is my ASD diagnosis adaptable over time?

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is it possible that my (earlier) personality quirks coincided with traits of asperger's? and that my current personality does not meet many or any of the diagnostic traits? ie i may mimic the signs of asperger's, but not actually have it.

as a diagnosis is behavior-based, not a brain-scan/blood test etc...


e.g. being shy & quiet. or not wanting to speak to people, but not because i didn't know how to - more because most other people my age were idiots at school. now however i know much better people...

i was legitimately diagnosed with asperger's, but a lot of the characteristics no longer apply to me (including online tests), because i've learned my way around them etc. i enjoy spontaneity, doing stuff with others (tho i'm still happy on my own) going out with people etc. i love physical contact, i love loud music and bright lights.... i can hold conversation a lot better than i once did - assuming it's someone i know...


i'm hoping to join the TA. i know autism is an automatic bar from UK military service, but i'm hoping i can prove i'm over the major hurdles so to speak (as i no longer meet the criteria for asperger's...). i have never had a meltdown nor been on or needed meds etc...


basically i'm curious if, as my ASD is on the mild end of the spectrum, am i able to just think my way out of it? ie i was never one for small details, and tho i was never good with people, i was "ok once i came out of my shell."... i don't know.

i'm not sure if i actually am an aspie, or if i'm just weird. i really do want to join the military though. but i'm not also not happy about "just being weird without a label"...

It is possible you might never have been on the spectrum.

Autism gets mistaken for other conditions maybe your personality quirks got mistaken for ASD.


However I am glad things are going well for you.

Yes, ASD traits can moderate over time through learning things and also natural development, and if yours were mild as a child, then they can be even milder now.

i'm curious if i just looked at typical traits for ASDs and began to think like them/act like them, eg "aspies don't like crowds, therefore i don't like crowds".

i don't like crowds, who does, but i still like other people etc.

Yes. When you know better you do better.

On or off the spectrum does it really matter?

You know yourself better than any of us if you feel you are able for something go for it.

Do you have to disclose your diagnosis?

yes, apparently they [the mod] find out eventually - access to med records etc.


i was told by the recruitment officer that they would do it on a case-by-case basis....


my mind is ruining my life....

It sound's like your diagnosis may have been a mistake I wonder could you get re accessed and would the MOD accept this?

i'm wondering too.

but then that takes me back to (in civilian life) just being weird/odd/off and no legal protection against being so.... arrrgh...

At the end of the day we are all just human.

I'm going through the same thing as you. I do have autistic-like traits, but most of them can be explained by ADHD or fatigue.

does the TA actualy ban people with aspergers from entering?
theyre pretty laid back as far as know,used to know a TA officer in bolton whose full time job was in the GM fire service, they do seem open to more differences and difficulties than the regular army does.

go for it,what have got to lose if ended up turned down by them?
at least will know have tried,theres plenty of bums on job seekers allowance who woudnt dare think of trying.
it seems like a cool job for HFAs/similar people,very rule and respect driven, its unpredictible but as are able to cope with things like that then why not go for it?
let us know how get on with it,itll be interesting to know experience.

Not enough information to speculate if you were misdiagnosed.

IF YOU HAD ASPERGERS IN CHILDHOOD you have it now even if you would not meet the criteria now. As you said you learned skills and found ways to cope.

Either way bieng "functional" and enjoying it is a good thing.

Aspergers isn't something that is lost. If you have it, it's with you forever. You were born with it. It's like being born with red hair, you'll always have it.

You just grow up and learn how to cope in the world better. If you feel that it's not right for you though, go see the right people for a second opinion on diagnosis.

Wind speaks for me here when she said,

"Aspergers isn't something that is lost. If you have it, it's with you forever. You were born with it. It's like being born with red hair, you'll always have it." This is the plain truth of the matter.

In the same way that some people don't like the natural colour of their hair and consequently dye it. Many in the spectrum put on the 'NT mask'

Many people with 'mild' HFA can feel like they are too NT for the autistic community and too autistic for the NT community.

This 'in-between' world is hard to inhabit without the extra challenge of those more effected by autism making claims or judgments about ones autistic status or professionals not taking into account adapted skills in evaluating an individual for HFA.

I'm not diagnosed but that's almost precisely my situation. I know people that would suspect me to have Asperger's, though there are others that would instantly think otherwise.

I can relate to the OP's confusion/frustration, though not to the listed improvements. I have never been able to and still cannot hold a good conversation, even with my closest friends. I can enjoy spontaneity but the extent to which that is true is highly limited. I have however essentially eliminated all rituals, and my only major sensory issue (that I'm aware of) has improved over time.. I almost don't even consider myself to have tactile hypersensitivity anymore (I do, but no where near as bad as it was). I still am hyposensitive to pressure, as I've maintained my love of deep touch and still annoy people by squeezing them too tightly etc. I don't stim as much, nor in the same eccentric ways that I used to.