Coming Out of the Closet ... About Being Autistic

[KamaAina]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/coming-out-of-the-closet_b_392284.html

As a teenager, when I was diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition known as Asperger's Syndrome, it seemed like a death sentence....

For five months now I have debated writing this piece in fear. I worried about the risk to my career as a political activist and writer in revealing something like this about myself. However, writing it now seems like the most liberating thing I can possibly do. I have nothing to feel ashamed about anymore and can engage others openly exposing who I truly am.

20,000 people needlessly commit suicide every year, many because they don't know how to deal with the unique characteristics of their own minds. They feel that the only solution they have to end their suffering is by only ending their own life.

They are afraid to open up and talk about the issues that prevent them from being happy in their own lives. I for one am not willing to encourage a culture of shame like that. Therefore, to come out of the closet and live openly as an adult proud of the fact that I have Asperger's Syndrome.