I am an older adult and learned I had Aspergers later in life. Every day it can be a challenge to learn how to accommodate my needs in a world and that seems so difficult at times. I started years ago when I left the world of work and went to the non-profit world. As a volunteer I have learned to be accepted, appreciated, and valued for my contributions no matter how big or small that is. I have won several awards for my efforts, written several articles on my stories, and I participated in the creation of a film called Programming Hope.
When my father passed away it gave me a new set of challenges. My father was my pillar. No matter where I was in the world his strength and just knowing he was around kept me going on a good path like a beacon from a lighthouse. After my father passed away I got married to a woman who at first met my vision of a marriage partner, but over time as things changed she taught me some other hard lessons. It made me reassess my needs on the spectrum.
As a result I created a new way to be guided by the lighthouse with a support team to keep me on calm waters of life.
Some of the challenges with my Aspergers is my kind nature, sensitive nature, sensory issues, and anxiety issues that can really cause me to go into overload very quickly. My gifts can some times be misunderstood and taken advantage of by the world around me. The end result was going into the hospital for a life threatening infection that opened the door for the need to create a support system. The new system for my recovery is to care for myself emotionally, spiritually, financially and physically. I am going to share some stories of my process. It started by going to a doctor that understands Aspergers and putting me on a regimen of supplements to rebuild my immune system. Returning to the 12-step world, working with two healers to rebuild my health, continuing to work on boundaries with my therapist, work on stress relief with boxing lessons, and to engage my sister in taking over my financial affairs with a long time financial advisor who knew my father. My stories will now follow.