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Asperger's Diagnosis in Adult Life

Jon

I was only diagnosed with Asperger's last year at the age of 39. When I think about this I can sometimes feel both angry and frustrated. I don't really blame anyone. When I did start to understand and seek help it was a real struggle and I think that this is partly what make me angry. Even now I don't get so much help or understanding.

There is a 'lost generation' of people with Asperger's who were born before Asperger's Syndrome was acknowleged:

  • A description of a condition labeled "Asperger's syndrome" by Lorna Wing first appeared in 1981.
  • In 1994, Asperger's Syndrome was added to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).

How do other people who recieved a late diagnosis feel about this?

Parents

  • I was diagnosed at 29 and view it as a good thing and a bad thing.  I'm glad because I think if I had been diagnosed as a child I would have been labelled and not encouraged (and sometimes forced) to do things - I certainly wouldn't have gone into retail or studied management and become a supervisor in a supermarket for a number of years!  It would have been too easy to sit back and not put the extra effort in as nobody would have expected me to due to my diagnosis.

    However if I had been diagnosed earlier I could have avoided a lot of problems, would have learned how to cope instead of blaming myself and maybe even would have avoided my suicidal spells.  I might have had access to specialist training while at school to better prepare me for the real world rather than having to learn the hard way.  Then again I probably wouldn't have had any of these as even now with AS being quite well known it is hard to get access to such support.  My attitude from diagnosis is to just be happy with what I have got but also to try and make life easier for myself.  Unfortunately there are many both on and not on the autistic spectrum who are worse of than me as well as many who are undiagnosed, misunderstood, and who blame themselves.  Better to find out late than never

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  • I was diagnosed at 29 and view it as a good thing and a bad thing.  I'm glad because I think if I had been diagnosed as a child I would have been labelled and not encouraged (and sometimes forced) to do things - I certainly wouldn't have gone into retail or studied management and become a supervisor in a supermarket for a number of years!  It would have been too easy to sit back and not put the extra effort in as nobody would have expected me to due to my diagnosis.

    However if I had been diagnosed earlier I could have avoided a lot of problems, would have learned how to cope instead of blaming myself and maybe even would have avoided my suicidal spells.  I might have had access to specialist training while at school to better prepare me for the real world rather than having to learn the hard way.  Then again I probably wouldn't have had any of these as even now with AS being quite well known it is hard to get access to such support.  My attitude from diagnosis is to just be happy with what I have got but also to try and make life easier for myself.  Unfortunately there are many both on and not on the autistic spectrum who are worse of than me as well as many who are undiagnosed, misunderstood, and who blame themselves.  Better to find out late than never

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