50 years old - is Aspergers diagnosis worth it?

I think so rbs. From my brief look at the subject aspies do not possess the instinctual ability to read non-verbal signals that average people possess and have to work hard at figuring out, intellectually, what is going on. Many videos put out on YouTube by sufferers make it clear that this can be very tiring and the reason why people on the as don't do a lot of socialising from choice. I think I can relate to this a bit from my pretty much traumatic experiences (few that they are) in social situations consisting of a lot of people I really did not know well and the feeling of being 'lost at sea' in not having a clue how to conduct myself. I often found myself travelling inwards in my mind in order (I assume) to figure out what I was experiencing. The problem with this, of course, is that you can't be responsive to people when you are pre-occupied with mulling over the meaning of what is happening to you and end up 'going through the motions' just to survive the overwhelming sensory stimulii. I'm told you can learn to cope better in social situations with practice and the right kind of strategy but this takes a good deal of commitment and determination so there has to be a good reason for aspies to want to put themselves in the lions' den again and again.

I think so rbs. From my brief look at the subject aspies do not possess the instinctual ability to read non-verbal signals that average people possess and have to work hard at figuring out, intellectually, what is going on. Many videos put out on YouTube by sufferers make it clear that this can be very tiring and the reason why people on the as don't do a lot of socialising from choice. I think I can relate to this a bit from my pretty much traumatic experiences (few that they are) in social situations consisting of a lot of people I really did not know well and the feeling of being 'lost at sea' in not having a clue how to conduct myself. I often found myself travelling inwards in my mind in order (I assume) to figure out what I was experiencing. The problem with this, of course, is that you can't be responsive to people when you are pre-occupied with mulling over the meaning of what is happening to you and end up 'going through the motions' just to survive the overwhelming sensory stimulii. I'm told you can learn to cope better in social situations with practice and the right kind of strategy but this takes a good deal of commitment and determination so there has to be a good reason for aspies to want to put themselves in the lions' den again and again.