How old were you

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I was diagnosed with AS at age 8 or 9. Maybe 7. But I was considered low functning autistic from birth.

If you are getting along in life (at least financially) very well at all, you would likely just be told (in so many words) to just keep dealing with it. I am presently applying for SSA disability with my AS/HFA being an included factor -- my primary troubles are physical -- but I am quite sure I would get nowhere at all if claiming disability on AS/HFA alone at this age.


In my own case, I do not believe anything for me would have been significantly different if I had learned about this any earlier. However, I have had the blessing of being able to delve deeply into the Twelve Steps (beginning at 31) and to there learn a *lot* about right *actions* to take even in spite of my complete lack of "emotional (and/or 'social') intelligence".

There was a little here and a little there with this:

Sylvia Nassar released a Beautiful Mind (about John Nash) in that
there were some anecdotes about him and an ocassional reference to "autism. " (I could identify a lot with this person)..... 33 then.

This would wax and wane and then I came across "schizoid" and some occasional references to autism spectrum here........ a few more ticks on the Geiger counter for me.

Found an aspie's blog and it hit home more and more and asked a second opinion about blog correlating with myself, and opinion was a reluctant and hesitant "yes."

At 44 found WP and posters here pegged me as somewhere on the radar here.

Either I lost my last marble and duped myself to open an account thereby deluding myself, or I'm on the spectrum.

Ride my seesaw.

bounced around between PDD-NOS and ADHD from ages 8-10, which was settled as ADHD and AS between ages 10 and 12.

8 or 9

Probably won't be getting diagnosed because I already have enough diagnoses to kill a horse (weird expression right?) & according to my doctor I will most likely be getting approved for SSDI.

You know, if I "cooperate" by filling out the forms and all. For some reason I'm finding that to be very challenging. Oh well.

Anyway, 53.

Actually I was 52. Didn't realize it was that long ago, until I saw the date I signed up here.

It was a lot to deal with at first, definitely. I had several sleepless nights where I basically reviewed most of my past experiences in light of the diagnosis. I was a bit of a mess at that point. In addition to other emotions like anger, there was also guilt in regards to my children and my husband and how I might possibly have harmed them emotionally, albeit innocently. I finally came upon a quote that Oprah used from Maya Angelou that went something like "I did what I knew to do at the time, when I knew better, I did better". It helped me to be able to start to put the past behind me and to go forward now with the new knowledge that I have about myself. Am I there yet? Not by any stretch of the imagination but I do feel that I have made some inroads. I can't reclaim the past but I can look towards the future and I can also try to be a role model/mentor to others on the spectrum who are younger, like my sons.

Self-diagnosed last year, age 30.

self-Dx @ 43

official Dx @ 44

I was diagnosed at 35, my son at 6

I was DXed by a friend w/autism in my 40s (thought it was a pick up line). Then I started studying ASD in grad school. What struck me was by identifying how ASDs differed from NTs, I finally understood how different I was from NTs. I had assumed they were a whole lot more like me than they were.

Doing this both helped me to accomodate myself better by understanding who I was dealing with and relax with who I was. The "un-named shadow that has been dogging my footsteps" now had a name.

I think I was better off growing up without a DX b/c I was never given an excuse for not becomming self-sufficient. I don't feel that any years were lost. They each contributed to my knowledge and wisdom even when they were painful. Now that my sister has self DXed, we can talk about our history through this lens. I think my brother is too, but he never talks to anyone.

How long have you been aware of your aspiness, wavetreak58? I've known for nearly a decade.
.

I am 35..I only heard about it when I was arounf 30, but I grew up with developmental delays that were sorta unclassifiable...I was obviously not ret*d, in fact I was advanced in a lot of ways, but was boggled down with social problems and sensory issues...Nobody could really discern what it stemmed from...I was placed back in the 3rd grade due to "emotional immaturity" after being chosen for gifted classes at my previous school...but there were many different levels on which I had delays...including difficulties with self-care skills..

A month?

I first heard of Asperger's a few years ago and thought "Wow. That sounds like me.". But I just let it pass. I can't remember exactly why. Then I started wondering again (stress at work was really wearing me down) so I started looking at it in detail. I had my wife and kids fill out some assessments on me. My wife said "Yup. That's you." Her therapist (my emotional ineptitude has created issues) agreed that is was a real possibility. And every thing I learn about it is a confirmation. It's remarkable how well it fits my history. Other disorders never really got the whole picture. This covers everything from my earliest memories until today. It's actually a little freaky.

I am scheduled to start a formal assessment in a few weeks. I hope the guy is ready for a tussle because I can't stand smug mental health professionals. It's a sad thing when a good therapist/psychologist is so hard to find so the first session will be me as much about me assessing him to see if he has any flexibility of mind or if he "knows everything" and I'm supposed to be a good little patient.

My wife is actually relieved. It has been a huge strain on our lives. She has always been supportive but I know what it has done to her. I am even cautiously optimistic that I can gain some sense of control.

It's probably not too relevant, but I'm wondering if I am more HFA than Asperger's. Just some things about my language development that make me wonder. It's probably going to be impossible to figure out since I have no records of early childhood and I am estranged from my family. And ultimately at my age the coping mechanisms will be the same.

It's been quite a ride over the last few weeks.

Never self diagnosed.

Professionally diagnosed at age 12.

And another thing.

I admit that I am feeling a great deal of anger. How could this have gone unnoticed? But I'm even more angry over the fact that I get no credit for getting this far. I am just the office weirdo, still inhabiting the lowest rung on the social ladder. Nobody knows that there was a time when I was effectively socially comatose. If people could see me today and compare it to my teen years they wouldn't believe the change. But all I am is the really smart guy that never actually lives up to his potential. And there is no possibility of any real understanding by anyone outside my immediate family. I know that that's all that should matter. But sometimes some acknowledgment of what I have come through would be nice.

Oh well.

I had a gradual realization, but yours has been so very sudden. It is a little freaky knowing you're not alone after all....

I am glad you're here posting. Tell us how everything goes for you. I bet most of us have smug psych stories (and worse), but maybe you'll get someone who is empathetic.

What kind of wave is your moniker refering to?