Diagnoses as an adult...

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I was just wondering how many of you were diagnosed as an adult, and how you went about it?

Asperger's has been suggested to me by past therapists and aquaintances, but never followed through.

This week I plan to go to the welfare centre at my university to ask for advice, and speak to the psychiatric nurse I see, because I feel like the issues have been avoided (by myself and others) for too long.
How do you suggest I bring up the topic?

Tell me your stories

I was diagnosed as an adult following the death of my mother. I did not take her death well at all and was urged to see a psychologist. He is the one who saw signs and he initiated the tests.

It really hasn't changed anything in my life though. I do wish I had had help while I was in school though.

I received my assessment through a local autism center here in St. Louis. But it cost me $600.

My only recommendation in seeking an adult diagnosis is: FIND SOMEONE WHO IS INCREDIBLY EXPERIENCED WITH ADULT ASPIES. Don't go to a child psychologist or anything. Or at least don't go to someone who doesn't see adults just as much as they do kids.

That is why I went to the local autism center because they work day in and out with Autistics of all ranges of functioning and age.

In my first assessment, I unfortunately did not know this and I went to a child psychologist who wasn't even very good at diagnosing kids, so I found out. I did not receive any helpful diagnosis from him.

Do all the research you can on the person's/organization's experience with adult Aspies. Don't take anything less or you might be throwing your money away.

My psychologist said she could send a letter stating that I have AS to whoever would need it (employers, etc.) but I don't know if that counts for an "official" dx. I haven't been through any sort of testing, either. So I'm not sure what to do.

I just went for my dx but didnt get it (see my other post) and Im 19. Though I was still seen by people used to dealing with kids (which was a lil irritating). But anyway I just went to the University of Iowa Hospital to there disability place.

How much more official does it have to get? Are you expecting a card for your wallet or a certificate for your wall? Once your doctor writes the words "Fahreeq meets the D.S.M.-IV requirements for a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome" on a letter and sticks it in your medical history file then you've been diagnosed. The doc isn't going to write anything down for your employer without keeping a copy for your file, so that would be the end of it unless your government requires reporting of such evaluations.

There are no specified tests for diagnosing AS in adults. Testing (like the "Sally-Ann" query) is usually used for young people who are incapable of being introspective (due to lack of maturity or lack of life experiences) or who are unable to communicate conversationally with the doctor. Testing of children is usually done without the child knowing specifically what the meetings and tests are about. Adults, on the other hand, are usually capable of describing their history with the doctor in an objective manner and are quite likely to have already reached a self-diagnosis. In that case, the doctor will usually evaluate the patient through discussion and observation. The good news for adults is that diagnosing through discussion is much faster and therefore less expensive than diagnosing a child through a battery of tests. (The bad news is that it comes pretty late in life.) Most aspie adults seem to get a Dx after spending 2-3 hours with the doctor, as opposed to child testing which can take 8-12 hours over several days.

Psychologists are officially qualified to render diagnoses. Even though you didn't go through testing, she can still give you an official diagnosis.

Based on this, I'd say you've been officially diagnosed.

As the OP is based in the UK (much as I am), it may be that assessment is done slightly differently.

If you go to http://www.nas.org.uk you will find a link to an online resource called P.A.R.I.S where you can look up local health professionals for your area of the UK. Clicking here will take you directly to it: http://www.info.autism.org.uk/Pages/Index.aspx

You may need to be referred by your GP or Family Doctor and it may need to be him that you will have to convince to refer you..

It is worth bearing in mind that many health professionals seem to be of the opinion that AS is only something that affects children, or they may have other skewed notions as to what AS actually is. The search on P.A.R.I.S should turn up a few possible candidates, then you should be in a position to see what they have to say.

I got diagnosed in a wierd way - I would say that I spent a lot of my life trying to figure out how I was different, which led me to get three (though interesting subjects), largely useless degrees in criminology, applied psychology, and abnormal psychology . . .

I've been diagnosed with any of a number of depressive disorders, personality disorders, and disassocaitive disorders . . . my personal favorite being antisocial personality disorder (that is, a psychopath) which seems unlikely seeing as how I am concerned with the way that objects feel, not turning living things into objects . . .

But a person I know one day heard an interview with Dawn Prince-Hughes and said 'Wow - that sounds so much like you!' and so I read about AS and agreed - and got diagnosed about a year later . . .
And, yes, it does annoy me a little that I spent thousands of dollars on a useless education only to have someone hear a 20 minute interview on the radio and figure it out!

What just facinates me is that if you take bits and pieces of all the other things I've been diagnosed with you get AS - major depression, lack of normal emotions, disassociation, general strangeness, OCD . . . it is amazing no one figured it out sooner . . .
What so facinates me is that

I was diagnosed as an adult. I'm 25, soon to be 26 come the end of November.

My case was not severe enough, or the stereotypes in place at the time (1983-90) were such that no one involved with me ever made any connections, and my parents had no real interest in seeking any kind of answer as to why I was the way I was. But my case was severe enough that I had a great deal of problems in grade school and junior high. After second grade I was finally taken to a psychatrist who DX'ed me with Anxiety Disorder, Depression, and ODD. After fourth grade I went to see a psychologist who DX'ed me with ADHD.

I knew I was different, but I never really understood why. By May 2004 I cared less about that. That month I recieved my A.A.S. and two weeks after that, I found out about aspergers and my whole life suddenly made sense. I felt a overwhelming urge to seek closure to this issue and answer the burning question I had - "Do I have aspergers?"

My first step was seeing a counsler here at school who was a liscensed psychologist. He gave me an interview and then gave me an informal DX.

My next step was trying to get that informal DX to be offical. I got involved with a UW-madison study where I was to go through a DX process, as well as get an MRI scan of my brain. I managed to get down there for the DX process, but the MRI part of study fell through as I was never able to get them to return repeated phone calls and E-mails.

So I decided the next step was to see the pyschologist who DX'ed me in foruth grade with ADHD.

For more info on that, please see:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&p=65010
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&p=71372
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... ic&p=75900

Fahreeq: I'm really sorry for the way my message was perceived. I was NOT trying to make a joke at your expense when I asked if you were expecting "a card for your wallet or certificate for your wall". I was merely wondering what people are expecting when they ask about an "official diagnosis". I have seen a lot of people posting about it as if it was a notation on your birth certificate or something. It's really a private matter between you and your doctor. Obviously the decision to tell someone in a position of authority is difficult if you're in a situation where you can "almost pass for NT" and don't want to draw attention to your mental state unless there are clear benefits. It may even be worse for parents who have to decide whether their child would benefit from non-mainstream education at the expense of being further outcast from the peer group, because the cost of that decision (either way) is eventually borne by the child. The doctor/patient confidentiality rules apply, so except in specific circumstances (like a firearms permit application) you are not under any obligation to share your diagnosis with anyone. The standard exemption to confidentiality applies in cases where you are likely to harm yourself or others, but it's not like the doc is going to send a letter to social services warning them you're a bad parent or something.

This is the part I don't understand. If the first doctor was a licensed psychologist, on what basis is his diagnosis "unofficial"? Is his opinion not acceptable to other doctors for some reason (such as not practising at a clinic/hospital), or is he just not familiar enough with AS to be certain (like a lawyer who doesn't want to give casual legal advice at dinner parties without knowing the facts)?

I had problems from birth, and my mother had always told me that after my birth I was thought to be autistic. But I was forgotten about because my mother was in a bad relationship. I was over looked but continued having problems throughout life. It was on my own around 25 that i began looking into things and chekcing things out. I found out about AS and found a physcoholgist to help me out. And I was diagnosed....at 28. FInally!!

He is not allowed to make a formal diagnoses on his clients. The place I went to was the campus counseling center. There job is to counsel people, not diagnose them.

He said to me, "It sounds like you have it" and that was as far as he took it.

I was diagnosed at age 41, after a very long bout of being unemployed and which I am still unemployed. I myself have had some trouble some times holding a job. Don't know how many jobs I have been fired from or let go or lay off.

When I went to a doctor we did 2 days of testing, a lot of fun. I really don't like tests. Now I am getting SSDI.