I am a 37 yr old male who 5 yrs ago discovered my then 11 yr old daughter has aspergers, this led me to doing some research n realizing that the problems that had plagued me my whole life could be explained with the same dx. About this same time i was going into rehab and so began my quest for a dx. It took me nearly 2 years to finally see a psychiatrist who after a very brief discussion decided there was insufficient evidence for. a full formal assesment so i continued on in life with no support until another 2 years had passed and a breakdown in my relationship led me to a suicide attempt n another psychiatrist seeing me but not been prepared to send me for an assesement. I got together with my partner again but only for another few months n just a few weeks ago she left me again n once again feeling unable to cope with life i attempted to take my own life but this time i let my intentions known on a fb aspie group n an ambulance was called but as luck would have it, someone in the group knew of an independant autism support worker n advocate and put me in touch. This lady is helping me fight the system to get my assesement and has some contacts to make it happen but most importantly to me, she believes me and so despite a dismisive nhs, after a 5 yr struggle my dx is finally on the cards

... two of us felt it was important to discuss SfO stuff in a real world meeting, so we went to the pub. some important decisions were made, regarding promotion etc. and then, as we have been friends for many years (and even used to date), the conversation moved onto other topics. at one point, one of us said "...and now I sound really autistic, sorry about that"

we laughed about it afterwards, but it's shocking to realise how deeply autistic prejudice can be internalised.

This was one of the comments on the official Facebook fan page for the band Mindless Self Indulgence (From here on abbreviated to MSI):

"24 years old with the literary skills of an autistic kid half your age.

Now that's something to be proud of."

Most of the fans - especially on the band's official Facebook fan page - are complete idiots and make me ashamed to be associated with a band that has given me many happy memories and through which I have met lots of amazing people.

Providing disability equality training I hear peoples attitudes to autism all the time.

Once while explaining neuroviersity and the concept of thinking differently a guy asked me if I meant like paedophiles?

People often think ND means you are a genius or you have a learning disability. Nothing in between those two points.

I remember my Aspergers diagnosis. I'd been having some serious issues at school, and had been seeing a child psychiatric nurse. The assessment happened at the same clinic.
...

I work for a disability charity, and since a change of personnel in most of the departments I work with, including the queue of my managers all the way up to but not including the CEO, I have not been receiving any adjustments for my stress. It has reached the point where a staff member can be openly hostile to me in a meeting where I had forewarned my manager I was really stressed: nobody said anything to them about their conduct; then the most senior person in the room, my manager's manager, made a joke to the bully at the expense of everyone on the autism spectrum who makes a complaint to the charity.

the SENCO in one of the schools in my LA who sat and told the parents of a child currently being assessed for autism, that she would never have put 'that label' on their child. She continued that he did not look autistic, and did not present as being autistic. ARGH

I'm 25, biologically female with a sky-high desire to experiment with other human beings *delicate cough*I mean libido*delicate cough*, genderqueer (I don't feel fully comfortable as either a male or female being, but I don't think I could transition to being a full-time male).... and I have Asperger's.

...

In my childhood i labled learning disabilty i did go to special school. When i was 27 i went for a assesment found out that i was i did not have a learning disabilty. So it ment i lost all of my support links which i was in very vunerable i got used .But early this year i went for autism assesment i found out that i had autism it was a relief it been my best time i have had in many years now i get support and now get help at collage with my beauty course. I proud to be autistic now mynew jurney has just started