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Finally got my diagnosis! I'm so happy! :)

hayes

I am 22 years old and today I received my report and Asperger's Diagnosis.  I've been working closely with a lovely guy from Staffordshire who's really helped me so much. The healthcare professionals failed to diagnose me as a child, but after years of wondering what was "wrong" with me, I finally have answers - and it feels wonderful!

I also suffer with depression as a result of not getting the support I needed growing up, and I can safely say I feel a lot better now I've been diagnosed. I will now be able to get the support I need and I am really excited!

As a result of a late diagnoses, I am very shy and withdrawn and my social skills are very poor. Would anybody be kind enough to share some of their own experiences, perhaps if you have had a late diagnoses?  How it has affected you, etc...

Would be great to hear your thoughts!

Laughing

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    It's important to remember that experience of life with Aspergers varies greatly.

    Desmond has been unfortunate in not having the right support on top of other personal and environmental issues that have almost 'conspired' to trap him in his problems. He has recently joined the forum and I hope that we can help him find better ways of tackling his problems.

    Others on the forum are variously afflicted but it is also useful to remember that the picture seen here is of people who are mainly struggling with their issues. People that aren't struggling will be getting on with their lives without resorting to resources like this forum. I came to the forum this year having struggled with work issues, depression, relationship issues. I now feel massively better and more capable of taking on the world. A lot of that has come from discussions here and the experience and knowledge of other members who have come across the issues that we suffer due to our autism.

    I'm very much with true colours in finding that the diagnosis has unlocked things in me that made no sense until I got a diagnosis. I think that Hope and some others are making a journey of discovery but that no-one here has all of the answers. Autism remains a puzzle even to the sufferers of ASD!

    I was diagnosed, very late!, after 56 years of social clattering about and I have been more fortunate than most in staying employed since leaving education. I think that there can be distinct advantages at some points to not knowing but at other times the knowledge is a massively useful thing. Having taken the plunge, to get a diagnosis, I have no regrets at all and am using the self awareness on a daily basis to reduce the conflict and disappointment that was a regular feature of life pre-dx.

    I hope you find the forum to be source of hope and positive solutions rather than a source of reinforcement of your problems and feelings of despair. :-)

  • I am 27 years old and was diagnosed with Asperger's when I was 21.

    Like you, no-one identified my autism when I was a child, and I was simply labeled an 'enigma' and a problem child. I was assessed by an Educational Psychologist and Occupational Therapist when I was 9 and 10 years old, and I gave this report to the people who later diagnosed me. The report detailed my 'interaction dfficulties'; how I had 'only recently made a particular friend'; that I was 'physically and emotionally immature'; had a 'borderline degree of fine motor skill impairment'; poor comprehension; 'severe spatial and perceptual difficulties'; problems with organisation and directions; and a massive discrepancy between verbal IQ, which was above average, and performance IQ, which was severely impaired. But despite all this, they failed to diagnose me with anything as a child; it was recommended that school 'initiate the process of special educational needs', yet nothing happened, and I went through school with very little support.

    Due to not understanding myself and why I found certain things so difficult, I started to worry that I was a cold and heartless person. I felt diminutive and defiled, but sought comfort in my infatuation with the actress Kate Winslet, who became a surrogate friend in fantasy.

    It was a relief to get a diagnosis but I am still trying to deal with the emotional baggage accrued over a lifetime of not understanding myself and why I could not maintain friendships.

  • Trust me, I have a degree in IT and couldn't get an IT job and Qualifications relating to Administration and Admin experience and employers in that field are reluctant to hire a Bloke. Yell

  • I wasn't so lucky unfortunately.  I got moved from school to school, missed out on my mainstream education and suffered greatly.  I am unemployed and scared of working. I've had many (temporary) jobs, all of which I have walked out of.  It's really difficult, but hopefully now with the right support I'll improve.

  • I was diagnosed when I was 12. Luckily I went to a normal School, but found it impossible to cope in a work environment.