Re-Introduction

March 20, 2008

Hi, I’m and I am returning to Aspires after 5 years

away. I recognize a few of your names, but you won’t recognize mine

because I have made some very big changes, including my name. I have been in my

present relationship for close to two years and while, to me, we seem to have

done well together, there are AS-related problems that I am struggling to

understand and do something about.

I have gone through much of my life trying to figure out what happened—why

I turned out to be so different—and I have discovered several different

causes that may or may not be related. I learned about Asperger’s

Syndrome in 2001, and about Aspires at the beginning of 2002, although I had made

a connection between my symptoms and autism in the early 90’s. I was

diagnosed with “something” by a psychologist somewhere around 1970

(around age 20), but almost no one knew about AS back then and he didn’t

really know what to call it. As an adult I have adapted over the years in many

ways and I am now able to do very well in many social situations. Close relationships

still present major challenges, though.

I am leaving out most of my story, but most of it is not about

AS and relationships and would be off-topic here. I will say that when I was

growing up I had to deal not only with undiagnosed AS but with gender identity

issues (transsexualism), which I hid, and with an undiagnosed congenital endocrine

disorder and its effects. Oddly enough, my earlier experiences with Aspires

helped me to come out of hiding with my gender identity issues, which in turn

led to finally identifying the endocrine disorder.

It has been a very long struggle to make sense out of what

happened and to discover what I can do about it now. I think I have reached the

“good part,” though, the part of my life where I can do something more

than just struggle. I hope so.

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