self diagnosed - should i try to get a formal diagnosis?

There's always this forum, though.  At least we're always here for you - and each other

This thread is definitely convincing me to get a diagnosis! It sucks that there's so little support for adults though...

Good luck!!!! I can't book one yet because I'm away from home and I only come back in September but I'll definiteky book one then! Also I dont know who Thelma and Louise are, oops... gonna research it now

My AQ score is 35, and the main reason I think I'm autistic is my social behaviour: I really dislike social situations and I tend to not understand other people, which makes me feel like I'm from a different planet...

I've got a list of the main 'symptoms' I display that make me convinced about it:

- I've had to make an effort to observe and learn how to do social things (like eye contact) where it seems to come naturally to other people, I have to make a conscious effort to act 'like everyone'

- sensory issues: i like heavy blankets even in summer, i HATE loud voices/noises/fights/conflict, I'm a very picky eater, I have to wash my hair whenever I shower otherwise my hair feels 'wrong'

- I struggle with understanding social situations and how people act: I'm often taken advantage of and I misinterpret what people say or do

- I think in black and white and I take everything literally

- I struggle to grasp unwritten rules and I'm usually quiet because I'm observing how other people act to imitate them

- I dislike crowds

- I'm highly sensitive

- I enjoy routines

- I'm often overwhelmed by my environment and feel like I have to take a break from it

- I have very unhealthy relationships where I'm completely dependent on the other

- I have poor coordination, I'm quite clumsy, I can't see perspective properly, I struggle with recognizing faces

- I have weird hobbies like looking at mormon blogs despite not being a mormon and am fascinated by genealogy and families

very true..  there is a massive MH crisis out there which is causing a lot of damage

Right then.. bull by the horns time....I'll book a GP appointment this week...let you know when....then it's over to you....let's have our Thelma and Louise moment....:)

Thanks for the link, it definitely makes me feel like I'm right in my diagnosis because I recognize myself in quite a few of the items!

Good luck with getting your diagnosis and let me know how it goes, hopefully we'll both manage to have the dreaded conversation with our GPs!

and thanks, welcome to you too :)

NAS8954 said:

Knowing there is a reason why you are like you are should not be underestimated.

My (adult) diagnosis has meant that I can at last start to do what is natural to me without having an internal argument about whether it is "right" then trying (and failing) to behave in a neurotypical way.

A diagnosis will probably mean you are entitled to reasonable adjustments at work.

A diagnosis can also help in ways you may not have considered. For example, a while ago I needed to have weekly blood tests and the system was first come, first served - a terrible system for someone with Asperger's as there is no structure. I mentioned to my care co-ordinator the anxiety this was causing and she suggested I mention I have Asperger's and ask for a time slot. I spoke with the phlebotomy department's receptionist and, whilst she could not allocate me a time slot, she arranged for me to be seen straight away each week (this is almost the same as a time slot as I reach the department at the same time each week).

With regards to support, due to consecutive governments' policies I have been unable to obtain any support for my Asperger's. The support I had just before diagnosis related to my mental health problems. Unfortunately, with continued cuts I do not see any hope of obtaining support for my Asperger's (or my continued mental health problems).

Says it all!

Knowing there is a reason why you are like you are should not be underestimated.

My (adult) diagnosis has meant that I can at last start to do what is natural to me without having an internal argument about whether it is "right" then trying (and failing) to behave in a neurotypical way.

A diagnosis will probably mean you are entitled to reasonable adjustments at work.

A diagnosis can also help in ways you may not have considered. For example, a while ago I needed to have weekly blood tests and the system was first come, first served - a terrible system for someone with Asperger's as there is no structure. I mentioned to my care co-ordinator the anxiety this was causing and she suggested I mention I have Asperger's and ask for a time slot. I spoke with the phlebotomy department's receptionist and, whilst she could not allocate me a time slot, she arranged for me to be seen straight away each week (this was almost the same as a time slot as I reached the department at the same time each week).

With regards to support, due to consecutive governments' policies I have been unable to obtain any support for my Asperger's. The support I had just before diagnosis related to my mental health problems. Unfortunately, with continued cuts I do not see any hope of obtaining support for my Asperger's (or my continued mental health problems).

My therapist originally thought it was BPD, because I displayed all the symptoms.  It was only when she delved further into my past and asked questions about my childhood that she began to suspect ASC.  Fortunately, she had experience with this and was prepared to back me up on a referral.  On the other side of the coin... I saw a psychiatrist at my local CMHT prior to my referral, and he insisted that I couldn't be autistic because 'You don't rock in your chair and flap your hands.'  So even the experts are wrong.  ASC isn't something you can just pigeon-hole.  Every one on the spectrum is different.  So, maybe you display 'autistic behaviour' because you're autistic!  What was your AQ score, by the way?  What autistic behaviours do you display, and what makes you convinced about it?

Hi newbie

i'm 42 and in the same position as you....having self diagnosed from a lot of research that seemed to click everything into place.....

have a read of the link, if you haven't seen this before

https://taniaannmarshall.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/moving-towards-a-female-profile-the-unique-characteristics-abilities-and-talents-of-asperwomen-adult-women-with-asperger-syndrome/

I will, if you will.....it is just nerves putting me off and having that GP conversation are articulating everything that is putting me off...

welcome...btw

Hey ZombieRitual92!

Thanks for the advice, it's nice to know that therapists can be wrong sometimes! And thanks for the wishes :)

Hey isthisreal :) 

My therapist didn't think I was on the spectrum either, but recently proven that I was. It's worth exploring all options, that's what I ended up doing. Anyways, I'm pretty bad at giving advice hah, so, I'll wish you the best! 

Cheers :) 

Thanks for your reply Tom, it really helps! I've done the AQ test, and even though I felt like I wasn't "autistic enough", the results said I was well within the spectrum. I have to wait till September to see my GP so hopefully I'll get a chance to talk to him then. My therapist told me she doesn't think I am on the spectrum although I display "autistic behaviour", but I think I disagree with her. I'm not sure whether I should approach the subject again with her or not.

Hi isthisreal, and welcome!

All I can really say is - if you think it would help you, then go for it.  I was finally diagnosed 2 years ago, at the late age of 56, following a lifetime of problems in lots of areas of life - including misdiagnosed mental health issues.  My depressions and anxiety are, I now realise, rooted in my ASC - and actually, since my diagnosis, they've improved quite naturally.  The diagnosis gave me validation.  It gave me something to hold up and say 'This is why I am what I am.  I'm not a freak or a failure.  I'm just different.'  Also, of course, it enables me to get support (not so easy at my age), and to ask for reasonable adjustments in the workplace.  They can't any longer get impatient and call me fussy.  They need to take me seriously, as they would with a physically disabled person who needs things like wheelchair access, etc.

The only real downside of my diagnosis is that it came too late to help me in all sorts of situations where I've struggled: school, work, friendships and relationships, sensory issues, etc.  That's why I'd encourage it for you.  As long as you would feel comfortable with having a formal diagnosis - something that goes on your medical record.  Some people feel that it's a burden, and I can understand that.

I assume you've done the AQ test.  Talk to your GP.  Persist if they demur.  You have a right, just as anyone else does.

What does your therapist think, too, of the likelihood of ASC?  It was my therapist who first pointed me in that direction, having first thought that it might be BPD because I exhibited most of the symptoms.

Keep talking, anyway.  There'll be a lot of others here with a lot to tell you, I'm sure.

All the best,

Tom