I got the idea to create this thread from Autism related topics. Since I am autistic myself, and I know for a fact that such people aren't exactly uncommon on this site, I decided to make a thread where people can discuss what it's been like living as an autistic person-- if, of course, they're comfortable sharing. If you are neurodivergent in any other way (ADHD, Dyslexia, etc), you are also welcome to talk about your experiences on this thread.
I'll start: I am quite awkward socially. I only have like 3 IRL friends at age 19, though this is in part because I'm also quite shy. As one might guess, I'm also obsessed with animals. Mammals are my favorite class and the one I know the far the most about-- my favorite orders being Carnivora, Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla, Proboscidea, Rodentia, and Primates.
I'm a self-diagnosed autistic person. I have always found social situations taxing, and am very shy and anxious. I'm easily overwhelmed by any sensory discomfort, which in practical terms has made me a picky eater and someone who struggles a lot with loud, crowded environments. I am very obsessive over my special subjects-- primarily primates! I like knowing a lot about individual animals, and know every non-human great ape in Australasia by name and face, and many more outside the region as well.
Somewhere here on zoochat some members talked about menues in restaurants at zoos and other related parks and how they got so annoyed by the dominance if not exclusivity of chips/french fries and nuggets, bratwurst, schnitzel, and I was too shy to tell them that despite understanding their point of view, some autistics like me can have difficulties with food that has a richer texture and flavours.
Indeed - the menus are chosen for breadth of appeal, ease of preparation, and economics. There's a reason the same things keep coming up - they meet those criteria.
Another autistic person here (or ‘aspie’ for brevity, given my form is specifically Asperger’s, though I am hesitant to call it a syndrome). The experience of living as autistic has very much been a mixed bag, with some good qualities and some bad, as on the one hand I’ve had to face social awkwardness, introversion, sensory overload, hypersensitivity and an emotional range that is only ever too high or too low, but equally I’m very comfortable around people I know well, have a method of thinking different from that of a neurotypical and know volumes about my hyperfocuses (what some call special interests), primarily natural history and more specifically palaeontology, my first love as it were, which I am glad to say I will be starting an undergraduate course on in a few weeks. More in line with zoochat, my interest in animals comes largely from my autism I think. I’ve often found that animals can make better company than humans in some cases.
I'm actually kind of glad that I am neurodivergent. Its the reason why I'm so passionate about animals, especially felids, and by extension animal photography. These things fulfill and enrich my life in such a meaningful way that I don't think I could imagine myself without it. That being said I deal with overstimulation a lot. It doesn't normally get too bad at zoos thankfully, but I really do think it lowers my overall quality of life generally. It gets really bad at the store I work at when it gets busy. Getting overstimulated at my job is the worst place to have that happen in my opinion because you can't just step outside for a couple minutes to collect yourself.
Okay I feel like we "aspies" as you called it (I, myself, also have Asperger's) seem to have similar positives and negatives, as we both seem to share our social awkwardness, introversion and our "too high-too low" emotional range, as well as the comfort around people we know well and knowing TONS about our special interests/hyperfocuses.
I can relate to this quite a lot as well since I have Asperger's too but I love this forum and to read all the info and see images from places.
Indeed, this site is practically an online paradise for someone interested in animals and zoos! The community isn't toxic, either.
I haven't been officially diagnosed, I've been on the waiting list for the actual screening over 3 years now *sigh*, and the GP said there's nothing she can do about this. So 3 years ago, I was like "no hurry, it would just be nice to know once and for all as this has been a thought for the past 15 years at least, but since I'm already older, it may not be that important anymore". But 3 years in now, having it heard from several therapists, I am very much in need now of this screening. As the way I respond and react to things, have become more and more of an issue, and I've been told, that if I do have autism, I'm in need of different therapy for it also to finally be able to decently fix my problems. I'm very much a routine person, need things a certain way, I will get extremely upset if things are moved even slightly or my routine gets delayed with only 10 minutes, social situations I just tend to avoid really. But then, places like the zoo, or Disneyland (yes, love Disneyland), are 2 of the things I absolutely love, and even though very crowded places at most times, it is where I feel most at home and comfortable being there.
