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I think I might have Asperger's

professorwhat

I'm 36, but I only learned about Asperger's in recent years, and now, after some experiences that I'm not going to get into caused me both to learn more about it and to take a closer look at tendencies and personality traits that I've always had, it seems hard to believe that I might not have it. Unknown to me, my mother has also learned about it fairly recently, and some conversations that we'd had led her to do some research, and she came to the same conclusion independently, which just seems to give it even more credence. Anyway, not having been familiar with it in the past, I've never been to a doctor about it, and now, I'm really starting to think that I should talk to one about it, but I'm finding that thinking about doing so creates a great deal of anxiety for me to the point that just thinking about it makes me want to freak out a little. I joined this form hoping that I might come across some people that might be able to help me wrap my head around what's been going on with me for so long that I never understood and help put me at ease about reaching out to a doctor. Thanks!

  • in reply to Chloe Mod

    Thank you. It's felt a bit overwhelming recently, coming to this conclusion, but I've found places like this to be a nice resource, since I'm dealing with people that get it. But, there's also a sense in which seeing this possibility has been a relief. I've always had tendencies and quirks that I didn't understand, and they also made people think I was really weird. I can handle being viewed as weird to a degree, but there were still things I preferred not to show, and suddenly, I feel a lot less of that. It's almost like this frees me to be who I am.

    But, yeah, thanks a lot for the resources.

  • Hi ,

    Thank you for sharing this with the community. You may like to look at our information about autism spectrum disorders:
    http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is.aspx

    If you were interested in finding out if you are on the autism spectrum, you would need to have a formal diagnostic assessment. You may find it useful to have a look at the following link for further information about diagnosis and the benefits of getting one:

    http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx 

    Furthermore, it is important the professional you see has experience of autism spectrum disorders. You can find details of diagnostic services on our Autism Services Directory in the Assessment and diagnosis section:http://www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx

    You may like to have a look at the following page which includes personal accounts, which may help:http://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/stories.aspx

    It might also be useful to pass on information about autism to health professionals when seeking a diagnosis. The following page includes information for a range of health professionals:
    https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/professionals-involved.aspx



    If you have further questions, you may like to contact our Autism Helpline team. They can provide you with information and advice about getting a diagnosis. You can call them on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm).Please note that the Helpline is experiencing a high volume of calls and it may take a couple of attempts before you get through to speak to an advisor.

    I hope this is useful :)

    ChloeMod

  • in reply to professorwhat

    Have a good think about what exactly you think you struggle with.
    Someone who is not that schooled on Autism (even GPs) Will dismiss you if you can cope with certain things.
    Whereas someone else may see that you have learnt to mimic or mask your symptoms.

    In the test I did today there is no questions about hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity (which basically means overly sensitive or really under sensitive) And that is  a huge part of our plans that we have for the people we support.

  • in reply to anonymice

    I hate that you feel anxiety over it, but in a sense, it makes me feel better, because of the fact that I feel the same way. I've thought about printing out some articles and highlighting areas where I see myself to show them. Seeing what you said makes me think I'm on the right track. Thanks

  • Hello,

    I feel very similar to you, I'm also 36 and am wondering if Autism fits for me. I actually work for an autistic charity and when completing our training I realised a lot of things fit for me. However going to my GP and looking for a diagnosis gives me a lot of anxiety as I am already paranoid they think I'm attention seeking if somethings wrong so I avoid going. 

    A good friend of mine mentioned to me if your considering it you probably are and today my therapist did an online test which came out I had a lot of traits. If you consider going for a diagnosis write down all the things you think make sense as to why and that will help persuade the gp for a referral.

    Good luck.