First stage…

[silverwhistle]

Had my first diagnostic meeting today. They think I present a "complex picture" (I suspect because of the coping/masking mechanisms I've acquired over 50 years - I've learned theory of mind and a degree of empathy), but have a sufficient amount of autistic traits to progress to further investigation. So I've got another appointment next month, and

Comments

[lordhellebore]

Good luck! :) My diagnosis was hard because of that same reason. I've learnt theory of mind - psychology is one of my special interests - and of course that makes it harder to see the autistic traits.

[silverwhistle]

My historical and literary obsessions have helped me with mine. I love dissecting characters in written works, and am better at that than with direct face-to-face, but it's given me a degree of insight.

[lordhellebore]

Ah, history and literature are definitely helping a lot as well. (I'm currently writing my final university paper on a subject that's basically a mix of literary science, theatre studies, and history ;)

My primary interest since first grade has always been literature. I'm convinced that the reason why I realised around age 13 that other people are indeed real people with own emotions and thoughts that are different from mine is that I read so much - I figured it out from the behaviour of all the characters I read about.

And you're right, it's absolutely easier to analyse written characters; they don't react to you and you've got more time to think about them.

I noticed your fascinating icons of historical figures on your LJ :) And that of Brian de Bois-Guilbert made me want to read Ivanhoe again . . .

[silverwhistle]

Thanks! Yes, you can examine and play with written characters more.

Re: my icons: I've always tended to fall in love more with historical and literary characters. Ivanhoe (like most of Scott's works) is dreadful nonsense historically - but that Brian picture was the best thing I could find for a mediæval 'head-desk'/'facepalm'!

[novanglus]

> They think I present a "complex picture"

Alternatively: They possess a simplistic model.

[silverwhistle]

Snurk! That crossed my mind, too, especially as it was the male half of the assessment team who said this. I wondered if he had been thinking more of what are more typically male presentations of symptoms.

[weebleswobble]

Alternatively: They possess a simplistic model.

i like this!

[walter_oesau]

I get that a LOT because I'm female. Male psychs using male-gender based assessments. Got told once that "I wasn't autistic" to which I replied "And what gender base are you working from? Male? Because I'm not male." and cited the ever-growing mass of studies showing that female-gendered autistics present differently from their male counterparts.