These are, for me, the five factors of living with Asperger’s Syndrome:
1. A struggle to relate well with individuals – including family members, friends and partners – contrasts with being concerned for humanity as a whole and a champion for Oxfam.
2. Hypersensory sensitivity includes a vulnerability to the elements: bearing parasol against the sun’s heat and sporting shades against winter cloud glare.
3. Not necessarily having a proclivity towards the stereotyped science and mathematics know-how; instead demonstrating a creative literary/artistic and colour-obsessive geek streak.
4. Fitting into the known statistic of being (20%) more likely to have Asperger’s if transgender. As it happens, I identify as trans gender-queer (non-binary).
5. Experiencing the benefit of a lax approach to hygiene thanks to a ‘grubbily’ strong immune system – fortunately I’m rarely afflicted by infections.
Need a little help?
If you’ve been affected by an invisible condition, or you know someone who has, you might find some useful suggestions on our Support page.
