'Mild' Asperger syndrome

Although I am still waiting for the official written report, I was recently diagnosed with 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' in my mid fifties.

I don't appear to be on the spectrum to most people either, so when I do get the report I will be intrigued to read the diagnostic criteria used in my case. I was told that the World Health Organisation are dropping the term 'Aspergers' in order to emphasise that it refers to someone who is just at the upper end of the spectrum.

For the last few years I have been suffering quite badly from depression, & it was a therapist that recommended I was assessed for ASD, as my reaction to traditional forms of therapy seemed far too rigid & analytical. I've always known I was eccentric & an outsider, but it wasn't until I had therapy that I realised that my internal landscape really was quite fundamentally different to everyone else.

For me personally, one of the most confusing aspects of 'Mild/High Functioning/etc' ASD is that you don't necessarily have to have problems with non-verbal communication (body language etc), since it is possible to compensate for innate difficulties analytically. When I have discussed this issue, the analogy I always use is 'Analogue vs Digital'.

If the inbuilt ability to understand non-verbal communication is 'Analogue' & for people on the spectrum this is impaired, then it is also possible to learn to compensate using our enhanced analytical skills, i.e 'Digitally'. I often find myself a bit over sensitive to non-verbal communication, but I can't remember ever having consciously taught myself to do this. During therapy though, I became much more aware that the way I notice these things is quite mechanical, with a voice in my head breaking things down into analytical components. I was very badly bullied throughout my school life, so I suppose it might have been a survival issue, but as a child I also watched huge amounts of television, so maybe I learned through the exaggerated performances of TV actors, who knows.

I suppose the conclusion to all my rambling is that the diagnostic criteria for being on the spectrum aren't solely concerned with symptomatic social problems, and the differences in the way your mind works are just as important.

I hope some of this helps

Although I am still waiting for the official written report, I was recently diagnosed with 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' in my mid fifties.

I don't appear to be on the spectrum to most people either, so when I do get the report I will be intrigued to read the diagnostic criteria used in my case. I was told that the World Health Organisation are dropping the term 'Aspergers' in order to emphasise that it refers to someone who is just at the upper end of the spectrum.

For the last few years I have been suffering quite badly from depression, & it was a therapist that recommended I was assessed for ASD, as my reaction to traditional forms of therapy seemed far too rigid & analytical. I've always known I was eccentric & an outsider, but it wasn't until I had therapy that I realised that my internal landscape really was quite fundamentally different to everyone else.

For me personally, one of the most confusing aspects of 'Mild/High Functioning/etc' ASD is that you don't necessarily have to have problems with non-verbal communication (body language etc), since it is possible to compensate for innate difficulties analytically. When I have discussed this issue, the analogy I always use is 'Analogue vs Digital'.

If the inbuilt ability to understand non-verbal communication is 'Analogue' & for people on the spectrum this is impaired, then it is also possible to learn to compensate using our enhanced analytical skills, i.e 'Digitally'. I often find myself a bit over sensitive to non-verbal communication, but I can't remember ever having consciously taught myself to do this. During therapy though, I became much more aware that the way I notice these things is quite mechanical, with a voice in my head breaking things down into analytical components. I was very badly bullied throughout my school life, so I suppose it might have been a survival issue, but as a child I also watched huge amounts of television, so maybe I learned through the exaggerated performances of TV actors, who knows.

I suppose the conclusion to all my rambling is that the diagnostic criteria for being on the spectrum aren't solely concerned with symptomatic social problems, and the differences in the way your mind works are just as important.

I hope some of this helps