Any point being officially diagnosed at age 36?

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Hi there, this is my first post. I started reading about aspergers a few months after it became evident that our 5-year old most likely has the condition (and likely to be diagnosed with it in the next few months). The more I read about it the more I thought "wait a minute, this is me all over". Various symptoms (agoraphobia, social awkwardness, self-harming, etc) made me think that I likely have aspergers and that certain relatives (especially my cantankerous, zero-attention span father) also have it.

Naturally, in the case of my son there are evident benefits of being formally diagnosed (formal help at school etc) but is there any point in seeking a formal/official diagnosis for myself? Could it even go against me if it becomes something I then have to declare in job applications etc? I like that having AS gives some sort of explanation as to why I'm the way I am and would help my understand my boy (and even father) better... but this probably won't change with a formal diagnosis.

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

There is probably no reason to get a diagnosis if it is not going to affect anything for the better. If you are functioning perfectly fine and you don't feel that you are in need of any services or assistance, then it is would only serve to satisfy your curiosity at an expense. Without the diagnosis, you can still identify yourself as an Aspergian if it feels right.

If you do decide to get a diagnosis (and you are, in fact, diagnosed), you need not disclose to anyone you don't want to know nor do you need to mention it to employers, unless, again, it benefits you to do so.

It did benefit me to get a diagnosis in my forties, because I was being harassed and bullied at my workplace. I got the diagnosis in order to get my boss to force my coworkers not to make hurtful jokes, file false reports, etc., which actually caused me to be hospitalized when I became suicidal.

If you can get a proper evaluation and you can afford it, that do it. I realize the WP community is pretty tolerant of people claiming a self-dx but I'm not so keen on it myself. In order to get my dx, I had to be evaluated for anything that could be mistakened for AS first. Which is a good thing. If you don't have AS but somthing else, you should be aware of that, rather than go on assuming it's AS.

Another thing is, if you want to settle for a self-dx, please do your research on what's AS and what's not AS. Agoraphobia and self-harm aren't symptoms of AS, but symptoms of anxiety disorders or another mental illness. I realize there's a lot of confusion in this. Many WPers, I 've noticed, do not understand the differnce, or don't care to understand the difference, between their symptoms of AS, which is a developmental disorder, and any mental illness they may also have. AS is not a mental illness and it does not cause mental illness, even though people with AS may be vulnerable to developing mental illness down the line due to social deficits, poor coping skills, executive function deficits and/or a predisposition to certain mental illnesses that is comorbid with AS.

I got dx'd as an adult, and while I don't recieve any benefits like Medicare, and it's never come up in job seeking, I found it immensely helpful in udnestanding myself. It helped me understand what skills I needed to learn to better my life. I also got a seperate dx for depression and PTSD, and I took the time to understand what's PTSD and what's AS.