Advise please

I am an adult diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome 3 years ago when already in my fifities.  Of course I can't turn the clock back and know how I would have felt if I had recieved the diagnosis earlier, but I can say that recieving the diagnosis has been a major relief which has allowed me to understand myself and the trajectory of my life much, much better, to the extent that I feel passionate about the need for understanding of the condition and current develop and deliver training about it.

Before the diagnosis I experienced a lot of depression and had tried various forms of psycho therapy including analysis to try and address this - I now believe that the reason this was so ineffective was because my autism was not recongised - and my difficulties were seen as the psycological rather than neurological.

I have two sons, one of whom is 22 and we believe is also on the spectrum and one who is 19 and not on the spectrum.  The older one says he has been helped by knowing about AS (I just told him about my diagnosis and he immediately recognised the traits in himself, as I hoped he would) and we have gotton on much better since understanding the condition.  It is also noticable that although both boys have a similiar IQ live is so much easier for the younger one.

I have spoken to many people with ASC diagnosed at varying ages, and of these only one has said she was glad she was not diagnosed earlier - everybody I have met (including this individual) has found diagnosis helpful, as they finally understand why they are as they are, consider steps that can be taken to address difficulties, and connect with others with the condition.  However I have also met parents who are very resistant to either the idea that their child could have the condition or to "labelling" a child they believe has the condition.

AvaRuth Baker a doctor who herself has Aspergers says "Diagnoses are often thought of as labels but they could also be considered as signposts. Signposts do something more than labels they help people find their way on a journey"  She has written a relevant paper "Invisible at the end of the spectrum" which is available on the ASK (autism spectrum kiwis) website, as is a booklet written by people on the spectrum about the impact of ASC and its diagnosis on their lives (this costs and I am not sure if it is currently available internationally - I am personally going to try and get it published here).  There is also a book that I believe is available on Amazon called "women from another planet" that contains the stories of women and girls with ASC.

I also did a module at the OU on ASC and on the course there was a mother of a very bright girl with ASC on that course who said that diagnosis had greatly helped her daughter. I also know one young man who only found out he had ASC because he listened to a tape his mother had hidden away of his diagnositic interview with Dr Tony Attwood when he was five.  He was glad to know and upset his parents had not told him.

So in short I agree with your gut instinct, I strongly believe in the vast majority of cases it is helpful both for a person to know they have ASC.  Good luck to you and your daughter on your journey of discovery.

I am an adult diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome 3 years ago when already in my fifities.  Of course I can't turn the clock back and know how I would have felt if I had recieved the diagnosis earlier, but I can say that recieving the diagnosis has been a major relief which has allowed me to understand myself and the trajectory of my life much, much better, to the extent that I feel passionate about the need for understanding of the condition and current develop and deliver training about it.

Before the diagnosis I experienced a lot of depression and had tried various forms of psycho therapy including analysis to try and address this - I now believe that the reason this was so ineffective was because my autism was not recongised - and my difficulties were seen as the psycological rather than neurological.

I have two sons, one of whom is 22 and we believe is also on the spectrum and one who is 19 and not on the spectrum.  The older one says he has been helped by knowing about AS (I just told him about my diagnosis and he immediately recognised the traits in himself, as I hoped he would) and we have gotton on much better since understanding the condition.  It is also noticable that although both boys have a similiar IQ live is so much easier for the younger one.

I have spoken to many people with ASC diagnosed at varying ages, and of these only one has said she was glad she was not diagnosed earlier - everybody I have met (including this individual) has found diagnosis helpful, as they finally understand why they are as they are, consider steps that can be taken to address difficulties, and connect with others with the condition.  However I have also met parents who are very resistant to either the idea that their child could have the condition or to "labelling" a child they believe has the condition.

AvaRuth Baker a doctor who herself has Aspergers says "Diagnoses are often thought of as labels but they could also be considered as signposts. Signposts do something more than labels they help people find their way on a journey"  She has written a relevant paper "Invisible at the end of the spectrum" which is available on the ASK (autism spectrum kiwis) website, as is a booklet written by people on the spectrum about the impact of ASC and its diagnosis on their lives (this costs and I am not sure if it is currently available internationally - I am personally going to try and get it published here).  There is also a book that I believe is available on Amazon called "women from another planet" that contains the stories of women and girls with ASC.

I also did a module at the OU on ASC and on the course there was a mother of a very bright girl with ASC on that course who said that diagnosis had greatly helped her daughter. I also know one young man who only found out he had ASC because he listened to a tape his mother had hidden away of his diagnositic interview with Dr Tony Attwood when he was five.  He was glad to know and upset his parents had not told him.

So in short I agree with your gut instinct, I strongly believe in the vast majority of cases it is helpful both for a person to know they have ASC.  Good luck to you and your daughter on your journey of discovery.