Finally Learned Today

Post Reply New Topic

So first post!... I finally got a direct answer from my family about having Asperger's. I was diagnosed more than a decade ago, but was never told that i was considered to have an ASD until a few years ago, and was only told I had an official diagnosis until today. I was wondering, has a anyone experienced something like this? do they have any advice? how did you feel when you were diagnosed? what should i do now?

What should you do? Keep being who you are, which, I'd imagine, includes wanting to grow as a person for the rest of your life. Keep learning how to interact with others in a way that's "smoother" than maybe you do now. It's an ongoing process. It'll never end. Keep learning, keep adapting, keep trying to be good to other people and get along.

I am confused about some of what you say, tho'. You say you were told a few years ago that you have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, but only today were told you have an official diagnosis. What were you told "a few years ago"? That you had an UNofficial diagnosis?

Clear that up for us, would you?

I am currently 19, i was diagnosed at some point between age 5 and 10. I got an inkling that i wasn't "normal" around then. I was old around the age of 16 by my parents that I had displayed Asperger traits when i was younger but that i wasn't diagnosed with an ASD. However i recently encountered some severe anxiety issues and after discussing my childhood with my therapist, decided to confront my parents, who then admitted that had been diagnosed with Asperger's in elementary school.

It's one of the things I've always wondered. I was diagnosed at 32. Would life had been any easier had I been diagnosed earlier? What if I'd been diagnosed at, say, 7 and given appropriate assistance?

Sadly, knowing humanity for what it is, instead of (as it was) being bullied as a "weirdo", I'd've been bullied as the "special needs kid". Children are what they are, sadly. Monsters basically.

My mother claims:
1. She never had any idea that I could possibly have ASD, despite being a medical professional and having to study ASD at university
2. She always suspected that I might have ASD, but decided not to do anything
3. She purposefully allowed herself to think and tell me for years that I am a normal person whose quirks are due to laziness, arrogance, heartlessness, selfishness etc. because it was easier than trying to get help for me

She claims all of these things at once. She must be lying about something.

I too often wonder if my life would be different if my parents had actually sought to support me and improve my social skills instead of berating me daily because it was easier.