Hi

Hi. Newbie here. Although I haven't been diagnosed, I and my wife think I meet all the symptoms.     I'm unsure about getting a diagnosis, I'm 47.

Thanks 

Brian 

  • Thank you for your replies. It all makes sense now. 

  • Hi NAS35911,

    Welcome!x

    Much love <3

  • Welcome to the board. I hope your able to find a solution as to whether to attempt to get a diagnosis.

  • I'm 56 and mid-diagnosis (split over 2 x 3 hour sessions).  

    Both my wife and I think we're both "on the spectrum" and tests such as the AQ50 also point that way.  My wife can't see how a formal diagnosis would help her, but I swayed the other way.  It will, hopefully, confirm the suspicions that many problems I've had through life have a cause, rather than me just being rude, abrupt, annoying, irritating and eccentric.  It will allow me to explain to colleagues at work why I sound so abrupt on the phone (I want to get down to business, not make chit-chat).  I crave knowledge.  In times of personal or family crisis, my solution is to seek information on the problem. When our first daughter had severe problems during birth, I needed to know all the causes and possible outcomes so I could make informed decisions. One doctor said he found my reaction unusual - to parse every thing through intellect rather than emotion.

    We're both quite high-functioning, have daughters, hold down jobs (in my case I had many short-lived jobs until I got to 29 and found a company who tolerate me and value my skills), so at the moment neither of us would be in need of extra help or assistance - as there is much help that I have found on this and other forums (or should that be fora?) such as Aspergers UK on Facebook. But to me, 'just knowing' will be the biggest assistance. 

  • Thanks for the reply. I've got used to it over the years now. 

  • Hi, we have one son diagnosed and another on the waiting list. Their Dad who is 48 is fairly sure his brain is similarly wired. He was asked by the psychologist at our son’s last meeting if he thought a diagnosis would have helped him. Although he can’t be certain it wouldn’t have helped him at school, he has learned to cope with difficult situations in various ways and believes a diagnosis now wouldn’t make much difference to him personally. I think you need to work out what you hope a diagnosis will bring or how desperate you are for help and support. It helped our eldest son (diagnosed at 15) understand why he thought/behaved differently to his friends. He was already getting wonderful support at school so the diagnosis has made no difference in that way but of course it may help him as he moves on in life. ASD varies so much, without knowing what areas of your life are affected it is difficult to know if a diagnosis at this late stage would be useful. However, if it brings you peace of mind or access to support then it may well be worthwhile. Hope that helps a little bit