age at diagnosis

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I am just curious how old people were when they were diagnosed and also how they felt when they were diagnosed. I was 22 (nearly 23) and I was relieved as well as angry at the missed opportunities and abuse I suffered as a result of being undiagnosed.

I was diagnosed with HFA, at the age of five. If I were to get a diagnosis today, it would be AS.

L-Evan

25 with autistic disorder ("official")
25 with Asperger's disorder ("unofficial" by Julie Fox)

I didn't really feel anything for if it wasn't either of those two..., there was nothing left to describe my [disabling] symptoms (I was quite certain I had an ASD). I didn't mind that I was missed for it either meant I'm not that bad, or I had a comfortable experience growing up that didn't make me noticeable (it's definitely the latter, the former may be a part of it too).

I'm seeing a doctor tomorrow so that I can get referred to someone. So, I'll probably be diagnosed with Asperger's sometime before I turn 21 (that's in July).

By the time I was diagnosed at 11, it was bad timing. I went through hell. And plus, I never really knew anything about it until I was about 15, so I didn't know what to improve on as far as social situations, so I had a hard time afterwards as well.

It was only a week ago that I brought it up with my mom, and she just assumed we would see someone about it. I hope to be able to work with someone to learn a few things, especially social skills .

14 (oral - autism, written - cns disorder nos then pdd-nos several times), then rediagnosed at 18 (pdd-nos) and 19 (autism) and 22ish (autism).

It wasn't discussed with me too directly when I was 14, I heard the words, read a bit based on them, but didn't really 'get it' in some fundamental ways. It took me many years to figure out how the term applied to my life (and whether various other terms thrown at me applied or not).

Seventeen and a half.

not dxed.... but it dawned on me @ 24 that this sort of stuff fits.....

dunno...... i did/do okay @ school..... am ambivalent about sparse friendships but knowing hasn't really changed any of that... i guess the best thing is that i found out about all this when there were resources available such as WP.

least now i know i'm not always wrong and/or it's not just me.

five.

I was diagnosed with high functioning autism at the age of 5. I had symptoms starting at one and then my mom knew I was autistic. For some odd reason my mom knew before the doctors. It took the doctors a while for me to be diagnosed so that is why I was diagnosed at 5 rather than 1. If I didn't have the delay in language, then my diagnosis would be Asperger's. But since I DID have a delay in language, that is why it is autism rather than Asperger's.

I was around 29 or 30 when I first even heard about aspergers syndrome.

i stared bugging the poor aspies on another aspie forum around the age of 29......and joined WP at the age of 31..now I am 32..

I think that is how it worked

Sort-of the same for me as Firebird; I am technically a HFA, Dxed when maybe 5ish. I did not speak until I was ~ 3.5. I am cognitively enhanced, yes, but technically I suppose I'm an Autie, not an Aspie, wherever that demaraction is, if it exists.

Separately....pretend this is a PM: Glad you're doing all right Firebird, and good that you're posting! I do hope this means you're faring better. I know you've had a rough time as of late.

17 3/4.
I'm actually still getting over the shellshock of being diagnosed, as I had never heard of asperger's prior to this last Monday.
Personally, I'm relieved that there's a community that goes through some of the same experiences as me.
I'm both surprised and relieved that there is one umbrella syndrome that covers the lengthy list of social problems / quirks that I have. Hopefully that will open up venues of management / improvement for me to explore.

The only negative aspect to my diagnosis is the potential for further social stigma. My few friends have put up with my quirks so far, but I'm not sure if they'd stick around if they knew I had a form of autism, no matter how high functioning.

I was very fortunate that my son was diagnosed fairly early, at the age of seven, almost ten years ago. Fortunately, the pediatric neurologist my clueless family doctor sent him to was South African and had trained in Europe, where AS was officially recognized for decades before it was recognized here. Otherwise, it would have likely taken much longer and meant a lot more needless suffering for my son.

We had suspected something long before his diagnosis. The doc was wonderful, too, answering all my questions, explaining it very well, but with compassion and understanding and even affinity. He made me feel my son was special, and not some freak. He said he found AS/ASD individuals to be always fascinating and enjoyed all the variations he saw in them. Too bad some of his future teachers, classmates and others couldn't have felt the same way.

My own learning disability was not diagnosed until I was in high school, even though my teacher parents had always suspected something was up. I have an extremely high, near genius level, verbal IQ, but my nonverbal IQ is extremely low. The psych said she'd almost never seen such a wide gap between the two, and was impressed with how my brain had "compensated" for it. Well, fine and dandy, but when I think of all the missed opportunities, as you put it, it's rather sobering. I know it's a matter of timing, had I been born even ten or fifteen years later than I was, I would have been tested and "discovered" at a much younger age when more could have been done about it. And I know I have some overlapping ASD traits, as they put it and as would probably be obvious in person.