- You can share stories relating to your condition.
- Explain what your disability is and what it does if it hasn't been explained already.
- If you are comfortable enough, talk about your diagnosis.
- How you manage it and how it affects your life today.
- Talk about famous individuals who have a disorder like ourselves.
- Supporters are also welcome to join in and ask questions.
When I was six, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a developmental and disruptive behaviour disorder. Many of the symptoms include hyperactivity (duh), impulsivity, inattention, short term memory loss, tendency to multitask and daydream, constant restlessness, procrastination, laziness, ect. From age six to sixteen, I used to take medication that slowed my mind down, cause me to concentrate and to calm me. Unfortunately, the effects of the medication did more than just calm me. It made me descend into such a depressed state I considered suicide more than once. At the time, no one knew it was my medication until April of last year. Ever since I stopped taking my medication, I've been a lot happier. I smile and laugh more than I can ever remember and I haven't regretted going off of it.
Now for my Asperger's Syndrome. I was diagnosed when I was thirteen. Asperger's Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder and is the mildest of them all. Symptoms include the inability to function socially, to lie, to understand sarcasm, jokes and irony; intense interest in a certain subject or area; atypical or advanced vocabulary; heightened senses; being literal minded; average or above average intelligence. My Asperger's used to be very severe and when I stopped taking my meds (it intensified it) it got milder and milder as each day passed. Now it's mild enough that I'm almost a normal teenager but even then it doesn't make my Asperger's any less there. Some symptoms are more dominant than others. I still can't lie and I'm often subjected to sensory overloads every once in a while.
Last but not least, is my synesthesia. Synesthesia is a sensory disorder that affects your senses with colour. As far as I am aware, I can taste colours, hear colours, feel colours and feel sounds. Many people with Asperger's Syndrome have it but don't realize it. - copy and paste from my profile.
Who's next? (:
Edited by TheApprenticeofKingMickey, 12 May 2012 - 12:29 AM.
Daniel Chiuchiarelli