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Oreight Matt. Unsolicited advice is apparently criticism but I will say it anyway because I love the art that you produce. You could check out the effects that the sugar substitutes in diet drink has on the body.

For me the real gain is to understand myself better. Avoiding pain and not challenge myself to much. A way to be kinder to oneself. Thanks

Your thoughts and the process after ones diagnosis feels very much familiar. I got diagnosed at 42 and I’m 55 now. Still learning to get a better balance in energy levels and masking less. Great vid.

Recently diagnosed, so glad I found your channel 🙏🏻

How depressed we’re you before taking the meds?

It was great lecture Mat. It was very informative, but also engaging and had a good rhythm to it. Another string to your bow.

So beautifully written! Especially love how you balance all the elements of technicality, narrative, fantasy and realism. Great narration as well.

I was fairly recently diagnosed at 52 after 30 odd years of severe depression (and everything that entails). I had come to realise (not even suspect) my true nature 7 years earlier...I took fighting for that long just to get that diagnosis (I was brought up by my mum, gran and two sisters (as my "father" left and took my two brothers when I was about 4) so my "female" side kept me hidden for decades). I'm now fighting to get an ADHD/ADD diagnosis...the vague guesstimate on when I might get that is another 4 years...which leaves me knackered, I can only get through the evening with weed or alcohol...and I've been down the alcohol route many years ago. I'm not going there again. But weed is expensive (not mention illegal) and I'm on benefits. In honesty, the weed is more effective than any of the 7 different prescribed drugs I take on a daily basis (All of which I'm on the maximum dose (AND I'm immune to diazapam!!))....but it's NOT a way forward. I really don't know how I'm going to make it to that diagnosis, my anxiety alone blasts straight through the Venlafaxine (375mg/day), Buspirone, Propranalol etc everyday by the early evening (this is getting up at noon due to the ADD) and all the medically trained people I dealt with over the last 30 years have had no idea why. The day I was diagnosed has to be one of the best days of my life (almost as good as my wedding day which was also my 40th). I even had a song lined up (I sing a LOT): Tom Petty - Too Good To Be True ......as that's what it felt like.....a final release from the mask I'd been forced into. There are so many of us lost and blundering around not knowing who they are, what their true nature IS, especially the ladies as they hide it so effectively. I have a few projects lined up that might help with that as autism can be really easy to spot if you know what you're looking for (or at least spot the possibility). Another LARGE issue for our kind is over protective parents. You are a great example of what you can acheive as an autie. I've been on expedition into the Australian outback for 3 months unsupported, taught outdoor pursuits, archery, sports and personal fitness, I'm obsessed with gaming with a particular passion for... yep, Minecraft (serve set ups, mods etc as my first career was in tech support), I have a degree in computer graphics and attempting a Masters in Autism. I believe that my purpose is to teach these tricks and tips on how to survive as an ND in an NT world to kids, teens (especially here), adults and late diagnosis adults... because it's one hell of a change to your life style and can be scary as hell. There are more of us about than we think ;)

Got some nice ones in that bunch mate. Got the same camera and love the whole idea about it. It's so simple but so damn great and different by today's standards ☺️

You're such an eloquent speaker. Thank you, just thank you. ❤

You've done the best explanation of masking I've ever heard.

67 here for me! It explains so much of my past and present.

I'm 34, and I know I am autistic, but until I can get free testing (which likely will never happen), I will not get a diagnosis. The worst thing about eye contact is that it ever gets easier... It is always anxiety provoking.

"It's pretty basic, but it's pretty huge". Amen, brother. I love your understatement. For me, it's been f*****g enormous. (Self-diagnosed at 56)

Hi Mat, welcome to the family. I was diagnosed at the age of 54 - I'm 63 now - so totally understand what you mean about "autistic experts" (amongst other things). I'm so glad I've found someone of a similar age on TH-cam and full understand your comment about comfortable clothing. I look forward to watching your other videos

This is good, I get how he is digesting his diagnosis. I too got a late diagnosis in U.K. (now back in in Australia). I saw someone in Sheffield back in 2013, at the age of about 60 for my AS / ADHD diagnosis. Now I am 72. I too have, as Mat talked about, mixed feelings about being Autistic. It can be a struggle and other times I am ok with it. I also do not see Autism as a super power but a somewhat complex and complicating 'difference' (and a disability too). Mat, there is a program called Autistic Radio in UK (Jules guy runs it), its pretty good and authentic. I have been on it one time so far. Anyhow a Late diagnosis is very different from say getting one as a young child. Probably harder, but you try to make the best of it. Self acceptance (not always easy) is useful as like when others accept you (does not always happen either). A good video. Cheers. P.S. Mat, if you wish to connect a bit, I am on LinkedIn, Nicholas E Glover.

Loved it! You have a great eye for detail, beauty and contrast. ❤

Every photograph is a painting. 🍁🧡🍁

Such a fun idea!! Love the result. ❤

Wonderful colours, great composition. Thank you for sharing these Matt. Talented fella so you are.

Very beautiful and intimate view of Italy

I love my mini Neo. I just wish they would make a wide one.

Alright, how many takes?

Thanks Mat. I always enjoy your videos. I too am a British male in my 50s but our work lives couldn’t be more different. You an entertainer on the road, me working in software & data in an office. But I share many of your autism experiences. I’ve always felt different. I’ve always suffered struggles. It got worse in recent years and I’ve suffered many challenges since 2020. My diagnosis this year of being autistic with inattentive & hyperactive ADHD explains many things. Please keep making the videos. We are watching.

Thanks for sharing your reflections. And the footage was really cool.

❤

Awwww Landshut. It's a beautiful place. The historical Wedding re-enactment is great fun.

Lovely video! ❤ Thank you for sharing your life and your adventures. They are fascinating!

OMG Thank you. It is fucking horrible! I have read Dr. Price's book, and I sobbed like I had experienced a loss... that life that I thought I'd figure out how to make happen just ain't gonna fit quite the same way it does for others. And I like myself, but damn I think it I've lost some confidence. My mantra was always "Oh Fuck that shit" when anything sounding like bullshit popped up, whether it be a job, a boss, or a prerequisite of some sort. But now, I feel a bit vulnerable. Do I tell people? Fuck no... Tried that... and immediately got put into a box. I know how people are. People love invalidating other experiences that are foreign to them. They become skeptical. For example, in the past I have have been able to be very creative at work and execute outside of the box, even though sometimes it is difficult for me to organize an explanation for people who want a 2 sentence summary of what for me is an overarching narrative with subplots. But then after everything has come together, I get results and it's really cool to watch. I wouldn't call it instincts. It's like everything I learn or experience in my life gets filed away in a card catalog that I don't really pay attention to until I can retrieve some odd bit of information as if it were just the tool I had been looking for. In my head, alone, I can be very pedantic, but I know people hate having someone tell them the right way or just kind of explain just to be able to show off. And there is a difference when someone who is really passionate about something wants to explain something. I can get really into that, and that's how I've made the best friends of my life, but either way, I tend to just keep my mouth shut and do the work. But, now I am in a new position at a new location, and I did disclose to the higher ups, but now whether it's the trust I took for granted, or the indifference to following someone else's flawed protocol makes me second guess myself. I feel like I am doing something wrong because it's different even when the big boss praises my work. I feel judged. It sucks.

I commented in another thread about "superpowers". I would say that Proprioception is a superpower given your martial arts/weaponry, juggling etc. Many asd lack proprioceptive awareness, but yours is extremely high. That's the nature of asd, being a spectrum. My THEORY OF MIND is extremely high, so I read people like a book, including microexpressions, and can manipulate them because of it. It has always served me well but is exhausting. Reading and steering people is one of my superpowers. Get it? Reach out anytime, Mat.

i got my diag at 55. Mat, my perspective re superpower, isnt that asd is, its that most asd i have met, typically have one or two specific superpowers. so i would ask yourself not is asd a superpower, but what is my superpower. give it some thought. what are you much more than excellent at, more than most. reach out anytime.

I've known I'm probably autistic for about twenty years but I failed to get a diagnosis in lock down. I definitely have an auditory processing delay and it makes things very difficult for me at work. I'm fairly sure my hearing is fine (I'm a musician). Thanks for talking about it.

LOVE this! Thank you for your videos. Found your channel after listening to Neurodivergent Moments.

Knowing nothing about you, I just commented on your first video (a year ago) on your initial thoughts. Then I watched you pulling table clothes and attempting to juggle plates for awhile. You're an interesting and inspiring person!! Also I've been a fan of Jesse from 'Jordan and Jesse' for a long time, so cool to hear you're friends with him.

Little things you said like 'looking at the bridge of the nose', needing to plan out what you're going to say in every situation and how exhausting it all is, really hit home for me. I've gotten so used to it, I haven't stopped to think about it. In my late 40's and undiagnosed, but I've been gradually coming to realize how much I fit in with all the descriptions I've heard.

I remember Pitsea station. I lived in Langdon Hills in the late 1980's. Pitsea station was the one I dreaded because the rails split into two directions and I was always worried I had got on the wrong train that would take me off in the wrong direction (travelling from the East). Is the market still in Pitsea? I can picture where it was but don't remember the name of the place. I hope to be visiting the area next year or the year after. I'm sure things have changed since I was last there but hope to find some old haunts. Hard to believe they didn't clear out the pigeons before closing in the area, even if it was only for hygiene reasons. Too cruel.

As sad as this story is.....I like the element of poetic justice.....you are the vigilante (well, as best you could be).....and well.....let's not talk about the villains....And I do thank those birds for their lives, forced to lay them down for the sake of feeding maggots and producing a little poetic justice....though the innocent passengers in the station were not part of the decision making.... I think William Shakespeare would have reveled in this story.....I'm not versed enough in Shakespearean vocabulary to say what William would have called your story, maybe he wouldn't have changed the title one bit.....I'm having fun thinking about...

Horrific. Where I live there are wildcare facilities that rescue and rehabilitate animals and rehome them in the wild. They are called in in such situations by business owners, homeowners, police, etc. Horrifying that either there are no such facilities in your location, or worse, that nobody in management cared to call them in. And how tragic that, for whatever reason, you were not able to communicate your horror to someone in authority at the time of witnessing the death netting. In the grand scheme, though, the maggots spoke more than words can say. And there will always be more days and nights and pigeons and dreams of pigeons, endless pigeons... I hope you can find peace...

A well told story of a barbaric act.

Poor birds

education.rspca.org.uk/documents/1494935/9042554/Wild+birds+and+netting.pdf

I'm sitting here, pretty aghast honestly. I'm sorry pigeons, and I'm sorry, Matt. This is such an allegory for the human-wildlife boundary that conservationists see on an almost daily level. The pigeons were lucky to have encountered you, Matt. 🧡

That's incredibly disheartening in the finale, but I'm going to focus on how you built trust with pidgeons and how little it took to make things better for them.

God, what sort of idiot wld put nets up during the nesting season without removing the birds first. That is horrific.

Trigger warning: animal cruelty.

Those poor pigeons!

Absolutely love this video

Very well articulated. The worst part is not knowing. May Abba [God] bless you on this new road [and may you continue with a more smooth path in your future. This is the beginning. And, considering that this video is a year old, I hope that your present life is a more peaceful one.

I'm 38 and have been trying to figure out if I should even bother getting diagnosed and your explanation here really helped me. I already have some earplugs and things to help myself go out but I think that I really struggle with giving myself permission to go take a break when I'm out with people so I avoid going out at all. The idea of you just being like I'm feeling overstimulated I'm going to go sit somewhere quiet is such an eye opener. I think when I used to smoke cigarettes that was often how I took a break but now I don't have that excuse so it's harder to convince myself to go out. Anyway it's so helpful to see your perspective on this.

"it's not laziness to need to rest" Yes! Yes! Yes! This! Looking back it's really no wonder I burned myself out. I would feel "tempted by laziness" and either force myself to keep going or "give in". Oh dear little me, I was tired and needed to rest! I'm not sure I've really thought of it as something related to autism before but then I only got my diagnosis very recently. "I wonder if this is an autism-thing" is starting to become a very familiar thought 😅 Thank you for sharing your insights so clearly and succinctly. Unmasking being about "giving yourself what you need now that you that you need it" makes a lot of sense (and it feels really nice to say, poetic)