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Adult Diagnosis based off psychological report from childhood

NAS62373

Hi All, 

My name is Sarah, I’m 22 and Im here looking for some advice as to whether it’s worth getting a spectrum diagnosis as an Adult. Ill give you a bit of my back story.. As far back as I can remember I’ve never felt normal or like I could fit in. I really struggled with friends my whole life, especially as a child - I didn’t really know how to make friends or be around people my own age. I had epilepsy as a child so this masked a lot of my problems as it was always the focus when I was younger. As a result I saw many a child Psychologist back then, I was assessed back then and my parents were recommended to seek out a diagnosis for Aspergers. I didn’t actually know this till later in my life and once I looked into it I felt like my life and the struggles I have had finally make sense. All of a sudden I thought maybe my characteristics mightn’t be of a failing Neurotypical but of a succeeding Aspie. I’m happy in life right now, I still struggle with friends and anxiety, however, I’m lucky to have found a great boyfriend to whom I am engaged. This however has opened my eyes further as I’ve noticed that I am “me” around him but not “me” around any of my friends or even my parents. It’s left me feeling a little lonely as I don’t connect with anyone else on that level. It’s like my walls go up and I begin acting. I think I’ve been acting my whole life, I’ve definitely got better at acting the way I should and I can even make friends now but it’s so superficial as I’m not being me, I adapt to the situation at hand and change my personality accordingly. I think this is why I rarely maintain friendships, I find it exhausting. 

Ive taken many an online test and read through all the characteristics of high functioning autism and I really relate to these and have scored on the spectrum in tests.I also definitely see stronger characteristics of Autism when I look back on my childhood. 

I’m sorry for the long post, I’d love to know if anyone has been in a similar situation and how difficult it is to get a diagnosis as an adult.

Sarah. 

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  • Diagnosed at 61, 2 years ago, I don't live in the UK anymore. I began to figure it out for myself alone at 59, but couldn't find anyone remotely interested in helping me in the country where I now live. As I have little intention of living again in the UK. I started to look into other countries. I was very gladly offered an assessment by Tony Atwood's clinic in Brisbane, but I eventually elected to get a private diagnosis in the UK, because the NHS no longer has any idea that i exist. Although to be fair, the NHS records office told me where my records could be traced, and helpfully said they could be made accessible on request. But I never got around to that because I decided a rural doctor in the UK in the 50s would probably have very little to say except to mention a near fatal metabolic disorder at about 3. I was born at home, so there probably wouldn't be any record of that either. So I took a look at the clinician's pre-assessment questionnaire and pieced together my own recollections and those of an older relative. That evidence was actually quite strong. I only had to wait a few weeks for an appointment after the initial request. The clinician was impressed with my lengthy answers to the questionnaire, saying this was just what was needed to get the assessment started.  I took several weeks to write it, making notes whenever something apparently relevant came to mind. And it all flowed out, and even continues to flow out to this day; despite the fact that on just about any given day i'm still cycling between scepticism and quite full acceptance. The problem in many ways since has been that still almost no one is really interested, and frankly there isn't a lot they could do anyway. Somewhere along the line I realised that things had gone undetected because I have been adapting whereever I could most of my life. And I continue to adapt, by finding quite practical personal self-help solutions to the co-morbidities. (We really should think of a less morbid term for those! ;-)

    One can certainly relate to your feelings of how you are currently with your friends. You will probably find it gets a bit easier, if you get an assessment. At 22, I have a feeling that you will deal with things well. You and your family should be able to provide plenty of good evidence, your medical record will be much more accessible than mine, and will probably be a lot more detailed because you were born at a time when the spectrum was obviously already known about. So it probably won't be too difficult, but you will probably be on a waiting list for some months.

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  • Diagnosed at 61, 2 years ago, I don't live in the UK anymore. I began to figure it out for myself alone at 59, but couldn't find anyone remotely interested in helping me in the country where I now live. As I have little intention of living again in the UK. I started to look into other countries. I was very gladly offered an assessment by Tony Atwood's clinic in Brisbane, but I eventually elected to get a private diagnosis in the UK, because the NHS no longer has any idea that i exist. Although to be fair, the NHS records office told me where my records could be traced, and helpfully said they could be made accessible on request. But I never got around to that because I decided a rural doctor in the UK in the 50s would probably have very little to say except to mention a near fatal metabolic disorder at about 3. I was born at home, so there probably wouldn't be any record of that either. So I took a look at the clinician's pre-assessment questionnaire and pieced together my own recollections and those of an older relative. That evidence was actually quite strong. I only had to wait a few weeks for an appointment after the initial request. The clinician was impressed with my lengthy answers to the questionnaire, saying this was just what was needed to get the assessment started.  I took several weeks to write it, making notes whenever something apparently relevant came to mind. And it all flowed out, and even continues to flow out to this day; despite the fact that on just about any given day i'm still cycling between scepticism and quite full acceptance. The problem in many ways since has been that still almost no one is really interested, and frankly there isn't a lot they could do anyway. Somewhere along the line I realised that things had gone undetected because I have been adapting whereever I could most of my life. And I continue to adapt, by finding quite practical personal self-help solutions to the co-morbidities. (We really should think of a less morbid term for those! ;-)

    One can certainly relate to your feelings of how you are currently with your friends. You will probably find it gets a bit easier, if you get an assessment. At 22, I have a feeling that you will deal with things well. You and your family should be able to provide plenty of good evidence, your medical record will be much more accessible than mine, and will probably be a lot more detailed because you were born at a time when the spectrum was obviously already known about. So it probably won't be too difficult, but you will probably be on a waiting list for some months.

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