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#1: Kristen Vognild (kristen) on Feb 20, 2022

It probably would've been a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, a decade ago, but AS was recently absorbed into the umbrella of Autism Spectrum Disorder, in the DSM-5.

Found to be solvable with moderate lookahead by valerie.

There are always pieces, here and there, connected or not. Such is life. You have an answer. There will be more to come. Be happy.

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Cool!

Adding to what I said earlier: If I can be a resource in any way, I'd be happy to. Please let me know!

I hope the confirmation and the formal, official diagnosis are helpful, both in your own understanding, and in accessing any supports.
My husband got his diagnosis a few years back, and we are starting on the assessment journey with my daughter, who has another dx as well.

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(((HUGS)))

I feel like it should be obvious (at least in retrospect), to anyone who's spent a good amount of time with me, but I'm still encountering shocked individuals. :)

An interesting illustration of a non-visible subject. Now that you know, I hope you get the understand and support you need. Good luck.

Hugs indeed. All I know is that you're a wonderful puzzle-maker, and someone unafraid to face the world, and that's a real strength. We are here.

Love this collection of supportive well-wishes. What a great community it is here. Kristen, a good image of the confirmation you've been seeking. More hugs.

Call it what they will; we should all strive to exude the wit and wisdom you exhibit here every day.

Aww, thanks! I'm much more dynamic in print, than in real life. ;)

How do you go about getting screened?

I had to get a referral from my doctor, and find a place that tests adults for autism. Most places only test children.

Kristen, thanks for the puzzle and for sharing what's behind it. Thankfully there are more resources available now and it seems to be getting better. I have friends and their family members on different parts of the new spectrum.

One thing that having a name for what is going on provides is the ability to be able to target it more in prayer. I can tell you from past experience that the doctors and others can do their best and am thankful for it but God can go above and beyond what they can do. I'm living proof. The doctors didn't expect me to make it thru the night after a widowmaker heart attack and emergency triple bypass. They thought if i did survive i would have brain damage from lack of oxygen. The thoracic surgeon that did the bypass calls me his miracle patient.
You will be in my prayers. And i connect with others on other prayer chains so they can get lifted up by many people.
Be blessed in Jesus!

It is so brave of you to share. I hope that along with your diagnosis, you get whatever care you need. For what it is worth, you have my full support. I've always found your comments to be among the most honest of anyone here. It is a trait I truly admire and one that seems to be more prevalent of those with autism. I appreciate you.

Aw, thanks! I don't think of it as brave, but that's probably just the autism talking. ;)

I do tend to see things differently, so in here I've had to chance to make puzzles about it!

Wow. This is a big thing to admit and share. I'm flattered to be a part of a community you chose to share things with.

I know I've had trouble deciding which community to share much smaller things with and something like this reminds me I have certain things to share that I'm not oversharing.

I've appreciated your comments here on WebPBN too, both from t the distant past when I was on here and with the new puzzles that pop up.

I'm just annoyed that it took me so long to realize that "blurglecruncheon" came from Vogon poetry. ^_^

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hmm, to the database!

Wow, that conversation was over a decade ago. Which just adds credence to my comment of "long suspected". :)

Good for you Kristen in being your own best advocate in pursuing an answer and now taking it to the next step and finding a therapist. Thank you for sharing this personal info with our pbn family. Wishing you all best as you proceed down this new avenue.

It was that exact long ago conversation which prompted me to get tested back then, but it turned out that the doc's specialty was prescribing drugs to children who were still in the early stages of autism and difficult to communicate with.
As a kid, I had enough societal conformity beat into me that by adulthood I could easily emulate coping in front of people (autism wasn't even discovered yet when I was a kid), so the doctor just thought I was trying to ply him for drugs. WOT.

Meds were actually the opposite of what I wanted. Prior to that point, I thought I was doing swell until I stopped drinking. Then everyone I knew started secretly telling my wife that I was surely on the spectrum and that I should get medicated, but in my mind, masking symptoms with medication was exactly what I'd been doing with alcohol, so that was the end of the story for me.

Thankfully, we're eternally sequestering for the pandemic, so I no longer need to fear unedited thoughts sneaking out of my mouth in public. As you suggested, it is much easier to refine one's self expression in print.

It may be none of my beeswax, but I would be very interested to hear how things are going once you choose a treatment path and work it for a year or so, to see if/how your quality of life has changed.

I'm 100% rooting for you! :)

Thanks! I have my first therapy session next month, so we'll see how that goes. The psychologist who made the diagnosis did not recommend any medication, because my symptoms of ADHD/depression/anxiety aren't that strong.

post 24: **I'm just annoyed that it took me so long to realize that "blurglecruncheon" came from Vogon poetry. ^_^**

Many people never do. But I leave it there for people to google, if they're curious. You deserve credit for being interested.

Oh, and more generally, for taking the steps you have.

I've made sure that my kids are well steeped in Douglas Adams, and I sometimes threaten to embarrass my young adult children by reciting Vogon poetry, but until I saw #23 I had *no* clue that "blurglecruncheon" was from it. Neat!

Congratulations, Kristen! Nearly 3 decades ago after my young son's similar diagnosis, I went through a year of deep grieving. Now I wouldn't take it away from him for anything. Like all the rest of us, his greatest challenges and his greatest gifts are one in the same. He puts up with us neurotypicals beautifully --as do you.

Thanks to his therapists (who actually needed to help US, not him; he was fine, but the rest of us needed to make adjustments), I learned to refer to this as a "disorder." Development simply comes in a different order from neurotypicals.

May you continue to thrive in this wonderful time of reframing and discovery.

Happy to hear you have an answer. Hugs to you and thanks for your PBN puzzles!

So many wonderful thoughts. Not being terribly familiar with autism I cannot reaaly add anything except to agree with the fact that your puzzles are really great and I've always loved your comments.

thanks!

Thank you for sharing your diagnosis with us, Kristen.

I have some autism, but mostly ADHD - Inattentive type. And other cognitive stuff.

I wonder if some day, ADHD, autism, CAPD (Central auditory processing disorder) and other syndromes will be considered part of one extended condition, since so many symptoms overlap.

Many women are diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety, when we need to be tested for underlying ADHD and autism. Many women have Inattentive Type ADHD; as a child, one would have lacked hyperactivity, and instead exhibited a lot of daydreaming.

Unfortunately many of us go undiagnosed and are treated solely with SSRI meds, which make cognition WORSE if you have ADHD. I suffered 17 years on the wrong meds before my late diagnosis.

Knowing what you have really helps!

So, my dad had long suspected that he has Asperger's, but since he was born in 1934 and became an engineer, and he was a man, no one questioned his nerdy, kooky behavior.

My twin brother and I are trying to convince our mom that's she's likely on the spectrum as well, since all of the symptoms I list she thinks are normal, because she has them too. :-D

I've gotten a divorce from my husband of 22 years, because he would berate me for the very things that are symptoms of autism. He was emotionally abusive, a narcissist and a gaslighter, and wouldn't allow me to unmask* around his family.

I am now engaged to a very dear friend who has ADHD, so our neurodivergencies complement each other very well. We plan to marry in the spring.

*What is unmasking, you ask? The best analogy is someone who works in customer service. They have to be polite, professional, and friendly to a host of horrible people who do a range of horrible things, ALL DAY LONG. It's exhausting, and at the end of their shift, they just let it all go, and their smile can drop away and they can use their normal speech cadence, and just be *themselves.* Now imagine that you've spent your entire work shift masking as a polite, professional neurotypical person, who smiles and makes eye contact and shares small talk with strangers. Then you get home, and you just want to curl up in bed and be ALONE for a while, but your spouse won't let you. You're forced to continue masking at home, and there's never any relief.

Enough rambling. I'm SO much happier now, than I was when I first made this puzzle.

good for you Kristen!

Hugs, Kristen!!

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