Anyone here over 65?

Post Reply New Topic

I was diagnosed a few months ago at the age of 78. My grandson is ADD and when I told his mother my symptons, she suggested that perhaps I was AS.
I've been married twice; both wives NT.
Am I alone here?

Not quite alone - there are octogenarians floating around here somewhere.

My dad's eighty-four and as aspie as I am, but in the decade since I started on the diagnosis trail he hasn't expressed any great interest. What led you to believe that there was value in the diagnosis for you?

Interesting question you ask. I'm learning more about me. Why have I done things that others commented about?
I'm reading autobiographies of those with AS and jotting down the similarities. I didn't realize that what I thought was normal for me was really caused by AS. Can I learn from them? Don't know but I do realize that I am not alone.
I'm learning new coping mechanisms.

I've come to the conclusion that wanting the diagnosis is a strong indicator of aspergers in the querent - for anyone else, there's not enough value in it for diagnosis to be worth while.

My Dad is 70 and an aspie, he lurks on here. Maybe this will draw him out!

He is welcome to join in any discussion.

I wish he would. He is very clever and witty and I really think that some kind of community of understanding would be fun for him. But alas and alack, it's up to him.

I am almost 61. Is that close enough?

yes, it is close enough

Then, I'm close enough, too, at 61. I'm self diagnosed, but my teenaged son was recently diagnosed and I'm just like him. My wife is probably Aspie, too, but my 2 exes are NTs.

Compass, were there many problems between you and your two ex-wives? I have been married for twenty-five years to a NT and until I was diagnosed last year, she did not understand me. Even counseling did not help because the social workers we saw had no comcept of AS. At last, there is understanding.

There were a lot of problems between me and my exes reletive to Aspie vs NT. I only learned about Asperger's recently, but I was always clearly introverted. Both exes loved to party and shop, especially the first ex. Party noise is one of my overload sources.

First marriage lasted 20 years, but the AS vs NT divide between us only got worse. It ended when she "left me for some foreign guy" (also NT). She was forever trying to "cure" my introvertedness. The counseling we tried at the end was far too little and much too late.

Second divorce was a matter of survival. Ex2 turned out to be BPD and the abuse I received the last two years I wouldn't wish on anyone. I still cringe every time I share space with her, and since we share a teenager, that happens far too often. We tried lots of counseling, but like AS there is no cure for BPD.

WIth any luck, I'll be 65 next year.

Compass, I agree that there is no cure for BPD, but the medications are extremely useful for getting the person into remission, unless the person is consuming alcohol. Unfortunately, this combination is very common, as the BPD person is attempting to self-medicate. Of course, this frequently leads to another disease process -- alcoholism.