female silhouette of head and shoulders

Paul Mattheis

CARE Affiliate

Department
Center for Autism Research and Education (CARE)

Biosketch

I am your typical Gen-X man who wasn't diagnosed until a year ago. Knowing now, I can certainly see the signs were there when I was a child, teen, young adult, adult, and (currently) "old man". I work as a software engineer in Boston full time. I am married, no children, with cats/dogs. Most people who know me casually don't understand when I show Autistic tendencies "because you look normal" or "you do so well in meetings". My Autism shows up mostly during interactions with others: no eye contact, trouble carry conversation, no reading of body language. I have, less noticeable traits, that I'm not sure if I just don't have them, or I have learned to hide / "not do the thing".