Nothing ~ DX'd too late

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If I had been born at a time when people with AS were DX'd early , certainly maybe my life would be more comfortable , and I would likely have " more stuff " )I LOST everything , and have OVER & OVER AGAIN 0
More depressing things to say .........I wouldn't?? be so crusty/" leave me alone " , happy w/institutional/psych world types ?

I will listen.

I don't know how old you were when diagnosed, but I was 43. I can relate to that feeling of having missed out on so many chances in life, and also lacking the self-understanding to know WHY I felt and acted so differently from everyone else. But now that you know, you can act with that knowledge in the future. It's still hard, but being able to define the problem is at least a start!

What do you need?

What the OP needs most, probably, is a place to REST.

You can NEVER be Dx'd too late, with the possibly exception of lying on your death bed. Even then, the family would all look at each other, say 'well, that explains a LOT.'

Hopefully not 'final'

Regional Center has all kinds of goodies as long as one was DXed before the age of 18. I know too well the feeling of Lucy taking the ball away yet again when Charlie Brown goes to kick it. I'm hoping though at least a better-late-than-never diagnosis is good for securing a disability income that at least might be enough to rent a room somewhere

For me the issue is not being diagnosed too late (I'm 38, but if it helped explain my issues, a diagnosis would never be "too late" for me), but rather, not being able to be diagnosed at all. The only mental health clinic that takes Medicaid in my city gave up on me before I even knew enough about Asperger's/ASD to inquire. Now I have no way to ever know.

Ironically, if that is indeed my main issue it might explain why the years of traditional treatments/medications I received for social anxiety/depression/OCD/ADD never helped me. -_-

Unfortunately, private insurance doesn't usually cover it, either. My diagnosis last year (at age 43) set me back nearly a grand. Thankfully, the center I used was willing to do it via a payment plan. It's a shame that mental health issues are treated as something shameful and "optional" for people like us, whereas a heart attack or other obvious physical issue does qualify for insurance coverage.

Agreed, it perplexes me that mental issues which can be just as debilitating as physical ones are still so easily brushed off as "not that serious" by insurance. I can't recall the last time I heard somebody with a lingering physical illness or a broken/missing limb being told to "get over it" or that it's not serious enough to warrant treatment. The doctor treating me for my (treatment-resistant) hypothyroidism is more patient and understanding than the psychologists I went to. Medicaid seems more willing to cover the necessity of taking medication for a physical disorder for the rest of one's life, but if you're not cured of a mental disorder after a few years in therapy, you're out. And that's if you're even lucky enough to get into therapy in the first place...

What especially bothers me is my former psychologist even suggested Asperger's to me--I said I could not possibly have it, since surely all Aspies are great with math and bad with empathy, etc. That was really all I knew back then. I still kick myself over shooting down the suggestion so quickly. But she was the professional, and she did not bother to correct or inform me. She must have thought she detected signs of it. So why did she not pursue the issue? Was my case just not considered important enough to bother?

Eventually that's how it indeed turned out (they had to dismiss me to make room for a client who might actually improve), so I'll never know.

I'm fortunate enough that my diagnosis of social anxiety disorder qualified me for SSI, so I don't require a diagnosis for anything, and I know it would not change my circumstances any; I'd still have just as many problems after a diagnosis as I had before. But just an explanation for ALL these issues I've had my entire life would put some of my confusion to rest, and let me know that it's not all just in my head.

...I was 45/46 when DX'd , IIRC . More on another thread .