Post #47 - Leaving Work

Yes, you read it correctly - on Monday I finally left work; well, I say that, but I'm currently on annual leave at the moment pending my official departure date in late April.  Am I upset about it all?  Well, yes and no really - being made redundant in middle age isn't particularly pleasant, but I must admit to being pretty unhappy during the last few years of my career.

Will I be able to secure another job for myself in the future?  Who knows?  With Asperger's it's almost impossible to find employment to suit myself.  The Government sure seems to be slashing all of the financial support for disabled people - for example, my husband had to spend ages completing a form relating to his brother's various medical conditions.  Quite frankly, if my BIL cannot even wipe his own bottom, how on earth is he going to obtain and keep a job? Honestly!

Post #46 - Dealing With Others' Expectation of Your Condition

In many ways I believe that Asperger Syndrome presents rather like Biopolar Disorder in so many ways, hence why loads of Aspies, especially female ones, were misdiagnosed with the condition in the past.  Why is that?  Well, now that spring's in the air and it's getting lighter in the mornings, my being feels much more energised, which is the total polar opposite of how totally drained I feel in October/November when the nights draw in there's very little natural light available.  I often have trouble sleeping, but luckily my handy Audible app is able to read to me during the small hours, failing that, I read the letters page of the Radio Times instead, as I find that particularly soporific and the levels of pedantry are unrivaled.

I am, by nature, a fairly fiesty person and don't have any issue in defending my own position in an eloquent, yet firm manner. I am a depressive, mainly because this, combined with it's evil twin, anxiety, is technically known as a 'co-morbid' condition to my primary diagnosis of AS.  I take SSRI medication to level my moods and whatever the pros and cons of the drugs involved, they do work for me, despite making me very tired indeed and unable to consume a great deal of alcohol(!)  Those who condemn clinical intervention are welcome to do so, but I don't think that it would be fair to those around me to leave my moods unchecked.  It's an old analogy, but would you really suggest to someone with a broken back that they should begin limbo lessons next term and just 'get on with it'?  You wouldn't?  Hmm.

I called a friend out last night (oh, how I'm enjoying using this American terminology!) when she visited and started condemning a colleague's husband for taking time off of work to deal with his work-based anxiety and depression.  Did she really and truly believe that the gentleman in question's GP would sign him off at the drop of a hat?  No?  Well, let me tell you, they don't tend to.  Gawd help my friend if she needs assistance during a personal crisis of her own then! Carry on being a martyr if you wish to, but don't feel the need to judge others who choose to have children and, horror of horrors, need to take their child(ren) to school or nursery before commencing work.  Maybe we all need to go back to a time when women were given their cards on marriage?  No, well, I thought not.

Post #45 - Me, My Aspie Son and The Nintendo Wii U

Now, there's a problem, well insofar as my son loves to play on the Wii/WiiU, but he really cannot bear to lose.  Usually a defeat concludes in him stamping on the hall floor like a latter-day Rumpelstiltskin - I do worry about him clumping through the Homebase laminate.  He sees a speech therapist/SALT every other month and she's working on his attitude to defeat, but he still plays up.  For example, I've just purchased a new WiiU game featuring Mario, plus his brother Luigi and the other residents of the Mushroom Kingdom(!) but I made the mistake of changing the disc to Nintendoland and beating him at the Mario Chase - it was the first time as he's succeeded every time to date.  Cue: rage, screaming, shouting - the lot.  He calmed down after his father spoke to him for a bit.

To lighten the mood, here's the genius of Jim'll Paint It's Mario and Luigi on Rogue Traders.  It's fab.  Do check out more of his work (plus his merchandise) via http://jimllpaintit.tumblr.com/

Post #44: My Aspie Son

Until recently I believed that my son had what is commonly referred to as 'Classic Autism'. I now no longer feel that he has and does indeed share my diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome.

Why is that? Well, the similarities between both of our respective personalities is fairly uncanny, plus he's extremely verbal.  Mind you, who knows where anyone actually sits on this lovely autistic spectrum?

Post #43: A Trip Out With My Aspie Mate

A friend of mine, a former colleague from work has recently resigned and therefore is heading back up north to re-join family and friends.  Thus, it would be the last time that I'd be able to see him for a while, so with this in mind, we agreed to meet up at a cafe in Forest Hill we'd talked about before - namely The Archie Parker which is owned by Trevor, one half of the famous 1980s BBC Going Live! comedy duo, namely the 'Singing Corner'.  The Archie Parker is very cute and retro and the vibe is fantastic, furnished as it is with gingham drop leaf tables and with classic Look In covers framed on the walls.

I must admit that my friend, who also has Asperger Syndrome pitched his voice a little too loudly for my comfort.  He also talked at me, rather than to me, but that's what he's like really.  I often do find that males with AS are much more socially awkward than females on the spectrum - I guess that it's all that hiding, fluffing and acting we have to do to get through our lives?

We then had a wander around the Horniman Musuem which was rather lovely. I do rather like the walrus!  There are also some rather wonderful gardens, but the weather was so awful that we deferred our visit to those.

It took two long-winded buses to get there and two buses and one train on the return leg.  I always carry my iPod nano 4th generation player with me in the bag to play when the background noise on the bus gets too much for me to bear.  It's a great strategy and seemingly works well!

Post #42: The Hairdressers and The Doctor's

Yep, as the title suggests I visited both today.  The first was the hairdresser this morning and no, it wasn't too bad.  I had a money off voucher as I hadn't been to the salon for about six months and the computer generated email wondered why, which was a nice touch from Mr Babbage.  It wasn't an an awful experience - I only bashed into one piece of furniture and my stylist wasn't particularly talkative, so I could listen into other people's conversations, such as:

Hairdresser (HD): "So, what did you do for the New Year?
Woman: Not much, just had a few friends and family over and ate bits 'n' pieces.
HD: Really?  Where did you get 'em from?
Woman: The supermarket and the kiddies' gifts from the pound shop.
HD: Kids love all that stuff don't they?
Woman: Yeah.
HD: My aunt and uncle have parties and they tend to cook up a huge pot of curry and another of chili - no wastage ....

And so on ....

I like my hair though - it looks good.

This afternoon we took our son to the GP after school about his food allergies. He's continuing the elimination diet and will be going for a blood test in the next couple of weeks.  Sigh.

Post #41: Endings and Beginnings

Well, I'm currently in the process of signing off my redundancy forms and submitting them. Do I feel sad? No, not really if I'm honest.

In other news, a fellow Aspie from work has resigned. Yep, he's leaving London to return to his family up north. I don't blame him, although it's much colder up there, but it *is* friendlier. And accommodation's cheaper.