Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello!
Long story short - I am female, 28, have a really long history of anxiety (which has never been narrowed down to a specific subtype, because it doesn't fit any of them) and have been in and out of mental health services for years, and recently a therapist suggested I might have ASD and offered to refer me to the adult autism services in my area.
It came kind of out of the blue but there are things that ASD would explain that nothing else has been able to. If I don't have control of my environment I cannot function and I don't know why - it's not anxiety about a specific identifiable thing, I just can't cope. For this reason I cannot seem to hold down a normal job - I'm in academia at the moment and am much happier, but it will come to an end eventually and I'll be back on the treadmill of getting hired then fired because I'm too non-specifically overwhelmed to do my damn job. I cannot cope with having my schedule altered. I have ludicrously intense interests that are incredibly disruptive to the rest of my life.
But there are also things I'm not sure about. I don't know if I'm socially impaired enough (I make a very good first impression even if I can't sustain it). I don't know if I have enough sensory issues. I don't know if I have enough communication issues (I *think* I am not very good at nonverbal communication at all, but I am very very very good at interpreting language, I think better than average).
And so I have a horrible suspicion that I might be right on the borderline between ASD and not. My AQ score ranges from 30 to 37, depending on whether I 'round up' or 'round down' on the questions I'm not sure about (do I enjoy reading fiction? I don't enjoy it as much as non-fiction, but I still enjoy it. I've been told I interrupt a lot on the phone but am not aware of doing so, so does that mean I know when it's my turn to speak or not?). And I almost feel like having confirmation that I have traits but not enough for a diagnosis, when the traits I do have are severe enough that I can't hold down a job, might be worse than not knowing.
So what happens if the result does come back borderline? Is that it? Are you sent off with no support or access to adjustments at work but still having the confirmation you're not quite 'normal'?
Hi Amirah, if your coordination is below average, combining this feature with your below average memory score implies you mast have dyspraxia. I have dyspraxia, borderline asperger syndrome.
This is my article, written in December 2014.
senmagazine.co.uk/.../what-use-diagnosis
I have "borderline asperger syndrome." This is my article written in December 2014. My autistic spectrum quotient is around 25. See,
https://senmagazine.co.uk/articles/articles/senarticles/what-use-diagnosis
I got a diagnosis around 3 months ago.
For me, throughout the process I had doubts as to if I fit it, but I was very happy with what happened. After doing an AQ test myself, and having an appointment with my Dr and repeating I was passed onto the Autism Diagnostic Service for my area of the UK. They invited me in and did a much more thorough test.
I then had a gap of around 8 months on the waiting list, but got an appointment where I took my partner. This was more for them to get to know me. I was suprised that a lot of what they said at the end when they confirmed my diagnosis had infact come from my partner. They had also assessed things like my eye movement and fidgeting etc. which I had not realised they were looking for, and took all this into account. At the end after they said I was fitting a diagnosis they asked if I wanted it, as for some people knowing is enough.
I'm not sure where you live, but my experience has been very good and I cannot reccomend highly enough. I am due for a catchup in 2 weeks and will get to see what support there is around. I am lucky as I have heard of people having very different experiences!
I'm in my 50's and asked a psychiatrist for a diagnosis in my mid thrities because I felt I had some congenital abnormality. I was referred to a consultant psychologist who did tests and found my memory was in bottom 15% while my iq was in top 20%. I was referred on to a neurologist to test for absent seizures. The psychologist said that he would not diagnose anything else because of my high IQ. The CT scan came out normal and I was told that my symptoms may be due to stress after trauma. Following this all my benefits were stopped and I lost my tenancy on my house and was forced to move out of the area. Now, fifteen years later when I phone the Autism Society I'm told that everything I say fits autism and that a high IQ does not detract from a diagnosis of autism. If you don't get the diagnosis you should keep trying and not give up. If the assessment itself has been traumatic for you then give yourself a break and try again in say six months time. If you feel you can live with no diagnosis then perhaps you don't need one after all, but sometimes the health service need pressure to give a diagnosis.