How many people here on the ranger station are autistic

[Gary DuBois]

Im 34 years old with mild autism aspergers and add

 

[Dredwolf]

With the changing defining characteristics from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) probably more than were ever officially diagnosed. For some dumb reason I made IT a career of almost 40 years, but love to relax by working hard outside, welding, carpentry, farming, wrenching on anything, electronics, etc.
With some of the recent YouTube videos out there digging into the psychology of GenX, I just say I am GenX, and people leave me alone.
I have parts on my life and my stuff almost OCD organized, others are a complete mess. Sorta like my '93 Ranger.
A long time ago, I was diagnosed as Manic Depressive, but the councilor just blamed it on my mother, who wanted nothing to do with the therapy sessions. Go Figure. I have three children, six grandchildren, still married, still vertical during the day, at least so far.

 

[97RangerXLT]

My son is, and the doctor that diagnosed him told me (after interacting with me for about 20 minutes) that I am likely on the spectrum as well. it would explain some of my troubles growing up and some of the struggles I have had even as an adult. At nearly 55 years old, I probably would not get much benefit from any ABA therapy, but let me tell ya, the ADHD meds (when I could afford them) helped a lot.
My son also has ADHD, and it is interesting to see his struggles and looking back on mine and making a big correlation, yep, i dealt with that as well. I do think that we are seeing more diagnosis of ASD due to a better understanding of it and better techniques for working with it and helping those on the spectrum. ABA (a hot topic in the Autistic community) if done right can help immensely, I have seen that in my son. but if it is based on a reward/ punishment model, as in do this and you get a positive reward, do this other and you get a negative reward, generally does not work, is harmful to the person and will most likely just piss them off as well. the ABA that works with a response to a situation that explains why you should react this way and not that way works better, as it will give a reason and likely outcome of doing it this way, and the person has more buy in/ say so in it. All of this generally works for ASD-1 (Aspbergers). A person deeper on the spectrum will likely need other tools/ skills.
For those that are on the spectrum or have children on the spectrum, it is not a death sentence, it is not even a horrible thing. work with them or yourself, get good ABA therapy if you can (the younger you start the easier/ better it is) and get medications that you need. Autism comes with friends (direct quote from my son's doc) ADHD, Anxiety/ Depression, Sensory Processing Disorder, sometimes ODD, OCD and others. the right medication at the right doses will make a world of difference in the person's life.
At 34 years old, my guess is you have found a way to work with your ASD and make it work for you, keep that up and enjoy your fixation (another common ASD trait) on Rangers

AJ