Yay!

Very happy. Got my diagnosis today. At the age of 52, finally. My only regret is that it wasn't picked up when I was at school. I may have left with some qualifications if it had been.

Parents
  • I find your opinion linking autism with school qualifications interesting because I suffered the opposite.

    I got the paper qualifications at school while at the same time being socially inadequate and having severe communication difficulties.

    Looking back at my school days.  Autism at that time was unknown.  And often I was in a no win situation.

    Because of my unusual/strange/unorthodox/inadequate social skills and behaviour.  I was bullied and shunned, called a thicko etc.  And the teachers had low expectations of me, often placing me in the bottom class.

    As I got better academically, I was still shunned and bullied and called a weirdo.  This time because I did too well.  When I came top in exams, I was moved to different classes.  The class I was leaving, rejected me even more and the new class never really accept me.  

    School was hard.  It was all about survival.  Enough about my problems.

    I hope your autism diagnosis leads to a better life.

  • Ho Robert. I was ahead at school til about year 8.then fell behind. I have processing difficulties (which weren’t picked up either) I was in top sets because they knew I was bright but learning just didnt work for me. The only things that I was any good at were maths, English language and music. I left with 1 O’level in English at a grade C. I have since done my maths GCSE and am also now a musician in a church worship team.  Although I have learning ‘difficulties’ I am intelligent and logical. I became a member of MENSA after I left school just to prove to myself I’m not thick!

Reply
  • Ho Robert. I was ahead at school til about year 8.then fell behind. I have processing difficulties (which weren’t picked up either) I was in top sets because they knew I was bright but learning just didnt work for me. The only things that I was any good at were maths, English language and music. I left with 1 O’level in English at a grade C. I have since done my maths GCSE and am also now a musician in a church worship team.  Although I have learning ‘difficulties’ I am intelligent and logical. I became a member of MENSA after I left school just to prove to myself I’m not thick!

Children
  • they didn't do ADOS or any kind of executive functioning or communication/comprehension tests. All that happened was that I filled in the AQ 50 the EQ 50 and the relatives questionnaire all of which scored well into the autistic threshold, then I went for a 3 and a half hour  face to face 'interview' to which I took my husband and she just talked to us, asked question, talked about my childhood, my teenage years and now. I have been with my husband for 28 years so his input was very helpful. I guess that now only did I give answers that fit in with a Dx of autism, but she would have been assessing the way i responded, language used, eye contact etc.Having said that I will get a letter by the end of next week summarising the face to face and everything discussed and observed so there may be more detail in that

  • I think back in our school years, the 70s basically, they only really thought in terms of academic ability and 'effort'.

    I'm a bit more like Robert. I put 'university drop-out' as 'Education' on my profile here. I think I was picked out as different in primary school since I wasn't very interested, and the county educational psychologist just found I had a very high IQ. So I ended up at secondary school a year early and taking some science and maths O' Levels up to five years early.

    So I got through most of my exams without any study (A in English Language but U in English Literature), and fortunately through school without any real bullying probably because of a good state school culture. It was only when I got to university that I realised I couldn't study if I needed to. Some of that I put down to bad habits and depression/anxiety, but I now realise that it was also executive function problems and a kind of 'internalised PDA', which has dogged me everywhere. I'm not sure what the intervention would be nowadays, and wonder if it is too late. I've heard it said that besides a university degree, there should be a qualification for solid friendships and character development. I wouldn't have got either.

    It can be a real divergence between early development and late development. Some of it is individual aptitudes, but mostly it's luck in getting encouragement and recognition.

    Congratulations, Lellynelly.  Did you get an ADOS-2 score (mine was 11+2)? Should we make you a badge?

  • I, too, was a loner.  I couldn't focus on any lessons.  It was a waste of time.  I left after 11 years with basically no greater skills or knowledge than I had when I started (I could already read and write at 5).  I did an English O level at 22, through a correspondence course - but struggled with that.  At 23, I took a Mensa test and scored high enough to get in, too. That actually left me in a quandary: how could I have high intelligence, yet be 'thick'?  I mean that.  I still struggled with learning.  At work, they thought there was something wrong with me because I couldn't use a calculator properly, couldn't remember basic instructions, etc.  Then, suddenly, things began to fall into place.  I think I became so hyper-aware of my backwardness that I made extra efforts.  Even now, though, I still find learning difficult.  I've actually wondered sometimes if I have a mild LD.  I could never focus for long enough to learn complicated stuff like higher maths, physics, etc.  I'm right-brain dominant, and am highly creative and imaginative.  But logical stuff defeats me.

  • English was my worst subject at school.  You did better than me.  My best English 'O' level result was a grade D, twice.

    Maths was my best subject.  I actually managed 100% in my mock 'A' level pure maths paper.

  • I was a loner at school, but got bullied at college and ended up leaving the mechanic course I was doing after the first year.