Is diagnosis as an adult worth looking in to?

Wow, you literally just described me to a T!

I am in a similar position myself. I don't know iof I have this, but I want answers.

I have suspected I had some form of aspergers for a while although I thought for a while it was mental health / anxiety as that's what I was diagnosed as. But having autistic nephews and scoring high on every test I did made me think I likely was.

The reason I went for official diagnosis was because I am moving up the career ladder and it needs more managerial and frankly people are hard! I felt if it was official I could seek help. I seem to be really lucky having a doctor who referred me and the team in Cheltenham 

i have a series of 6 x 2 hours arranged for the newly diagnosed and now have the potential to discuss at work sound ?I feel secure. I hope it may open the opportunities to seek to learn how to manage myself

having the answer means personally I feel relief having knowledge that I am not alone

But you have to decide yourself if it is worth it in your life. I won't lie in that it won't always make things better and it relies on good support sometimes

You can look here Meldrew: http://www.bps.org.uk/psychology-public/find-psychologist/find-psychologist (you may need to contact individual ones to check they are trained in assessment of ASC.)

The NAS also has this: http://www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx

It's not so much about them not knowing how to assess adults it's more about problems for females being assessed and recognised as autistic as female autistic presentation differs in some ways from males but all the diagnostic criteria were written around research on males with autism.

Good luck.

I'm coming round to the idea of trying to get an assessment. I've got nothing to lose and I may gain, even if it's only knowing one way or another.

Part of it is having read some of the information on this site and some of the stories of other older people posted on it. I'm slowly plowing through it and feel I can see some things I can relate to in my own life and I think I'm beginning to get an inkling of some of the reasons why my life has been as it has.

I am aware that it can be difficult for an adult to get an assessment and, even then, may not get a 'proper' assessment if the person doing the assessing doesn't know how to assess an adult.

Things might improve if more adults ask to be assessed.

Anyone know how much a private assessment costs or how to find an assessor who knows how to assess a very mature adult? In case I get no joy from my GP or my health authority.

It suits my personality. I saw the series and thought. 'That's me'

Hi Meldrew. Of course you have to do what's right for you.  Love your username by the way.

Hi IntenseWorld

It was the AQ-10 test. I scored 6 and then 7 when I tried it again. I also worked through the Autistic Quotient test on Embarrassing Bodies and scored 39. But I may not have answered all the questions correctly so my scores need to be treated with caution.

I looked at the link on research you provided. Very interesting.

I'm quite good at giving advice. I'm not so good at taking it. I'll have to think about asking for an assessment.

From previous online questionaire-type tests I've always rather consistently come out as being a cadidate for ASD but I've always sort of shrugged it off as being something that I can't really do anything about and being something as more of a quirk of myself then anything else. Very recently however I've had some significant difficulties arise in my personal life that thinking about them I can see how the social difficulties I have with interacting with people have played a massive part and I'm wondering whether it's time to take this a bit more seriously, I've carried out an AQ10 assessment form and scored 8 which would suggest that I should probably do something about getting a referral.

Where I'm struggling however is that I'm scared that getting diagnosed (if that were to be ultimate outcome) would adversely affect my life - particularly in a career sense. My current employer would likely be as sympathetic as the law requires but given the nature of the environment here (which can be quite cruel and mean) and the seeming inability of people to keep even the most personal of details secret. So I guess the question is whether I would be required to disclose any diagnosis?

Hi everyone!

I've never been on here before or any site to do with this area. Complete newbie. 

You all seem quite supporting and the posts from Masons & Meldrew I found especially interesting. There is defintely some points I can relate to there. 

I have never had any tests or conversations about it with a GP etc. I'm 25 and it was only after watching Embarrasing Bodies and doing the online test that I realised I might have some condition. It would sense as a lot of the issues people have mentioned on here I can relate to. It's not too big of a problem, but I do find some things a little difficult. 

I won't say too much at the moment but I'd be happy to talk more if it's not too much trouble. 

Meldrew said:

I tried the test on this board and I got a score of 6. I tried it again and got the same score. So I'm fairly satisfied that autism isn't my problem. However, it was interesting to see where I scored: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9. I wouldn't score anything against 1, anyway, as I am slightly deaf.

Which test do you mean Meldrew?  If you mean the AQ10 then a score of 6 or more indicates assessment for autism advisable.

You clearly have a genetic risk going on as it's in your family.  Also, premature babies are a lot more at risk of autism.

You say you are too old to get assessed, but if you wanted an answer you are never too old.  It might also help wider family members as their own genetic risk will be clearer from your results and also, they are now doing research on the effects of autism in ageing so you could contribute to this research. http://www.autism.org.uk/living-with-autism/adults-with-autism-or-asperger-syndrome/autism-and-ageing/about-the-autism-in-maturity-project.aspx

I just did the test on the Embarrassing Bodies site and got a score of 36 which indicates that I might be on the spectrum. Added together my having a nephew who has been diagnosed with being Autistic, the existence of possibly related traits among other members of my family and the issues I have had throughout my life, I think that it looks a distinct possibility that I am on the autistic spectrum.

However, I do not think I will be asking for an assessment any time soon. For the reasons I have already stated. Mainly that, at 70, I can't really be bothered.

I know I am reasonably intelligent. There are just a few things about the way my mind works that have made my life difficult on times.

I am now fairly satisfied as to the nature of my problems and I can live with that. Whatever damage I have suffered in my life isn't going to be put right. If I do or say something stupid in future I'll understand why I did it rather than beating myself up for being such and idiot. I'll consider an assessment if I think I need one in the future.

I think I'll stay in touch with the site but probably not contribute much. My excuse is that I am not just old but also my wife is quite badly disabled and a lot of my time is taking up caring for her.

Thanks Mason. I don't think I have anything more than just traits. In a way, I've learned to live with things. For me, it's just a case of finding out why I've had problems that most other people don't seem to have had. I live out in the sticks and I suspect that at my age I'll have more difficulty than most in getting a diagnosis. I've lived my life so I suppose it's not that important anyway.

Reading what is on this website and doing the test has helped me already because it has given me possible explanations even without a formal diagnosis.

You, on the other hand, are young and you should be diagnosed. Any doctor who says you shouldn't simply doesn't understand the condition and isn't doing his job.

Gather together all the information about autism in adults you can get hold of and write down how you are affected and all the reasons why you should be tested. Take it with you when you see your GP next so you are better able to make your case.

Good luck. I hope you are successful.

Hi Meldrew, as Hope said as it's in your family it's very likely you could have autism traits If it's not the full blown condition. I still haven't made that appointment but I will do at some point because I really need to know. Hopefully that way I won't beat myself up quite so much for being different. 

Soldersplash, sorry to hear you've had trouble with diagnosis, it's things like that that put me off too, i don't know what our area is like for services but maybe you should go back and talk to your GP about it too? Easy for me to say when I havent seen mine yet, but perhaps we both need to get it sorted. 

I thought some more about this and decided I would say some more about myself. I might get some benefit just out of doing it even if no one else does or no one responds.

I had another look at the test, made some adjustments and came up with a different score - 7. I lost a point for number 2 as I feel I cannot really say that I concentrate more on the whole picture than the details or vice versa. I picked up a point for number 7 and 10 because, when I thought abot it, I am not good at all at working out people's intentions in a story or in real life.

What very little success I have had in life came from my ability to focus, absorb facts and apply them and ignoring aspects of my life that I can't handle too well, such as people.

I had girlfriends before I met my wife, but never for very long and they always dropped me, although some still remained friends but in a distant, almost caring, way. I could never work out what I was doing wrong or why those who remained friends, did so even when they didn't want to be my girlfriends.

My wife and I worked in the same Department of a local authority. I did pays and she had to do her team's timesheet and send it to me and she was always late with it so I always had to chase her up. Our first 'date' wasn't a date at all. We both wanted to see a film that no one else wanted to see so we went to see it together. That was 45 years ago.

Despite the facts that I have always been aware I had problems and my nephew was diagnosed as autistic as a small child - he is now 22, I made no connection between the two. Partly, it was because he was diagnosed around the time of the MMR scare and also there were other reasons, in my upbringing, that I blamed for my problems.

I learned in recent years that my granddaughters had cognitive issues. One has difficulty 'receiving' instruction given to the class. The teacher has to make sure that she has my granddaughter's attention or my granddaughter quickly loses touch with what the class is doing. She will always have that problem, has been Statemented and attends a special class, part time to help her cope with it. In all other aspects she is very quick and intelligent. Her elder sister has been identified with a related but different problem but at a lower level and gets some one to one help in school. Otherwise, she is also bright and intelligent. Their mother, my daughter, has a Ph.D. in biological sciences.

Even knowing about my granddaughters' problems did not change my perceptions.

It was only when I had a long chat with my sister, the mother of my autistic nephew, a few weeks ago and she pointed out things about the wider family that I began to wonder. She has four children. A son and daughter by her first husband and two sons by her present husband. My autistic nephew is the youngest child. Her eldest son suffers from periods of severe depression and has been committed on a number of occasions. Her middle son has recently got his degree but has failed to get a job despite having had a lot of interviews. My sister feels it is because he comes across as being 'different'. I don't know what the 'difference' is. She hasn't elaborated.

My eldest sister has two sons and a daughter. Both sons are married with children. The eldest had a first class honour degree in Mathematics, is an actuary, has had high flying positins in his field and is now an independent consultant. The younger one suffers from periods of depression but nowhere near as severe as his cousin.

My middle sister also has two sons and a daughter and her elder son is a fairly successful business man but her middle son also suffers from periods of depression.

I was born, prematurely, during the war, was puny and not expected to live very long. A matter of days or weeks at best. I understand that people born prematurely can develop various problems.

My father was brought up in very poor circumstances, had a difficult childhood, left school at 13 to work to support the family, was traumatised by his war experiences, drank heavily and was very volatile. My mother was a 'sickly' child and had difficulty coping with her life. She had a period in a mental hospital soon after my youngest sister, the mother of my autistic nephew, was born.

There were 4 of us children and we all ended up with 'stress related' problems of one kind or another that we all blamed on our childhood.

The possibility that my issues could have a different cause was further disguised by the fact that we all produced children who were very intelligent and several have really good jobs. Even my granddaughters are very bright despite their problems. We actually thought their father's family was the source of their issues as he displays compulsive behaviour and his sisters have their own issues that they blame on their upbringing.

It is all very complicated and confused.

Hi Meldrew,

I found your post interesting. Even if you don't have the full blown clinical condition of autism, it is possible to have sub threshold traits. I think this phenomenon is called the Broader Autism Phenotype, and you probably understand people on the spectrum far more than people who do not experience any traits or related issues. Autism is genetic, and the fact that your relatives have the condition or traits means that your traits must be related in some way to autism. I look forward to hearing more from you on this forum.

I've put off getting diagnosed for many years. I'm currently waiting for my local health services to pull their act together and fund assessment out of area because we don't seem to have the service in area. I put it off because I knew it would be difficult and I didn't want the stress of putting myself through it. I was diagnosed with depression over 5 years ago and in hindsight think I should have got it over with then. I'm worse than ever now (physical and mental health) and am not coping with life and work so it's really forced the issue.

So, in short, FWIW, go for the diagnosis.

I'm nearly 70 and lived with issues all my life. It is only now that I've started making any real attempt to try and find out what might be causing them.

I've got a nephew in his early 20s who is autistic and other members of the family have problems ranging from severe and chronic depression through to dyslexia and my grandchildren are having special help in school with attention and communication problems.

I tried the test on this board and I got a score of 6. I tried it again and got the same score. So I'm fairly satisfied that autism isn't my problem. However, it was interesting to see where I scored: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9. I wouldn't score anything against 1, anyway, as I am slightly deaf.

My problems have amounted to saying inappropriate things without realising it, being awkward in the company of strangers, forgetting names of people I have known for years, places I am very familiar with and commonplace objects, failing to recognise people I know very well and being unable to remember facts under stress.

On the other hand, I passed the 11 plus, a small clutch of 'O' Levels, scraped through 1 'A' level and passed some promotion exams in work and ended up as a team leader in a reasonably responsible position. A position that I found very hard to perform in. I could do the work but I couldn't manage staff at all. I was rubbish at that.

Along the way, I got married, my wife is has always had a disability and is now very disabled and I am her carer.  We have two kids and I suspect they both think I am a bit odd. I suspect they used to warn their friends about me. Of late, we've talked about things and I think they understand me better

My life has actually been quite stressfull and I have had periods on anti depressents. Not that they seemmed to help me much. Ativan did more harm than good.

The extra plusses are that my kids are both very bright, both went to university, one got a Ph.D and both have had good jobs.

I know I have a problem and have always had it but I am no nearer discovering what it is. I don't think I would seek an assessment now even if I thought I might have autism, anyway, because I am too old.

But if I was of Mason's age and had scored the same as her, I would have had no hesitation in pushing as hard as I could for an assessment. I wish her every luck.

So this is hello again and probably goodbye. I have found the site very helpful. Keep up the good work.

Thanks.

Meldrew.

it would be good at the end of the day and no one knows u better than u i have always gone through spells of depression and anxiety etc and  i was not understood and just told to snap out of it and my parents said it made a lot of things made sense about me after the diagnoses and if ur mum went she would help answer questions about ur childhood development etc and if u get upset u mum would be there for upset and ur welcome anytime

Thank you, you are right, I need to try to get some courage and go and see him about it. I know it would help me to know for sure and to have access to support when I need it. My mum never understood my depression or anxiety problems but when I mentioned to her about the possibility of Aspergers/ASC she actually listened and seemed to understand when I explained what Aspergers and autism is, she agreed it answers so many questions and makes a lot of sense, so I think she would be ok to come with me. Although I find it harder to talk when someone is with me because I don't have to do the talking, but I have compromise somewhere I guess. 

Thank you for your advice!