Would life be easier if you were diagnosed AS when young?

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I have come to the conclusion that I believe that my life would probably be better off today if I was diagnosed with AS when I was a young child. Instead, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which maybe I did have, as well as having a kind of pervasive developmental disorder that was never clearly defined, notably childhood schizophrenia. Most of this, of course, was probably not true, and maybe if I had effective treatment programs in place for AS that I may find coping with things much easier nowadays. Usually, nowadays, I am just a nervous wreck.

I had been sent to a specialized school, which was a good thing, given the degree of torment I received in public school just for being "different," by both the teachers and the students. But this school kept me until I was 21 yrs old, which I have heard is quite common with special-needs private schools. I only think, for someone with having AS, that such a lengthy school year was a disservice. Then again, maybe it had to be, because this school did not have the college placement courses nor provide much help in transferring to college. They seemed to worry a bit about my social skills, too. Honestly, though, I think that may have been a good idea, because I didn't have any idea at the time that college had much more group-oriented work.

But still, though, I went through college over a course of approximately ten years, dropping a variety of courses that I knew I would not have passed, primarily because of the conceptual work involved. So, I always found ways to cope with it, but I ended up going for ten years. I kept a good GPA and all.

The thing is, though, what if I was diagnosed with AS when I was very young? Would that have made a difference? I mean ... I can't say for sure, because my parents weren't exactly the type with the patience and stamina to go along with some of the stuff I have read about as guidelines in many AS books. I have always considered both of my parents to be quite absent-minded, with my father being too self-absorbed, if not even having some minor AS himself. My mother was too absent-minded, like she would go through with things and then not complete them. She is diabetic and has trouble following through with doctor guidelines.

I sometimes think about it and believe I could travel back in time and rechange some of the things, I would. But, of course, that's never going to happen.

- Ray M -

I'm not entirely certain I would have been better off, given my family's way of handling what they would deem a mental handicap.

I do not know if being Dx as a child would have helped me the school system did not have any programs that would have helped me and although I hated the bulling and the teasing it did prepare me for the real world.

Would I have been better off?


ABSOLUTELY!


Things in my life were so difficult that I was suicidal by 2nd grade.


I was diagnosed early, but no one ever made any attempt AT ALL at helping me understand it (and nearly all of the hardest times in my life were a result of not understanding myself and others)... they didn't even want to tell me that I had been diagnosed with it (when I was diagnosed, they didn't even tell me what the appointment was for, and I had seen so many doctors of all kinds that it was fairly routine for me)... they weren't even very open about it until I was over 20, and they were trying to get me on SSI. By this point, my depression was so bad that I just didn't care... and I didn't learn anything about it until I was nearly 25 (and I'm 25 now), when the depression subsided enough for me to start studying these things on my own.

Even that only happened because of a fluke event. If it weren't for a random message board thread that made me start thinking about things outside my own world of videogames, anime, and "illusion of normalcy" college classes, I still wouldn't know much of anything about it... and I'd still be completely isolated.

Short answer to question: Christ yeah

I'd very probably have been better off.

There would be potential for family, sachool and other contacts to MIS-handle the information, but overall having a picture of the world that made more sense, and a degree of understanding coming from more sides (non-accepting idiotic bullies at school I had anyway) I'd have had a chance of developing with more confidence and less alienation.

Not a certainty, but a better chance.

I was dx'd when I was 11 but that was back in 1991. It seemed at that point like all it really did was prove to me that there was something wrong with me, as well the doctors were real condescending with me and pretty much told me that I was pretty much just a really big loser (bad enough to be medical grade), would always be this way, wouldn't get better, had no hope, and oh yeah - have a nice life. My parents were understanding to a point but like a lot of things, AS was just a crutch.

I really can't say whether or not things would have been better although I definitely aknowledge the possibility that it would have opened me getting misdiagnosed with something I don't have, something that could have had the psychs throwing out medications that were even worse for me than what I was on, and if that would have happened - who knows - I could be in assisted living somewhere today.

It would make no difference for me. One I had dyspraxia. Teachers told my
parents more than ounce. My parents did not a thing about it (about 1980). Plus
what the hell did people know in 1980(I'm 36) about ASD. Which means it would
only be helpfull when i was old enough to do something about it on my own. But when your that old not much you can do to improve you can only understand yourself
better. I say I needed to know about it at the age 18. I had dreams of doctors drilling
holes into my head to find what is wrong with me. It would have been nice to know
back then about ASD or even ADHD.

It might have made a big difference, but probably not a favourable one.

Not knowing meant not giving up. Not knowing meant my depression came from bad experiences instead of self-pity. Not knowing meant never learning to say "I can't do that because I'm autistic".

In truth, I have no idea what kind of life I would have if I had been diagnosed early. I only know that the life I have right now is not so bad, and things could have been a lot worse.

Probably.

In the notes I have of things to talk to my counselor about is, "a deep feeling of sadness about life in general." When I stumbled across AS, that feeling went away and was replaced with a subtle feeling of joy. "This explains everything!" Well, not everything. Just everything not explained by my father's alcoholism or my mother's co-dependency, etc. It was the last piece of the puzzle called my life. Now I know it's not me. I don't have some fundamental character flaw or defect. I don't have to be smart enough to know better. God, what a relief!

I'm 38. I don't know if I would have been better off. I think it would have been good if my parents would have known about it from childhood. I have been very withdrawn as a child and people said I was such an easy going friendly child. My sister was hyper, so I was kind of like a somewhat less smart but much easier to handle in people's eyes I presume. But I daydreamt dreams that started with that I lost everybody, or that I woke up and seemed to be alone in the world and those were happy dreams. I was under the glass untill about 13 years old.

I exploded in puberty and wanted only real and unconditional freedom. I didn't know anything about borders of myself or others. I don't recall most of what I did in that time, because I did it and I watch it but couldn't register it for I had no system for registering things I dind't know. That only lasted a couple of years. Then it was a time that I tried to have friends and hang around and for this time I would have wanted to know because it was a time full of pain and misunderstanding about how I couldn't be like them despite the trouble of trying. I felt terribly alone in a world where people seem to team up on every occasion.

When I started living on my own I sort of got lost for a couple of years again. I started studying later than my siblings though that was the only thing I have ever really wanted to do. When my studies were finished I really wanted to continue studying, because studying made me happy, but I got married instead and had a baby. I started working and then I got depressed. Work is a dayly fight. I want to do it, and I very much don't want to do it too. As far as work concerns, I wish I knew it all along so I would have been better at putting things in the right place at work.

Then I divorced and I almost physically felt freedom. Divorce was difficult but it made me much happier.

When my child went to school I got confused. I felt that all the kids were mean and I thought that couldn't be, because it cannot be true that I found a school with almost only mean kids. So I started researching.

My parents have been always very supportive, but they tend to ignore things and try to continue to do what they think is good. I never wanted to ignore things. But just last year I started sorting things out and found out why life has been so bloody difficult. And why all the kids at my daughter's school seem to be mean.

But to say I would have been better of when we all knew? I don't know. Even today I think people with learning disabilities have a hard time coping. I'm in education in The Netherlands and I notice that learning disabilities or developmental disabilities are largely seen as something that only causes more work. I've seen they think of ways to block those kids from the school, because they cause more work. Blocking is illegal here. I work in an area of education where I get to see relatively much young people with a more than average IQ (presumed) and a learning disability (or ADHD/ ASD) and they seem to only get through if they have supporting parents that teach their child to be as self supporting as they can.

On the contrary, despite how much crap I went through growing up and fighting with my family and basically confused...I'm glad I didn't get my diagnosis until I was an adult.

I'm sure that I have a heck of a lot of bad habits ingrained into me because there was nobody to tell me how to do this or make me understand that. There are definitely gaps in my social comprehension because noone thought to explain the blanks to me as I was growing up.

But it made me have to find strategies and ways in which to survive. I am far from perfect and not always entirely happy with myself and my progress in certain areas (particularly travel and socialising in person). But I think that, if I had been diagnosed as a child, my life would have been a lot more protected and isolated than it in fact has been.

I'm not sure that would be true for everyone, but I believe I had challenges and I worked hard to overcome them because I thought I was wrong. Now I know I wasn't, but I'm able to blend enough with the NT population that I can hold down a job in a public library and nobody = staff OR public = has a clue that there's anything different about me. I had major issues with my mother as a child due to lack of communication,but we broke that down and worked it out before I even knew I was Aspie, so it's not entirely necessary to have a Dx to be understood by those who love you.

So no. In my case, I would not go back and have a diagnosis if I could. I am me and I was me before...the label just gave me peace of mind knowing WHY I was me, that's all. And yes, there are always bits I would change - but being diagnosed as an adult isn't one of them

Apple

Short answer?

YES

The sh*t I've had at school the way i've tried to fit in and diodn't, know matter what......I could go on but remembering even this hurts way too much.

Not sure what could have been DONE about it, but knowing it's a recognised condition and not just me, would have beenn a HUGE help.

Course, didnt happen because by the time it became officially recognised, I was 20. I WAS sent to a child psychologist about being bullied when I was 14 and I sometimes wonder, if AS had been officially recognised then, if I would have been tested and diagnosed then.

Julie

I was diagnosed when I was 2. Now I am 11 and my behavioral symptoms have been a whole lot better.

If I had been diagnosed as a kid, it probably would have been 1988. Back then that meant I would have been mandated to attend the special ed school which was a county wide school for kids with all kinds of things. I would have been thrown in with a group of kids who had downs, fragile X, and other things.

Once I got to junior high, I would have been taken out of that school and thrown in with everyone else. It would have sucked big time, even worse than it did for me.

But it would have made my parents a lot happier knowing what was up with me. Back then they were pulling their hair out over the things I did.