When I was 14 years old and in 8th grade, I was diagnosed as having Asperger's Syndrome at Children's Hospital in Denver because my parents felt there was something wrong with me.

In high school, I managed to land part-time jobs at Chick-fil-A, King Soopers and Sports Authority.  At all these jobs, I faced enormous prejudice from both customers and staff.  After six months, I was fired from Sports Authority, due to the social struggles I faced on the job.

When I graduated high school, I was trying to get into college and being unsure of what direction I should take, I contacted Vocational Rehabilitation to be evaluated for what kind of skill set I possessed.  It was discovered that my skill set was best in the areas of data entry, numbers, and computers, so I enrolled in a program through the Community College of Denver West (CCD) called ROOTS. This program trained me in data entry and accounting. It was there where I learned how to use Microsoft Word, and once I graduated, I was encouraged to apply for internships through the Federal Government where I was told that there was a 90% success rate. I graduated in 2006 with a Certificate in Microsoft Office, but I continued to struggle in getting employment despite the fact that I had over twenty-five interviews with the city of Denver between September 2006 and April 2007. Finally, I landed a job as a dishwasher from October 2006 to April 2007 but was let go because a foreign exchange student replaced me.

In 2007, Voc Rehab referred me to Bayaud Enterprises, a job assessment and training program. I also was placed in an apartment complex and there encountered problems because of social struggles. Bayaud informed me that my testing period there was a complete failure. The following year, Voc Rehab made another try with Bayaud, and I became a mail clerk at a Veteran's Hospital. I had this job for six months instead of the usual three because I excelled there. Despite this success, after my training ended, Bayaud was unwilling to help me and further and refused to refer me to future jobs.

So, I chose to go to the Community College of Denver to finish my Associate's Degree and completed it in December 2009.  During that year, I worked for a month as a mail clerk for the VA and by February 2010, I was promoted to work for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).  It was not easy working there, because both the management and the employees harassed me. Not only that, I was suspended for three days because I was accused of stalking a female employee who was part of my team. I went to Bayaud and told the management there about this because I feared losing my job. They encouraged me to stay with CDOT.

From 2012 to the present day, it has not been easy for me. I still encounter difficulties with people.  I took a Taking Care of Business class for fifteen weeks and by April 2013, my not finding employment was frustrating Voc Rehab. Finally in May 2013, I started full-time at Goodwill Industries of Denver working in the E-Books division.  It was a 90-day trial period, and I was cut down from full to part-time. I started out processing books, but later I was switched to sorting or picking up books on carts. I never fit in well, partially because I had a hard time keeping my numbers up, even though at the end of my time there, I was reaching quota. I had to pick up 100 books per hour, and speed counted more than quality. Also, the quota was based on the speed of the fastest worker, who happened to pick about 140 books per hour. Regardless, I was still let go, despite many co-workers liking me as a worker and the fact that I did well at that job.

In 2014, Voc Rehab was not impressed that I failed at keeping another job. This job only lasted six weeks and it was working for Access-a-Ride (MV). This company is a compliment to RTD, Denver's public transit system, in that they pick up disabled people from all parts of Denver to get that person to their desired location. After losing this job, it took five months to get a job as a part-time mail clerk at the Century Link building in downtown Denver. I liked this job and was successful at completing the work. In November 2014, I had the opportunity to cross-train there but the sponsor did not like me from the beginning. I tried to be as professional as possible, but she did not like my appearance and that eventually caused problems between me, my supervisor, and management and that led to decreased productivity in my work. Issues with my appearance led me to a suspension in December, despite the fact that I had been dressing this way before without any complaints. In addition, they wrote me up for watching TV shows and movies during downtime, when other employees were doing the same thing. I felt bullied by the supervisors and in January 2015, I was let go because I botched a customer order.

Also in 2015, the Executive Director of the Autism Society of Colorado (ASC) offered me a temporary internship as an administrative assistant. I worked there for four months and was extremely productive. I helped promote Autism Awareness in Denver and encouraged families of newly diagnosed children because they felt hope and were encouraged that on the ASC staff was an adult autistic working.  Unfortunately, the internship ended and since my internship, there has not been another autistic adult working for a paid position for the ASC.

The rest of 2015 was not a good year in gaining employment.  So in the start of 2016, I found a job through another disability agency, Service Source. I applied for that job and two weeks later they contacted me. I told them about my diagnosis and put them in touch with one of my therapists. As of now, I am currently working full time as a general office clerk processing Air Force personnel paperwork.

Many adult women with ASD didn't receive their diagnosis as children. Increased awareness, diagnosis of one's child on the spectrum, or a major (traumatic) life event may have triggered the search for one's own diagnosis. For me, the trigger was a life-altering worker's comp lawsuit that eventually caused me to lose my home. My mother, who lived with me, was moved 1000 miles away, and my sister became her caretaker.

 

I was 51 when I completed menopause. Shortly afterward, I learned that many of my life's failures were the result of not knowing I had an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Following my fourth psych hospitalization and suicide attempt, I learned I might have Savant Syndrome. This came when I spent a week at a university teaching hospital, where staff and medical students observed me on daily rounds.

I'd heard the word "savant" before, but had no clue what it meant. My psychiatrist said I couldn't be a savant unless I had autism, and he was convinced I did not have autism - I "looked" normal.

 

Whenever a label is attached to define some aspect of myself, I need to perform due diligence on that label because it gives me greater "control" of my person, how it affects me, and anticipated prognosis.

The next year, I read whatever I could find about autism, and what it meant to be a savant. For the first time in half a century, I finally understood "why" I was minimally successful in many areas of my life: my life's decisions/actions finally made sense! I was my only family member to obtain a four-year college degree, yet always seemed to be missing the mark in many areas of my life.

 

This brief background paves the way to the meat of this story, and how my late ASD diagnosis has created greater lifespan and aging challenges, contributing to lower quality of life (QOL) post-menopause. As with every other person on the spectrum, my story is uniquely mine; however, as I've networked and discussed challenges we each face, similarities do exist.

 

Females present differently than our male counterparts do in their autism. We present differently socially, which is one of the primary diagnostic criteria for ASD. Female behavior tends to be less dynamic than the male. An introverted boy or man stands out in the crowd if he's quiet and prefers not to participate; whereas, this is more normal for girls and women. This more reserved or non-intrusive nature leads professionals to conclude a woman may be suffering from depression, and rarely do they look beyond that.

 

In my desire to understand labels placed on me, I needed to know about the medications I was prescribed, especially the synthetic chemicals that might be contained in them. Before the Internet revolution, the best source for drug information was the PDR (Physician's Desk Reference). Whenever I looked up a new psych med, I began seeing a trend. Most included a drug performance description that went something like this: "this drug is designed to alter the chemistry and response of the central nervous system. It is not quite understood how the central nervous system reacts with this drug, but studies have indicated 'most' people have a positive response to the symptoms and treatment for...". This sent up red flags, but I was desperate to feel normal, so chose to "trust" my doctor in knowing what was best for me.

 

In hindsight (post-ASD diagnosis), it didn't matter how much due diligence I did towards treatments I received my first 50 years. Nothing prepared me for menopause and the long-term affects all those synthetic chemicals would have when my entire body chemistry did an about face. Science and medicine have done a disservice to the aging female ASD population by not conducting appropriate research on the older, adult ASD population to determine the aging, end-life, or QOL challenges we may be headed for.

 

Since 2006, when I officially completed menopause, I have gone from having only single drug sensitivity to four medications that cause severe reactions, and to 26-27 hypersensitivities so severe, I completely avoid those medications. Most were prescribed to me before age 40 and had minimal to no side effects.

 

The biggest regret I have for receiving my late ASD diagnosis is that when doctors were focused on my "mental illness", and I was rarely taken seriously when I had physical health complaints. At age 58, I was "finally" diagnosed with a lifelong metabolic/malabsorption disorder. At age 59, I added a genetic IgG immune deficiency. At age 60, I learned I have Pyro Luria. My body does not metabolize vitamin B6.

 

I have come to the conclusion that ASD, when triggered, is an 'allergic' reaction to some "unnatural" exposure within our environment. So many of us have "gut" (our largest immune system) issues and other comorbidities. I feel medicine needs to reclassify autism as an Autoimmune Disorder like Multiple Sclerosis or others that alter the neuro-muscular (brain) system within our bodies.