Is there any point at 41 getting a diagnosis?

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^^^ This

I´d like to find the card test online, but it doesn´t seem to be there.

I was diagnosed last month (minus five days) primarily because I was tired of being uncertain: I "knew" that autism had to be my problem, and yet there was this persistent nagging doubt that kept making me wonder if I wasn't just making it all up. The diagnosis got rid of the doubt that plagued me, which was extremely relieving. It's also given me the opportunity to consider services and self-help I was unaware existed, such as social skills groups and behavioural therapy to teach social interaction one-on-one. If you have AS, by definition it means it's impacting your life in some negative way, and a diagnosis can really help you move toward getting the help you need to resolve whatever that problem might be.

It was actually my son being diagnosed as autistic that finally made me realize why I had always been such a weirdo as I identified myself, as a child others had called me ret*d including my own parents. I was non-verbal mostly until 6 and my parents did not want a diagnosis or didn't care. I had a near diagnosis as a teen.

I'm also married, and am self employed with a less secure than I'd like income.

Well hey I beat some odds in life at least heh.

I think it's hard to find out the cause and effect (AS/depression) without sorting it out with a professional. I've just started CBT myself, to hopefully get closer to working out the best way to deal with my issues. I'd probably benefit from an AS evaluation, just the tests themselves would probably educate me on myself a lot. But I'm currently a bit reluctant to take such a huge step (not sure I want to involve my wife and birth family). Would like to know for sure though.

What is the source for that statistic please?

Sure there is. I was diagnosed when I was 29. I also suffered a life of anxiety and depression, mainly because of the way I've felt and dealt with things all my life. I felt like my actions, behaviour and mindset was my own fault and was depressed that I tried to change them and couldn't.

I got the assessment and the diagnosis. At first it hit me hard, but slowly I've came to accept it and feel happy about it. It's made me realise that I am who I am. I can't change. There's no cure. So live with what I have, exploit my talents and passions, and focus on those rather than focusing on trying to change to suit others.

It also helps because you can now explain to people "I have Aspergers. I feel uncomfortable with x, y, z". So there's no more making excuses to people, or pretending. At least it's like that for me now. I find I can now relax with myself, and those around me who thought I was mentally ill now know there's a reasons behind what I do and they can accept me for who I am too.

I'd say go for it.

Wherever that statistic came from, I don't believe it. (There are lies, damn lies, then statistics...).

I did statistics for 2 years at university, and in our second year they showed us how stats can be used and abused to get any result you want, when manipulated by the unscrupulous..

If you suspect you're autistic, honestly, I think you can do the research and possibly diagnose yourself. And if you think you're autistic, then start looking into the issues autistics have, see if you also have those same issues and then see how they deal with them.

I have very mixed feelings about "professional" help. On one hand, it could be helpful to talk to someone about being autistic and possibly getting the diagnosis. It could also be helpful to have an autism coach, or psychologist/psychiatrist/counselor so that you can talk things out, especially if you're going to attempt to walk this path on your own (without wife and family). On the other hand, the more autistic people and their families you know of the more negative stories you'll hear about those that are or claim to be professionals.

The first professional I went to to get a diagnosis, I was up front about being there just to get a diagnosis. I don't know why to this day she never seemed to take me seriously, never attempted to test me or suggest if I was autistic or not. After about 6 months I gave up and was discouraged for a while. Then I went to another professional who was wonderful and if I could afford it I would still be seeing. However, she did have experience with autistic teens at least. Maybe the first one I went to just didn't have a clue and didn't want to admit it.

I've been to multiple professionals that prescribe medication and they are generally okay, except for the one who was so pompous he didn't really listen to me, he liked to hear himself talk, quickly dismissed my diagnosis as incorrect in favor of his own diagnosis, some condition due to having been a premie implying I likely had less than an average IQ.

I think if you seek professional help, you need to be determined and keep in mind that everything in life is trial and error, you may not get what you want/need right away but you need to keep trying until you do.

It is always beneficial from the standpoint of gaining a better understanding of oneself (assuming of course that your suspicions of AS are confirmed). On the other hand, you will always know yourself better than the best professional out there so it is somewhat of a mixed bag. It can never hurt. I did not realized that I am an Aspie until just before I turned 60 and was formally diagnosed two months later. That was three years ago. I will always be grateful for that awakening and the Aspie who led me to it, because now I know why I am as I am and can dismiss the lifelong claims of others that I am some kind of freak of nature.

I understand that 67.43% of statistics are simply made up.

I also read a quote from Abraham Lincoln where said be careful what you read and believe on the internet as it is often misattributed.

These are the two major reasons I want to pursue a diagnosis. I have tons of doubt and I'm really worried I'm mistaken and I feel I need it on paper to fully believe and accept it. (even though I know two people who work with autistic kids who seem to be pretty confident that I'm on the spectrum.)

I worry a lot about changes at work that would make it even more stressful than it already is. My boss at least lets me listen to my Ipod while I'm working (which prevents a lot of stress during the day). I'm just really worried about something happening and them saying I can't do that anymore. That would be a situation where I'd seriously consider looking for another job. It'd be nice to have an official Dx to present to them in case a situation like that came up.

Well, since pursuing a diagnosis means more peace of mind, that's a good reason.

Revealing your autism to an employers can be problematic and is not a guarantee of anything. You might have cool bosses and everything goes well, and you could have not so cool employers who just see a bottom line, not a person and aren't willing to work with your but would rather get rid of you because they don't feel you can do the job (even though you can with more help, they just don't want to take the time or effort). I still don't know if or when one should divulge their autism. I have found that people are not always open to working with autistic people, and may even be biased against autistic because they have their own issues.

But does a formal diagnosis kind of protect you from being able to be fired for certain issues that you might have? Like if someone was fired for having to be in a wheelchair the company could very easily get sued for that. This is one of the reasons I thought of pursuing a formal diagnosis because I wanted to know if I could be protected if I ever had to go back to work. I lost almost all of the jobs I ever had for Autism related reasons and I wonder if they would have been allowed to fire me for those reasons if I had had a formal diagnosis.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts kind people!

I called my GP today and made an appointment to begin what will doubtless be A Long Process!

My wife is very pleased. I am very scared. I think it is right for me though; I need to find out if this is definitely what is 'wrong' with me. Although it almost certainly is...

Thanks again!

Adam

No.

What I learned was that life in the real world works far different than textbook theories and models. All these laws to is give lawyers jobs plus make companies be far more subtle and underhanded when getting rid of people. For example, I become too popular and intelligent at one job and they could not outright fire me due to my years of experience, nor frame me for drugs or stealing (it was well known I followed the rules to the letter and would pass any drug test) but they did frame me for "accidentally" giving away thousands of dollars of product for practically nothing. They even showed me an invoice with my name and employee # so this obviously came from someone high up. Therefore, I was starting to be framed as being 'incapable' of doing the job. Didn't matter because I quit but they would have eventually canned me due to all the 'costly errors' I kept making and never not because I knew the truth about how corrupt and inefficient the organization was.

Just like they would never fire an employee for being black, but the few who did manage work there usually left in a short period of time. I never realized at the time that just because the higher ups publicly stated they believed in equality didn't mean they weren't racist a**holes. That's not even mentioning that "Aspergers" is not a protected class at least in Canada or the USA!