Any benefit in adult diagnosis?

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Just wondering if the more experienced people here, especially anyone that got diagnosed as an adult, can tell me what is the benefit of getting a diagnosis as an adult? What happens if you're diagnosed? Is there any treatment?

I have half a mind of get diagnosed but am also a little leary because i have spent the good part of 8 years chasing different diagnoses and treatments to figure out what's wrong and ''cure'' me. Alas, I keep drawing blanks. It's an exhausting process.

A bit of information about me:

F
Australian
31
Full time professional employment (after last 6 years on disability).
Masters degree.
Can't do relationships (social/personal/family).
Chronic anxiety/depression - not sure if this is coexisting to asd or if it's a consequence of it.

THe main thing that comes to my mind about getting a dx is that it might be good to claim disability accommodations at work - I already notify them of my disability due to anxiety but it is difficult to request specific accommodations for this other than to flag it with them. What accommodations could I get at work anyway? Anyone know? I would like to say that I don't have to attend meetings (hahaha) or network (hahahahahaha) or do things unexpectedly out of routine but I realise that this is unlikely and unrealistic.

SO. Should I get an official diagnosis? And how would I do this? And what treatment do they give you? And what reasonable accommodations could I get at work?

Interested to hear anyone's thoughts.

It really depends on a lot of things. In my case I am seeking an adult diagnosis because I believe it will help me when it comes to creating relationships with other people - that is, I will be able explain to them why they might perceive me as a bit strange or slow and explain that I need a little extra understanding in some areas. I know some people tell others they have AS without a diagnosis but I am personally not comfortable doing this.

In some areas there is the potential for either financial or social support. Depending on the degree of impairment, disability benefits may be available, and there are often organisations or charities to help people with autism spectrum disorders with independent living - I don't know how common those things are in Aus so you may need to do some research. There isn't "treatment" as such but ongoing support can be helpful.

The accommodations your workplace would be able to supply you really depends on what difficulties you have and what your job role requires. If your job role requires you to participate in meetings then there probably isn't anything to be done about that. You may be able to request a quiet location to work in if such a place exists, or, for example, request written instructions if you have trouble following verbal ones. You may want to write a list of the difficulties you experience in the workplace and consider whether there is anything your place of work might be able to do to accommodate any of them and whether the request would be reasonable.

The benefits of a diagnosis will depend on the person. I've suspected for many years I had AS/autism, but it's only recently that I've started to associate issues other than with social interaction to it.

For me, diagnosis would mean being able to continue accessing the little support I already do access, which I think is enough for me.
It will give me a bit more validity when asking for help/adjustments at work - the things I need from my employers are just small changes, ie don't change my shifts last minute (particularly location), don't ask me to come in early without prior warning, give me written instructions in list format rather than asking me verbally, try to understand the way I learn and adapt things to it.
It will hopefully take the pressure off me a bit. Realising AS could be the answer has already done this to some extent. I don't feel so pressured to behave "normally". I've realised I can show people certain aspects of my personality and ask that they try and accommodate them, rather than me worrying myself sick about fitting in.

I don't know how the process works in Australia, but in England it's like this:
Go to your GP (General Practitioner, your main doctor)
Get referred to a local service (mental health, learning disabilities team, specialist autism diagnostic centre)
Wait to have funding for your appointments approved
Attend appointment with some psychs
Have another appointment where your parents/partner come along
Get diagnosis (or not) and recommendations for further support

Last edited by mljt on 13 Oct 2012, 5:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

Seriously, how many times is this question asked - wish there was a better forum search feature.

If you want to put your mind at rest and find out for sure rather than deal with the constant thinking about whether it is true, then it is worth getting a diagnosis.



I'm in the UK and the process is to go to your GP and ask for a referral for an assessment.



None. There is no treatment for ASD. They may treat comorbids such as anxiety, depression etc (which you already recognise you have and presumably are being treated for).



Reasonable accommodations at work depend on what you need. So it's not about asking "what can I get?" but "what do I need?" and then asking for what you need. Every person is different so your accommodations will likely be different to others. Work out what your difficulties at work are, then figure out what could reasonably be done to help you overcome these difficulties. It's a fairly logical process. Of course what you see as reasonable might be different to what your workplace sees as reasonable but there is always room for negotiation. I have the input of an occupational health doctor (as I have been on long term sick leave twice as a result of stress related to my ASD) who helps me with what reasonable adjustments might be helpful. Some have proven helpful and others - which we thought would help - just made things worse. It's a process of trial and error. Fortunately I have a very accommodating and flexible workplace.

Cheaper education, sickness benefits[income welfare], valid excuse for shortcomings, may be able to get away with cannabis use re police

vrs


Higher insurance costs, placed on a bad list, self fulfilling prophecy

i was 24 when i was diagnosed with aspergers,after yrs of not knowing what was wrong with me,i did have some learning difficulties in school so had SEN help through all my school life.
It was not until i was about 12yrs old that my real problems started,as i could not form any friendships with anyone so started to suffer from getting bullied at school by most of the kids,this went on for yrs until i left school...still no friends and by then interaction was really difficult..never really knew what to say to people or how to start a conversation,so ended up very lonely and isolated from the rest of the world.
As interaction was difficult i could not find work..as sitting in the same room as people caused me so much stress, i left school with no exam passes becuse of my learning difficulties..tried so hard to find work but had nothing to offer anyone...who wants to employ someone that can not even stay in the same room as people,anyway struggled for yrs hoping my life would get better..in the end because of not being able to talk to or interact with people i felt i had no life so tried to end mine.....got took to the Mental health unit and told that i was depressed..until a doctor said i could have aspergers..so went to a hospital in london for 5hrs of investigations and questions..the result was that i have had aspergers for most of my life that should have been diagnosed as a child.
but after all of this ,i ended up with just a social worker that visits me ..no help with my interaction or constant repetative behaviour,and the isolation is killing me..but that is the UK for you.
yes i am glad i got diagnosed, at least i understand what was causing my problems...but still i have no help to overcome these problems so its a constant cycle of depression..with not being able to live a normal life and as for the UK they do'nt give a damm about people with aspergers...whats left for me they even will take away my Benifit soon....that will be the end for me!

I recently went for an assessment and was told that even though I have a personality with very strong Asperger traits, there really isn't any benefit to getting a diagnosis except if things got unmanageable in my life. It's also apparent that many so called experts seem to think Aspergians are unemployable and if you have a stable job you can't be on the spectrum. I'm comfortable with saying I'm an Aspie even though I'll never get the label to go with it as I met 100% of the DSM IV criteria except apparently I am not impaired since after 3 years looking for work I found a job despite superior credentials.

In Canada, there is zero help for anyone over 22 so I'm not going to bother making official what I already know. If it gets to a point where I am struggling (i.e. forced to work in a busy environment) I will reconsider. Besides, having an official dx might mean people might think I would be an unfit parent or use that as an excuse to jack up insurance rates even though in reality there is nothing 'wrong' with me. I already had an insurance agent take something I said, take it completely out of context to jack my insurance up 50% and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it other than switch companies. People can be incredibly narrow minded and spend way too much time watching movies to say the least.

I just wish I knew back as a teenager what I knew now. I would have made life oh so much easier even without any support or help.

GiantHockeyFan, what's insurance companies got to do with watching movies?

I've always thought insurance is fraud, anyway. Very shallow one at that.

You pretty much nailed it, as usual , but a little help can be there for adults too, at least in Hungary, in the form of counselling. In my opinion a formal dx is only a part of a much larger picture, once you learned about high functioning autism, you are sucked in, there's no return. Better get dx'd, at least you can put your mind at rest and realize the little help you can find...

They both come up with ridiculous over the top conclusions. I can easily see how even with a perfect driving history they can look at Aspergers and say since Aspies have a higher incidence of mental illness, depression and suicide we need to double your rates since you are now dangerous and mentally unstable. It doesn't matter how good a driver I am or how absolutely absurd that logic is: these scam artists will use any clever interpretation to jack up my rates. I'm a very honest person but I've learned that is one industry I have no problem lying to and hiding things from. I speak from experience in saying the more honest you are, the more they will accuse of trying to defraud them. They even tried reclassifying me as a brand new driver since I went a day without insurance when getting a new car and that would have meant paying over $3000 annually for car insurance Insane!

What I think is that it is always good to know that you have AS.

That doesn't make your life very much easier though. You'll perceive yourself differently.

The formal diagnosis is only good to get better support,
in case some of your side problems cripple you (anxiety, depression)
or in case you can't work anymore.

I don't know though whether they would notice that we are really different and would therefore need special treatment.
If they'd just always try to help you like they do with NT, that can be I think even worse than no help at all.
I mean what do you do with a psychologist that has no idea about anything and just suggests you one after the other strange NT technique to get rid of problems.
Like: "You are not alone" and such. I mean that kind of things that obviously will never work out.

Then you'd feel even more alone.

Getting a formal diagnosis is only the key for some further help. Nothing more.
And whether you'd really get appropriate help, I don't know.
At least it seems more reasonable to send you to a specialist, when you have a diagnosis.

Ad you'd never loose anything through the diagnosis. I mean you'd know it already before.

Not knowing it could be in certain situations advantageous, or at least you could discuss about whether it is always better to know it or not.

But if you have a paper or not doesn't make you feel neither worse nor better. Or at least there is not that much of an impact.
So why not just get it if it can be just positive for you? (OK, money question, and than you might be disappointed about that if the help that you hoped doesn't exist, with or without diagnosis)

Some people don't care. Some people want it for peace of mind. For me it was helpful. Getting the diagnosis brought me out of a deep depression (understanding my limitations and difficulties and that things are not my fault). I was an undergrad student when I was diagnosed (at age 26), and am now a Masters student. I get useful accommodations such as a private exam room. These are just a couple examples, but I am very happy I got my diagnosis--then again, autism was really affecting me, and I high-functioning but not "mild". I needed a diagnosis for my own sanity. This isn't the case for everyone.