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Hi,

Two of my nephews have been recently diagnosed with aspergers, After reading about the condition I felt like I had woken up for the first time. All the case studies and situations I read about sounded so familiar.

I waited six months to get an appointment at the autism centre in Glasgow where I live, only to be told after 30 minutes of questions about my childhood, most of which I couldn’t answer, that I do not have ASD. I feel that the diagnostic process is heavily focused on children and childhood. They didn’t ask me anything about my day to day life, sensory issues etc. I heard that it could be difficult to get a diagnosis in adulthood. I can’t shake the feeling I had when I read about the condition for the first time. Everything seems to fit. I have a few friends who I discussed it with, some think I’m just looking for excuses or answers, some are more open to it. I can’t bring myself to discuss it with my family at present, I think my father has ASD also.

There are many things about the condition that I can identify with in particular the sense of Isolation, Constant anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive behaviour. Oversensitivity to light and touch. I rarely sleep the whole night through. Almost all my issues are with social interaction, I have difficulty making eye contact, I can be very blunt but I’ve learned to hold my tongue more over the years, I finish peoples sentences for them, talk over them, pick up their accent and phrasing, can’t focus on things that don’t interest me. I find large groups confusing, I can’t focus on individual conversations, or keep up with the changes in the group dynamic, I phase out of conversations and get overwhelmed by everything thats going on around me. I have had many meltdowns, public and private.

It is the area of my life that I have always struggled with. I have always tried to be social though, despite the difficulty. I have received CBT for anxiety and depression. I feel that this has improved my situation somewhat over the years.

My obsession has always been Music and Sound design. I love electronic music particularly House and Techno and I have had a couple of records released. I Love Techno because you can be alone and in the crowd at the same time, it is the only time I have experienced this. Me and a friend are looking at building a Sound System, something which I am excited about.

So I decided to Join this forum and discuss my experiences with others and listen to their experiences, make my own mind up about it.

Hi AWOL - I decided to click on a thread that didn't look very busy for my first post and it has turned out to be an apt choice! I, too, was frustrated by my first attempt to be tested for ASD. My therapist, asked me a few questions about my childhood and stated he did not think I was on the spectrum. I called my health care company and asked if they had any practitioners who test adults for ASD. They referred me to a clinic with a guy who specializes in testing for all kinds of mental and emotional disorders. He conducted a long interview, and then sent me home with several long tests for me to fill out and a couple for a family member who knows me to fill out. He diagnosed me with Asperger's disorder along with anxiety and social phobia. This has allowed me to get reasonable accommodations at work and schedule some therapy.

It must have been frustrating to have an austism center treat you so dismissively. I would suggest you call some more psychology clinics and ask if they do ASD testing on adults. You might also see if the National Autistic Society can offer you some advice. (sorry - I'm not allowed to post links yet)

While it won't give you a diagnosis, there is an interesting online test with questions similar to the tests I took. You can google the wired aq test to find it.

I wish you the best of luck.

Welcome, and good luck.

Welcome

Welcome to WP

Hello! I hope you find what you're looking for and more here.

Welcome to WP. Even in the u.s. it is difficult to get an adult dx and if you switch drs, the next on may try to refute the previous dx. My primary had to do much research to try to get me involved with a dr. who could simply get me started with the right options. So, Three doctors just to try to determine the best way to proceed to try to determine a dx.

I hope you find the support and good doctors you need.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome!

Hi there! Welcome to Wrong Planet!