Aspergers - Adult Diagnosis

[Mallard60022]

Chris Packham today...........................................................

Phil

[Oldddudders]

BBC News this morning had an item about some sort of performing arts festival for people on the spectrum. The item focussed upon a 12-y-o lad who plays the drums to reduce stress, but there was clearly a great deal of talent of all sorts being demonstrated. In an era when disability is no longer a dirty word, this looks promising for these people to fulfill themselves in sympathetic company, which may enable them to gain more confidence in life generally. 

[Suzie]

Listening to Chris this morning reading out his book he does sound like a perfectly rational normal person. Everyone else is a bit odd!

[47137]

BBC News this morning had an item about some sort of performing arts festival for people on the spectrum. The item focussed upon a 12-y-o lad who plays the drums to reduce stress, but there was clearly a great deal of talent of all sorts being demonstrated. In an era when disability is no longer a dirty word, this looks promising for these people to fulfill themselves in sympathetic company, which may enable them to gain more confidence in life generally. 

Absolutely agree, and thinking about my own school life and indeed life in employment, your closing words (my bold) do highlight something which has got a lot better in our world in the last 40 odd years.

 

- Richard.

[petethemole]

Found this today, https://themighty.com/2016/05/rebecca-burgess-comic-redesigns-the-autism-spectrum/

[Ian J.]

That's a good comic. The bit about taking longer to process conversation I can relate to*, if there are pressures as well. So I'm fine with one-on-one conversations where I know and/or trust the other participant, but bring more people in all wanting their input, or put extra pressure on (for instance, an employer getting pushy for some kind of result) and I struggle. I find then I tend to back out of the conversation and go quiet, which leads to 'accusations' of aloofness, when actually it's me coping with the situation in the only way I know how.

 

* I also take longer to process new information, for instance in learning like at school. It takes me longer to grasp some concepts, sometimes quite simple ones, but once I've got them understood then I'm fine. Conversely sometimes I can grasp complex or unusual concepts quite quickly.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Ian J.

[Kickstart]

* I also take longer to process new information, for instance in learning like at school. It takes me longer to grasp some concepts, sometimes quite simple ones, but once I've got them understood then I'm fine. Conversely sometimes I can grasp complex or unusual concepts quite quickly.

Sounds a bit like me. Think with me I need to build a mental logical understanding of the process; doesn't matter so much if it is an accurate model in my mind, rather one is consistent.

 

With real things this works well as there is a logic to them. Where I struggle is with artificial constructs. For example in maths at school for general things I was fine. When they started with matrices I suffered from a large element of 'who cares' as it appeared to be an artificial construct rather than something with a natural logic behind it.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

I was filled with trepidation to take this test. As a sufferer of gender dysphoria ( self diagnosed but pretty obvious to any observer ) I felt sure that I might fall foul and be on some form of autistic spectrum or indeed an Aspberger's one.

 

My score was 10.

 

To be frank I think anyone with these syndromes involving liaison with or attitude to other members of the public will be fighting a far more private battle than I am with my dysphoria.

 

I believe that the only public figure who has admitted to having mild Aspberger's is Gary Numan. Also self diagnosed as he readily admits. Nevertheless a very talented musician and songwriter. Perhaps mild aspbergers would be easier to live with and indeed use to make a good living which my dysphoria sadly doesn't.

 

Also one wonders whether Aspberger's actually changes in effect from one situation to another unlike my dysphoria which can, at times, overwhelm me and those I am close to who don't share it.

[Kickstart]

I was filled with trepidation to take this test. As a sufferer of gender dysphoria ( self diagnosed but pretty obvious to any observer ) I felt sure that I might fall foul and be on some form of autistic spectrum or indeed an Aspberger's one.

 

My score was 10.

Sorry to ask, but which test. There are 2 mentioned here I think and a score of 10 would mean very different things for each one!

 

There is a cut down 10 question of the main test, consisting of the 10 questions that give the most differentiation.

 

As an aside, as I understand it the level of autism among TG people is quite a lot higher than in the general population. 0.5%~1% for the general population and ~7% for TG people.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[Ian J.]

I believe that the only public figure who has admitted to having mild Aspberger's is Gary Numan. Also self diagnosed as he readily admits. Nevertheless a very talented musician and songwriter.

 

Aspergers doesn't seem to be a trait common in celebrities, which might be due to the lack of social capabilities. Some more technical well known people, alive and dead, are suspected as having it - Bill Gates, Isaac Newton, Charles Schulz, and others. But some aren't formally diagnosed and are really just speculations based on available information.

[skipepsi]

Having read a biography Warren Buffett also fits the profile.

[Ian J.]

It would appear that some of the very mild cases of ASD can effectively go undiagnosed. I wouldn't be surprised if in the main those people had stable, supportive upbringings that allowed them to focus their learning on their aptitudes. Unfortunately, in my case, that environment simply didn't exist and my life experiences since have left me in the mess I now find myself. That seems to be a common outcome when an ASD person is not diagnosed early on and the rest of the world just doesn't get it and tries to force them to fit the standard 'socializing fixes everything' approach.

[Lady_Ava_Hay]

It would appear that some of the very mild cases of ASD can effectively go undiagnosed. I wouldn't be surprised if in the main those people had stable, supportive upbringings that allowed them to focus their learning on their aptitudes. Unfortunately, in my case, that environment simply didn't exist and my life experiences since have left me in the mess I now find myself. That seems to be a common outcome when an ASD person is not diagnosed early on and the rest of the world just doesn't get it and tries to force them to fit the standard 'socializing fixes everything' approach.

 

Indeed one wonders whether the ASD has developed over time because of other factors and thus was not really there to diagnose.

 

My nephew is severely autistic and was definitely born with it and is now in constant care. I don't think that the passage of time or his environment has made the slightest difference in his case.

 

I am no expert but I suppose we all are born with the 'ability' to develop these disorders and, for one reason or another, they are triggered by some internal imbalance probably chemical or neural.

[Ian J.]

I think one of the things that is checked for in an Adult Aspergers Assessment is whether traits were present as a child. I think there would be a reluctance to diagnose an ASD condition if there was nothing present in childhood. That would suggest the acquisition of ASD-like traits would have to be diagnosed as some other kind of disorder. I don't believe there's such a thing as 'acquired autism' or 'acquired Aspergers'.

[Kickstart]

It would appear that some of the very mild cases of ASD can effectively go undiagnosed.

Suspect for most people over the age of 30, the level of ASD would have needed to be very severe for any kind of diagnosis to be made. Probably has made things worse for a lot of those not diagnosed (and hence sort of bullied into complying with normal behaviour).

 

All the best

 

Katy

[Ian J.]

Hopefully, finally, eight months late due to negligence on behalf of the relevant department, I've been able to get the proper advice and a referral sorted out for my GP to send off to the right place. I don't know how long it will take to actually get an assessment (six months has been quoted as the waiting time) but with any luck things will start to fall into place sooner rather than later.

[BG John]

Hopefully, finally, eight months late due to negligence on behalf of the relevant department, I've been able to get the proper advice and a referral sorted out for my GP to send off to the right place. I don't know how long it will take to actually get an assessment (six months has been quoted as the waiting time) but with any luck things will start to fall into place sooner rather than later.

If you're quoted any times, ask if it's until the first/next appointment, and how long it will be until you get the final results. I wish someone had told me to do that!

[Ian J.]

And... the appointment for my assessment is next Wednesday, just after I get back into work. I can still go though as I've been allowed the day off.

[Welly]

I read this on the Guardian website today and I thought of this thread: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/19/autism-diagnosis-late-in-life-asperger-syndrome-john-harris

[Ian J.]

I read this on the Guardian website today and I thought of this thread: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/nov/19/autism-diagnosis-late-in-life-asperger-syndrome-john-harris

 

An interesting read. Some of it I can relate to, though not the more significant indicators. It will be interesting to see what the assessor thinks of me. I'm still 50/50 on whether I'm sufficiently 'on the spectrum' to be considered as having ASD.

[MarcD]

And... the appointment for my assessment is next Wednesday, just after I get back into work. I can still go though as I've been allowed the day off.

 

I had my assessment last month. Hard work but eye opening. I was told initially they didn't think I has Asperger's. However when the professionals interviews my wife and my parents the came to the conclusion that I actually had Asperger's.

 

Good luck for Wednesday.

 

Marc 

[Kickstart]

I used to think in more black and white terms when I was younger, but as I got into my twenties I began to find coping mechanisms for it which have filtered back into my thinking such that I tend to stress everything's grey these days and find it difficult to be pure B&W. I have been told my thinking can be 'rigid' though, which might be a remnant of more B&W thought processes from childhood.

 I can sympathise. I certainly used to see things in a very black and white fashion, and still want to regard them as such to a large extent. But oddly I also see almost everything as a range of greys, and trying to reconcile the 2 views is rather difficult; tends to be easier to just switch off to the thing that needs reconciling.

 

And... the appointment for my assessment is next Wednesday, just after I get back into work. I can still go though as I've been allowed the day off.

Good luck, and would be interested to hear the process.

 

I know I score pretty high on the basic test, but having had various sessions for other things recently, where the person involved often deals with ASD they said that it didn't seem obvious in me. They actually suggested ADHD , but while I do think there are signs of that which apply to me I think the same applies to most people and I suspect I am fairly normal on that.

 

All the best

 

Katy

[laurenceb]

Good luck for Wednesday Ian. I am on a long waiting list for mine, it was this thread that persuaded me to ask the doc about it so thanks for the nudge.

[Ian J.]

My initial assessment happened today. I had to do lots of talking, and that's left me tired. The upshot is, unofficially, the assessor thinks I have a mild ASD condition, but he needs to discuss his notes and conclusions with his team to get a better perspective. The official conclusion could take a couple of months or more to come through.

[MarcD]

I found the diagnosis answered alot of questions that I had been asking myself for some time but I had never managed to find an answer.

 

Good luck

 

Marc