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Newbie with lots of questions

GBEM

Hi all,

This is completely new to me so I'm sort of taking a leap of faith to speak to other like minded individuals and people with a little more insight than i have.

I am a 33 year old woman and for several years now, the idea of Aspergers has been at the back of my head.  Recently I have read some research about how Aspergers may present differently in women and girls and some of the hallmarks of girls with Aspergers just sound so, so familiar to me -it's incredible.  Even my partner has agreed that all these behaviours are me to a T.  Family have said to me I can't possibly be on the spectrum as I am 'normal', I drive a car, I have a job, I interact normally with others but this simply doesn't ring true -my whole life I have felt 'other' with no way to explain it and I am just worried if I broach my GP with these concerns, I'll be written off as a hypochondriac, or someone who has social anxiety.

Any pointers, or any comments would be most welcome.  Completely in the dark.

 

:)

Parents

  • Hi and welcome 

    I'm also a female with aspergers. I'm 55 years old and would never have thought I had it until a few months back when I saw a BBC documentary about autism which showed a woman who has aspergers and I started to think - I'm quite like that! I researched it online and found the AQ screening test which I completed, and it indicated that I was probably on the Autistic spectrum, but as I felt that I was coping OK at the time I just filed it as an interesting fact and got on with my life. 

    Then a few weeks ago I went through a short period of depression and extreme anxiety, which meant I had to take a few days off work. I spoke to a really nice GP with a background in mental health, who advised that I didn't have clinical depression - I was just reacting to particularly high levels of stress I had been experiencing at the time. He recommended CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) and put me in touch with a counselling service. When I saw him for a follow up appointment, I asked him about assessment for aspergers as I explained that I scored high on the AQ screening test and I thought it might be a factor causing my anxiety. He asked me to print out my test results and send them to him and after assessing this he rang me to confirm what I thought and offered to refer me to a specialist. He said that it was unlikely to be of much help as I wouldn't be offered any support as I'm already coping OK most of the time and holding down a job, so I decided not to see the specialist at the moment as the GP assured me that I could be referred later if necessary, and he said he will scan my test results onto my medical records for reference. 

    Having read more about aspergers, particularly in relation to females, I feel that I know myself better than I have ever done. It was a relief to discover I wasn't going crazy, I just find certain situations more difficult to cope with than other people and now I know why. I've started to become more mindful of when I'm getting anxious and I'm trying to develop strategies to deal with it.

    I've also realised that although I might seem a bit "weird" to some people, preferring science fiction to "chick lit" and reading at home to going out with "the girls" from work, for example, many of my strengths are down to me having aspergers such as my punctuality, reliability, creativity, my analytical mind and my attention to detail. Have you looked at this website: taniaannmarshall.wordpress.com which describes the traits of female "aspies"? 

Reply

  • Hi and welcome 

    I'm also a female with aspergers. I'm 55 years old and would never have thought I had it until a few months back when I saw a BBC documentary about autism which showed a woman who has aspergers and I started to think - I'm quite like that! I researched it online and found the AQ screening test which I completed, and it indicated that I was probably on the Autistic spectrum, but as I felt that I was coping OK at the time I just filed it as an interesting fact and got on with my life. 

    Then a few weeks ago I went through a short period of depression and extreme anxiety, which meant I had to take a few days off work. I spoke to a really nice GP with a background in mental health, who advised that I didn't have clinical depression - I was just reacting to particularly high levels of stress I had been experiencing at the time. He recommended CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) and put me in touch with a counselling service. When I saw him for a follow up appointment, I asked him about assessment for aspergers as I explained that I scored high on the AQ screening test and I thought it might be a factor causing my anxiety. He asked me to print out my test results and send them to him and after assessing this he rang me to confirm what I thought and offered to refer me to a specialist. He said that it was unlikely to be of much help as I wouldn't be offered any support as I'm already coping OK most of the time and holding down a job, so I decided not to see the specialist at the moment as the GP assured me that I could be referred later if necessary, and he said he will scan my test results onto my medical records for reference. 

    Having read more about aspergers, particularly in relation to females, I feel that I know myself better than I have ever done. It was a relief to discover I wasn't going crazy, I just find certain situations more difficult to cope with than other people and now I know why. I've started to become more mindful of when I'm getting anxious and I'm trying to develop strategies to deal with it.

    I've also realised that although I might seem a bit "weird" to some people, preferring science fiction to "chick lit" and reading at home to going out with "the girls" from work, for example, many of my strengths are down to me having aspergers such as my punctuality, reliability, creativity, my analytical mind and my attention to detail. Have you looked at this website: taniaannmarshall.wordpress.com which describes the traits of female "aspies"? 

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