Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I've recently done some online screening test for Aspergers and kind of don't know where to go from here. I got these results:AQ: 36 (38 on follow up test)RAADS(R): 131.0FQ: 55.0I'm not sure what these scores mean for me but it says are all over the Threshold values for suspected ASD A little background about myself
I'm a 28 year old male from the UK. I've not yet been diagnosed with any form of autism but over the last couple of years, I have been wondering why I am the way I am so I decided to take an online screening test. I've only spoken to my close friend about this today and she believes there could be many other factors. So I don't want to jump the gun by self-diagnosing myself.
All the way back to infant school and all up to secondary I have struggled with social interactions but a had maybe 1 or 2 in good friends in secondary school but overall I found it hard to make friends and have always kept to myself most times I'd consider myself socially awkward around people not close to me. I was pretty much bullied at school, I suffered from a lazy eye which wasn't great, and as you can expect that the kids were pretty cruel about it.
I struggled in school and was always in the lower set of classes they usually had in class assistance I'd usually go off track and daydream and had a bad attention span and found it hard to understand certain questions etc, I couldn't keep up with the rest of the class and was usually far behind unless I had one on one support to catch up. I found out I was Dyslexic at college in 2007. After my dyslexia diagnoses, I got one on one support and I pretty much found myself excelling Maths which I found really hard in school. Also, I recall passing my SATS exams with flying colours with one and one support too. I now have found that I focus and excel lot on creative subjects that I enjoy and explore and research a lot and I have pretty much self-taught myself in web and graphic design and coding. I also love history, art, music and anything to do with technology.
Lately, I have been suffering from social anxiety. Some have noticed that I have a habit of pulling my facial hair usually I don't realise I'm doing it. I've been really struggling to interact outside my comfort zone and it has become more obvious recently as I'm having panic attacks at times and find myself getting nervous to go out to do simple tasks or generally socialising, it and wears me down. I simply find being alone to cope is the best but I put this down to generally being a shy person and largely introverted. But I'm usually very confident around close friends, my mum and brother. But find myself anxious seeing the rest of the family and try to avoid seeing them sometimes.
I tend to keep to myself most of the time although I really want to interact with others more. I recently found it easier to interact with others online. I have always known something was not right and my mum has mentioned this to me before that I never fit in with the other kids at school. I only have a handful of close friends who have supported me over the years.
I guess I have always known something is wrong and but I've always put it passed me ignored it. It's only lately as it seems to be affecting me a lot that I feel I need to face whatever the issue is head on. The more I read about autism more specifically Asperger's and the symptoms, the more I feel I may be suffering from a form of it.I'm yet to talk to my mum more and ask a few questions I might not know or not realised as a child but I feel I was generally slow and took a while to understand things
Where do I go from here? What would you suggest? I'm unsure if any diagnosis would make a difference now I'm older.
Thank you
An official diagnosis won't, as you say, make a lot of difference to your life (in practical terms) at your age but people (including myself) do seek an official diagnosis much older than you are! (In my case, in my 40's.)
The official diagnosis allowed me to KNOW why I acted / felt certain ways rather than assuming or guessing. It also prompted me to research Asperger's much more thoroughly in an effort to understand myself better and I feel this has helped a great deal. Along the way I have come across explanations, related to Asperger's, for many other things in my life that I would never had imagined were related to the condition: Sleep problems; IBS-like symptoms; and repeated periods of exhaustion that had previously been mis-diagnosed as CFS / ME.
Knowing for a fact that I do indeed have Asperger's (although that name is no longer used I believe) also meant that I felt more confident in applying recommended coping strategies for a plethora of 'quirks' and difficulties such as some of those you mention above. It hasn't 'solved' them, but it has made many of them much easier to cope with now that I know what they are and what they're caused by. It's also allowed me to 'cut myself a break' about some of them which has helped sometimes in reducing stress.
The best place to start if you do decide to pursue a diagnosis is your GP. Some are more informed / up to date than others so if yours is not, be prepared to ask for a second opinion or see another GP. There is, I believe, help available on this website re. how to pursue a diagnostic assessment.
Hello,
You are not alone!
I am similar to you.
I love mathematics and history but I do not like art, music.
I also have got social anxiety. I do not like crowds.
I also like being alone.
I would suggest to find someone very similar to you and become friends.
I would like to find someone similar to me and discuss ourselves.
I also find it easier to interact with others online.
It's up to you. of course, but since you want to know more about yourself, it might be worth getting an official diagnosis. For me it answered many questions.