Diagnosis with "Mild Asperger's": Thoughts?

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Hello Everyone,

This is just my second post, I just created an introductory post in the Getting to Know Each Other section if you're interested.

I was diagnosed with mild Asperger's and OCD in 2019 at the age of 39 when I was dealing with an anxiety disorder that took me out of work for two weeks. The diagnosis was completely unexpected; all I was expecting was for them to prescribe me with antidepressants. I felt I had suddenly realized that the social difficulties I have had my entire adult life had finally been explained, and I felt a great sense of understanding, satisfaction, and relief.

However, seeing that the diagnosis was so late in my life, I have to admit that I'm not sure that it is "correct". Most people I know say that while they can see that I struggle with obsessive thought patterns, relating to people, and knowing how to navigate socially, they would have never guessed that I might be on the spectrum.

I feel that the following qualities are what place me in the category of being on the spectrum, and I wonder what your thoughts are about my situation.

- My entire adult life I have had difficulty working with others in a professional capacity. Cooperative professional environments are hard for me because I am a perfectionist with a lot of attention to detail and I have a tendency to analyze and criticize both systems and peoples' methods.

- I have also had difficulty socially outside of work in my adult life. I can be too honest with people, and I think my strong attention to detail and logical way of thinking is off-putting to many people.

- I can get sucked in to small tasks for hours (working on a math problem, buying clothing and returning it over and over in search of the perfect item and fit), knowing that I'm obsessing but it's hard for me to stop and move on.

- I have a much stronger attention to detail than most people. I notice flaws in things that most people don't notice or care about. As a result of this, my first instinct is that I would be getting all kinds of unsolicited job opportunities troubleshooting systems for companies, but the universal reaction to my attention to detail seems to be apathy, and I often wonder if others feel a little jealous and/or threatened by me.

- I have a very, very hard time with electronic communication. I tend to read too much into comments people make, worried that they are privately thinking negatively of me.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Does it literary say "Mild Asperger's" in your diagnosis, or was that a wording from the doctor, to explain your issues?
AFAIK there is no such thing as a Mild Aspergers diagnosis, even less so than the often heard High Functioning Autism "diagnosis", but diagnosises could state things like ADHD according to XYZ and Autistic traits, while not serious enough for a diagnosis with Autism.

/Mats

Welcome to wrong planet.

One can have OCD and Aspergers.

Anxiety is very common in Autistic people

"I can get sucked in to small tasks for hours (working on a math problem, buying clothing and returning it over and over in search of the perfect item and fit), knowing that I'm obsessing but it's hard for me to stop and move on."
Me, Me, Me

I notice things that other people don't but also miss things that are obvious to most other people.

That Aspergers was missed is not surprising. When you were growing up Autism was thought to be more of a childhood condition and Autistic traits that were not pronounced were often missed or attributed to something else.

Any other reason besides late diagnosis that you doubt your diagnosis?

Age 39 and finds out that you are an Aspie. That is probably somewhat common. Most Aspies find out they have Asperger's when they are in their school years. After that period of time, many individuals are left on their own. I am probably old enough that when I was in school, Aspergers was almost in the unknown category.

Anyways welcome to the group and I hope you will find useful information that will help you for the rest of your life.

Being an Aspie has negative traits but also positive traits. You do not think like other people. You have a different way of thinking and that sometimes can be good.

Don't expect for people to value your traits. Many will misinterpret your unique perspective. But always be YOU.

Hello! I actually hadn't looked at any official medical records until just now, and what I'm looking at says:

Generalized anxiety disorder (Active)
Dysthymia (Active)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (Active)

It also says "Autistic disorder" but "Completed" with a date of 4/20/21 instead of "Active"...interesting. I stopped going to this clinic last June, and this website only has my visits logged going back to 4/20/21. So it would seem that when my clinic switched over to this new online portal, they removed my diagnosis of autism at the same time. I'm actually about to resume therapy with the same therapist at a new clinic so I will definitely ask about this.

That's an interesting comment. I'm not sure where I stand with the second part of this comment. I have been thinking a little today about how often I may not react to certain things other people do, and it's possible that I notice things but don't care to react in a way that NTs do.



This is a good question. The psychiatrist who evaluated me didn't exactly seem like he took his job very seriously. He seemed really relaxed and laid-back, perhaps almost too much, and left the clinic I was at a few months after we met. (I remember confiding in my therapist that he interrupted me regularly and liked to ask me questions where it seemed like no matter what I said I would be wrong, then he would "enlighten" me...and my therapist humbly related to my experience.)

I love my therapist, who I am going back to soon at a different clinic. IIRC she agreed with the autism diagnosis, stating that I am "high-functioning" I'm pretty sure, and she also agreed with the OCD diagnosis.

Thank you! On my own, I truly feel the ways I am different are strengths and positive traits, I just get confused when others don't seem to reciprocate those feelings.

The general wisdom is that: If you've met one Autistic, you've met one Autistic.

In other words, we're all different. ^{Um...I mean from each other...though other interpretations may also apply!}

Until I was 64 I knew very little about adult Autism but would probably have associated it with Rain Man—which I'd heard of but've never seen. Then Reality gave me a hint and before I was 65 I was formally diagnosed as: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild), and the Psychologist's report additionally noted I met the criteria formerly associated with Asperger's Syndrome. And I was delighted when I got the diagnosis. So much of my life suddenly made sense!

On WP you'll find a number of other folk who have a lot of experience having birthdays.

Note: The U.S. uses the DSM which included "Autism" but not "Asperger's Syndrome" until 1994. Then, in 2013, DSM-5 was published and it rolled Asperger's Syndrome, and other things, into "Autism Spectrum Disorder".

I could not possibly agree more with this comment, I felt the exact same way when I was diagnosed (or what I thought was being diagnosed). I'm following up about this with my clinic and therapist now to get a better understanding of my official diagnosis. But I also understand that in the end, I am different than most people in certain ways, regardless of a label, and that I must continue to work on implementing strategies that help.

I just spoke with my therapist, she said she took "autism disorder" off my file mainly because she feels it's a "grey area" for me and that as a rule she takes a less-is-more approach to diagnoses (paraphrasing).

I guess at the end of the day, whether I have a diagnosis or not, I can still participate here.

Absolutely

Is your therapist a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist, who works with Autism, and did an Autism Assessment of you?

An Autism diagnosis shouldn't be the result of an "impression". It should be the result of a formal assessment using accepted procedures.

But, in any event, even known Neurotypicals can hangout here. Presumably they have an interest in the topic or they would spend their time elsewhere.

But they took out Asperger from DSM 5 and ICD 11. What diagnostic criteria were they using to diagnose you, and what country are you at?

The psychiatrist who evaluated me was surely licensed, I have no doubts about that, but I don't know how frequently the guy worked with autism. I went to the clinic for an anxiety disorder and when he mentioned this it totally surprised me.

However, and I was afraid to admit this earlier for some reason, when he "tested" me on autism, it seemed like he just Googled "autism test" or had a link in his web browser, maybe it was some sort of official exam on his computer but it didn't seem that way. He asked me maybe 20 questions, and then IIRC just declared that I have Asperger's. He may have tried to explain how/why at the time but my memories are more from going online and reading about Asperger's and feeling like it described me quite well. I think he may have drawn the conclusion that I had Asperger's more from talking to me and perhaps reading notes from sessions with my therapist, but I don't really know. Anyway, I guess perhaps I wasn't given an "official autism test"?

Side note: Have any of you seen the show Love on the Spectrum on Netflix? Without knowing any better, I would have never thought Kassandra was on the spectrum. So I guess I'm bringing this up because I think I'm a lot like Kassandra in that way, so maybe I need a more formal assessment?

I wasn't familiar with the terms DSM 5 and ICD 11, but I just read about it. The report I saw through my clinic's online portal did not mention them. I'm in the United States.

I kind of get the impression you were "diagnosed" because it was kind of the impression they got.

As QFT noted, "Asperger's Syndrome" is no longer an official diagnosis in the U.S. It got dropped in 2013 when the U.S. switched from DSM-4 to DSM-5. Additionally, I think diagnosing Asperger's requires information about your early development of language skills—like before you were two—did your therapist get that kind of info about you?

I know of two online tests for Autism traits:
>=>- Autism-Spectrum Quotient Test
>=>- Aspie Quiz ^{Registering is optional!}

After my bride and I concluded I was probably a high-functioning Autistic I found the AQ test when I searched the Internet. It declared that my score indicated significant Autistic traits. Not a declaration that I was Autistic, just an impression I resembled one. That is what convinced me it would be reasonable to get a formal assessment—which involved a lot more than a few questions.

Your therapist's impression may or may not be correct but it doesn't sound like an official diagnosis. If you're happy with that then, well, you are happy with that. Getting a formal diagnosis might be an unnecessary nuisance for you.

If you decide to seek official accommodations for being Autistic you should probably seek an official diagnosis. But if you're old enough you've probably been muddling along reasonably well. In which case a diagnosis might be a wonderful enlightenment but perhaps only marginally useful.

I retired in 2011 and first suspected I was Autistic in 2019. I was delighted to finally understand so much of my life but the only practical benefit, so far, is that when my bride bumps up against one of my Autistic traits I can say: "I have a doctor's note for that!" Note: This amuses me more than it amuses her.

I have tried using the diagnosis to adjust how my medical providers handle me. First and foremost, I want them to give me stuff in writing. But, I was asking for that before I knew I was Autistic. Before I was known to be Autistic some providers gave me stuff in writing, some didn't; now that I can cite my official diagnosis some providers give me stuff in writing, and some still don't.

I have not seen Love on the Spectrum [2019– ] but others on WP have. You might want to visit this thread.

On the theme of Autistic characters on TV we did enjoy The Bridge [2013–2014]. There has been more than one "The Bridge" but the 2013–2014 one on U.S. TV had the benefit of a good Autism consultant to help them get it right. (Oh. He previously co-founded Wrong Planet.)

And we are currently working our way through The Big Bang Theory [2007–2019]. We'd seen a lot of it before, but now that we know more about Autism...well Sheldon certainly gives kind of an impression.