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   Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@calckey.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 06:15:33 JST Chris Trottier

   Most people are genuinely surprised to discover I’m autistic. Believe me, I was surprised when I found out.
   
   Now certain people in the autistic community have known before I knew, but I laughed it off because I thought they were being presumptuous.
   
   But I’ve never behaved normally, and I’ve always done things considered “weird”.
   
   For example, I am known to spontaneously break out into laughter. People stare it me wondering what’s gotten into me, but usually it’s because I thought about something so hilarious, and had to break out into audible giggles.
   
   When I was a teenager, I would sit on overpasses for all day and watch traffic just passing by—with a laser focus.
   
   My wife has always complained that when she talks to me, I drift off and seem to enter another world.
   
   The moment I realized I was indeed autistic was when teachers called me into school to tell me they thought my daughter was autistic. I was confused because she seemed just like me.
   
   It then that I realized in order to help my daughter, I had to re-assess myself.
   
   RE: https://calckey.social/notes/9ggwstawb9nqfm4n

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     Art H. (arth@calckey.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 06:25:04 JST Art H.

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet Me too, but I figured it out after a self assessment. About 15 years ago I started to wonder why I was always getting myself into trouble, professionally, personally, and financially. I began to look at the behaviors that got me into those tight spots, researching them and other people like me, and over time I began to suspect that I was autistic. It wasn't an "Ahah!" moment for me, but a slow realization over a long period of time. I now fully accept that I'm autistic.

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     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@calckey.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 06:37:46 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     One reason I largely avoided the label “autistic” is because, when I grew up, autism carried a lot of stigma. It was not that much different from the “R” word for those who are mentally handicapped.
     
     Even now it carries stigma, though less than before.
     
     What’s the excuse of some parents who don’t want to vaccinate their children? They believe it will make them autistic.

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     Maria The Martian :Shiropuyo_rainbow: (mariathemartian@calckey.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 06:43:46 JST Maria The Martian :Shiropuyo_rainbow:

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet Part of my journey of discovery was when my best friend's daughter was diagnosed and I was a little shocked because her and I are so similar which to me doing tons of research and getting my own diagnosis. :bhjflag_autism:

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     sub_o (sub_o@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 06:48:16 JST sub_o

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet sadly, there's still lots of stigma and misinformation about autism spectrum on the other side of the world, they are not even antivaxxers

     People here treat autistic people as:
     1. mentally ill, straight up shunning them
     2. savant, because they watched rain man once
     3. possessed by spirits, and often resorts to some supernatural / religious 'healing' that ends up making thing worse.

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     Puck Rickenbacker (puck@sfba.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 06:48:55 JST Puck Rickenbacker

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet
     When my daughter told me my granddaughter might be ADHD, I went straight to the library and started researching. Sitting on the library floor, scanning books, suddenly a lightbulb went off and my whole life was explained. I've since been officially diagnosed. Honestly? In spite of the negatives, I wouldn't change a thing. I've learned to be quite comfortable in my own skin.

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     Maria The Martian :Shiropuyo_rainbow: (mariathemartian@calckey.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 07:10:30 JST Maria The Martian :Shiropuyo_rainbow:

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet Yes and when I was a kid in the mid 80s they thought only boys could be autistic. You rarely ever heard about an autistic girl back then.

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     Chris Trottier (atomicpoet@calckey.social)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 07:28:58 JST Chris Trottier

     in reply to

     • Futaba

     @ansible@mastodon.online There was Ian Curtis. But that didn’t end well.

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     Futaba (ansible@mastodon.online)'s status on Tuesday, 27-Jun-2023 07:29:00 JST Futaba

     in reply to

     @atomicpoet Same stigma as with #epilepsy, except we’re still waiting for someone famous to admit to having it. Or a mainstream movie portrayal.