For most of my life I knew I was different, or as many people would say "wrong". Eventually a friend read an article about Asperger's and realised it described me. I managed to find a doctor who was capable of diagnosing me and received my dx. It said "severely affected" but I'm not - I have had a job for most of the years I was looking for one and I have had a marriage and a family. Severely affected implies the lack of both of these in my mind.
Now the bad part. In the eyes of my partner I went from a hard case to "reform" to a person with a disability. That was the end of the marriage, but we stayed together as long as we had young children.
Then it gradually started to get better. I researched Asperger's and worked on developing the aspects of my personality that were lacking. In the course of examining myself I made some startling discoveries which resulted in alienation from my family, church and friends, but ultimately lead to my rebirth as a confident and sociable woman. Now I volunteer with a charity that provides social support for the lonely and vulnerable people of the city - I used to be one of them but not any more.
Reinventing yourself is not for everyone, especially when it involves something as extreme as transition (MtF) but many of us are capable of far more than we have been told.
Oxford, United Kingdom
