Please read the Introduction first!

I would like to thank Maureen (see Comments) for suggesting this topic…
In the ~month that followed my discovering that I might be autistic, I was busy scouring the web trying to prove to myself that I wasn’t autistic. I became quite disheartened. As I came to believe that I am, quite demonstrably, autistic, I was embarrassed & ashamed. This was due, primarily, to the fact that anything involving developmental anomalies in the 1950’s was considered… “mental retardation”. I became more and more humiliated as the days turned into weeks, and months. I became home-bound, except to walk our dog, Harlie. Even then, I walked her in areas where I was unlikely to encounter any neighbors… preferably at night! My wife (Jamie) helped out in this regard without comment. Unbeknownst to me, during these dark weeks, Jamie was doing her own digging into the web, looking for anything that might help me come to terms with my autism. She came up with the name Paul Micallef.

Paul has a presence on YouTube, Patreon, & facebook group, all with the name: “Autism From The Inside”. Jamie & I started watching Paul’s videos on a daily basis; occasionally more than one a day. We would watch until I couldn’t absorb any more information. Paul got me on my way to acceptance. But I didn’t stop with Paul; I started looking for more social media sites that had the words autistic or autism in them. Over the next few months, I narrowed my focus to Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook. They each served a purpose: they helped me to accept who & what I am, and they continue to do so. It this acceptance of my autism that has been making my life better, as the months have turned into a year.

I spent hours a day reviewing posts & comments. I have settled into following just a few Facebook accounts that provide the contact, support, and knowledge of not only autism, but the psychological/emotional baggage that comes with having a very late diagnosis of autism. While the best of the FB groups are moderated, and I find some more useful than others, I don’t think it would be fair for me to publicize my opinion on any particular group.

I do recommend joining a FB group or two, though, even if you only suspect you possibly, might, wondering if, you just could be autistic. Some are smaller than others, and some seem ridiculously huge! The folks are always kind & gentle, and exceptionally helpful. I intend to write a web-page that explains, in more detail, how the various social media sites have helped me, the kind of info I found, and how they might help you (If you really want my opinion on any of the groups, leave your email address with a comment. Your email address will not be posted)😎

Thanks for taking the time to read this… you’ve probably got better things to do. Or… maybe you don’t?
Embrace the difference!