Well, Hello To You All...

dont worry the NT team were blinkered!

of course I'm not sharing the ball with anyone! even thorough my co-ordination is so crap I can hardly kick it accurately LOL!

Was it an own goal? 

ASD 1 - NT 0

is that  the full time score! 

Injury time? .....any yellow cards? 

It's great to hear such a positive story like yours. Also, knowing there is a community who identifies with you very closley is very uplifting. I have always felt very much on the periphery of life, but now I feel quite proud to be very much neuro non-typical.....:)

Exactly, it's quite simply a relief to be able to talk to people who know what you're talking about, without you having to explain. 

I was also having severe problems with anxiety, which is what set me off down the road to discovery. I actually thought I was going crazy, or about to have some kind of breakdown. I searched frantically for answers on line ... am I menopausal and this is all hormonal....no, doesn't fit .... is it just severe stress .... some things match but not enough. Then one day I read an article about a woman diagnosed with Aspergers in her 40s and that was it. Oh blimey, that could have been written about me. And suddenly the whole lot dropped into place. The sensory sensitivities, need for routine, my hopeless social skills, face-blindness, uncanny ability to walk into things, photographic memory for numbers .... the list goes on and wow, it explains everything. 

Like you, I feel great for knowing. I figure that now I know I am dealing with anxiety caused by Aspergers, I have a better chance of finding ways to cope than if I was stabbing about in the dark trying to make general anxiety management theories work. And it is so nice to find our tribe, after years of thinking we're the only one :-)

Yeah Aspergers disapeared once the DSM V came along. I would think I'm also ASD1.

Wel, if its NHS, it's obviously NICE approved. My psychologist said they no longer diagnose Asperger Syndrome, so I'm ASD1, because I'm verbal. 

Thanks for replying... I've found the NICE details, a bit too much detail for me to wade through I'm afraid but I would hope that being an NHS diagnosis that following the correct protocols would be a matter of course? Lets hope so!

The numbers are for "Level Of Severity". From 1 to 3, with 3 being Kanner autism.. Maybe I was mistaken in thinking a diagnosis of ASD comes with a Seveity Level, it might not, but I have a hunch it should. You also have to be sure the person who diagnosed you followed the standard NICE diagnostic process. I've found a link that details it all, but will refrain from pasting it here, as that is most likely against site protocol. 

Good luck.  Interestingly, several people have told me that I can come across as quite intimidating and formidable intellectually.  The truth is, my scrap-book head enables me to pick out random stuff - quotes, facts, names, events - that must make me sound incredibly erudite.  But I'm not.  I think part of it is to do with the mask I wear to cover up my overwhelming sense of inadequacy. 

I'm also quite quick with repartee, which makes many people think I'm incredibly witty - kind of like Oscar Wilde.  Again... I just seem to be able to get access to random stuff when I need it.

And how do you get on? 

One reason I like your posts.  Some very interesting and practical information.

I often study these typical behaviours and try to do the opposite to make myself appear 'normal'.  For instance ritually following the same route.  I make a point of trying new paths or routes between familiar destinations just for the hell of it.

like a factory reset? - best you check that you are still in the warranty period first!

LOL! I wonder if you can revert to an earlier version if the new one hasnt been Beta tested properly LOL!

until your next upgrade yes...

personally I have an Apple Iphone 5 and an ASD 1.3! - joke!

Thanx Ellie! ... "I'm not a number, I'm a free man" LOL!

Wonder why I didnt get a number then? I'm certainly not 2 or 3 so must be 1 I guess.

well to me Jonesy, you are not a number but a human being!! - lol

Autism Spectrum Disorder           299.00 (F84.0)

Diagnostic Criteria

A.      Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive, see text):

1.       Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.

2.       Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.

3.       Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

Specify current severity:

    Severity is based on social communication impairments and restricted repetitive patterns of behavior (see Table 2).

B.      Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1.       Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypies, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).

2.       Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns or verbal nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take same route or eat food every day).

3.       Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g, strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interest).

4.       Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).

Specify current severity:

    Severity is based on social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (see Table 2).

C.      Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life).

D.      Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.

E.       These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay. Intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder frequently co-occur; to make comorbid diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, social communication should be below that expected for general developmental level.

Note: Individuals with a well-established DSM-IV diagnosis of autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified should be given the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Individuals who have marked deficits in social communication, but whose symptoms do not otherwise meet criteria for autism spectrum disorder, should be evaluated for social (pragmatic) communication disorder.

Table 2  Severity levels for autism spectrum disorder

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis/dsm-5-diagnostic-criteria

errr I don't know! My 5 page assessment report doesn't give an ASD number like yours does, mine just says at the end " we therefore conclude that 'Jonsey' meets the diagnostic criteria of Autism Spectrum Disorder of DSM V 299.00"

What's your diagnosis? ASD1?

Sounds like your proactively circulating your news, but don't be nervous about the reactions of others.

Now you can officially be yourself and start actually enjoying the ideosyncrasies you've been blessed with.