise it. I also don't keep it a secret.

I don't care at all if people know....

I wrote about my recent diagnosis on facebook. I also don't mind if my friends tell people that I'm autistic.