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What am i ?

NAS79808

I am a 55 year old married man and have been seeing a therapist for anxiety for about 6 months. After about 10 hours of CBT was suggested that I may have ADHD. So after lots of form filling i went off for "the test" with my sister so they could establish any developmental link. After an hour the doctor informally diagnosed me with ASD Level 1 or Aspergers. Im fine with that, but i feel it doesnt completely fit.

I have a few friends with Aspergers. None of them understand my nuanced jokes. My sarcasm (default mode for me) never gets picked up either by them. Unfortunately im usually the one explaining/ruining the nuanced/sarcastic joke to my ASD friends. I dont typically miss subtle social cues either and can read facial expressions at a glimpse. Idioms like through the baby out with the bathwater never annoy or confuse me either. I did the online Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test and got 17. However I have always had a stutter and get overwhelmed very easily.

Masking as a life long stutterer is second nature to me. I have stims and usually hide them. I have spent my whole life trying to appear fluent, but feel that im always put in the 'weird' category.

Does the stutter tick the communication box of a ASD diagnosis. Can someone mask so much that they can teach themselves nuance and facial expressions OR

Is it possible for someone to have ASD, but not display any of these subtle comprehension problems ?

Please dont hold back. I dont offend easily. The earliest appointment with my therapist is 4 weeks away and i dont know who else to ask.

Parents

  • Hmmm....this needs a really thorough second look.

    You can't diagnose either autism or ADD/ADHD in an hour. You might in that time pick up that an assessment is necessary, but they'd need to dig a bit deeper than that as all sorts of other things are possible.

    It maybe you have anxiety because of a sensory processing disorder without ASD, you might have something else altogether but have some ASD traits even if sub-spectrum, or you could just be a subtle presentation of autism. And errr yeah, I'd never have suspected that linguist and a qualified trainer like me could be austic either, but so am. I'd been watching Rainman too many times too, I guess. So, yes, it IS possible you are one of us. Or this could all be way off the mark.

    No diagnosis of any kind will help unless it's the right one and the wrong one can result in treatment which would make matters worse - walked that road! And you are kind of feeling this might not fit. You say the diagnosis was 'informal'...and anyway no one diagnoses Asperger's anymore - just autism. You need more digging to get there.

    Gather together what you can about your child hood and see some one with experience in autism AND other conditions who can detect co-morbidities and other things ASD could be confused with and get an in depth assessment. You will know when the diagnosis is right. You'll read the criteria and see you. Good luck.

  • in reply to Dawn

    Thanks Dawn. One journey ends and another begins. . . At least I have a more settled mind (for now). More investigation is def required, but I’m not the only one in the boat.  Thankyou for your insight.

  • in reply to NAS79808

    No you aren't alone. ASD or not, lots of folk have to battle to get the diagnosis that leads to the right solution.

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