Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone, this is my 1st time of joining a forum- I will 1st apologise for my ramblings
I recently been assessed for ASD at the age of 52 and was told I did not meet the threshold under the ADOS which is meant to be the gold standard for testing autism. The assessment was 2 fold I met a psychologist who conducted the ADOS, I was given a book about flying pigs, told to make up a story, and has discussion about tidiness( I am really messy). I felt this assessment was not suited because I used to write drama in college and for my church thus this was an area of strength for me. I do have a son who has Aspergers and I have the same difficulties he has- I only have 1 friend since childhood- i love people but don't know how to interact with them and am completely clueless in social settings. People say I lack empathy but if I understand the situation I actually feel things more than the victim. I cant watch violent programs or any act of injustice as I feel like jumping out of my skin. I don't know my left from my right and cant read maps, I dry up in conversations and can't deal with anything that isn't planed and can't cope with the unknown. Eventually when i met the psychiatrist he said I possibly would have Aspergers but as i didn't have anyone to give my childhood information( I am an immigrant and my aged mother who i believe is autistic is deaf and lives abroad so no joy) he would diagnose me as atypical autistic. I am not impressed with the assessment and feel I was given a label to keep me quiet.
Hope i can get some advice.
The label you've been given kind of doesn't matter. All the diagnoses under the autism spectrum will be eventually moving under one umbrella term of ASD (autism spectrum disorder) anyway (and this has already occurred in the US). Atypical autism, like aspergers, is still autism. The specifics are not necessarily so important. My understanding is atypical autism can be given when you otherwise meet other criteria but they can't establish symptoms from an early age (that doesn't necessarily mean you didn't have them, just that they couldn't determine that reliably). One of the criteria for Aspergers or typical autism is that symptoms are present from childhood, so it sounds like your diagnosis could be the right call in terms of following the diagnostic criteria.
Some services already diagnose ASD or ASC (autism spectrum condition) anyway though, instead of specifying 'Aspergers' etc. It's quite variable in the UK, and in a few years it may all be ASD/ASC when the new edition of the diagnostic manual here comes into use, as it will match more closely to the US one. Many people use the ASD/ASC label interchangeably with Aspergers/autism etc, so it would be perfectly fine if you wanted to do so.
It might be useful to read more about atypical autism or PDD-NOS and see if the description fits you. According to online search, it could be diagnosed when not all of the symptoms fit or if there is not enough evidence to make a conclusion of autism, but is very similar to autism. And it could be diagnosed in occasions when symptoms are similar to autism or Aspergers but began at a later age. If you think you had symptoms from early childhood and can recall specific instances then it may be useful to talk to the psychiatrist about it. You could also ask for a second opinion or getting another assessment somewhere else. And like other people have mentioned atypical autism is still and ASD diagnosis. You may also want to search this forum, as other people have mentioned it as well, some others have even said that they felt that atypical autism would be a better and more suitable diagnosis for them than autism.
this sounds like an assessment I had, was it in the Berkshire area?
I know you didn’t get an Aspergers diagnosis but Atypical Autism is still an Autism Spectrum diagnosis, have you read up on Atypical Autism?