Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi there,
My name's Gary and, at 49 years of age, I've been diagnosed with autism quite late in life.
What started the ball rolling with regards to eventually getting this diagnosis was that I was seeing a psychologist for counselling following my beloved foster mum's murder and it was my mentions of feeling strangely disconnected compared to how the rest of my family were that particularly interested her.
At first my psychologist was looking at PTSD and dissociation disorder, but then when I happened to mention that I went to a special educational needs school when I was young she became quite curious as to what diagnosis I'd been given way back then.
'Oh I wasn't given a diagnosis' I replied, adding: 'I was just told by everyone that I was slow - though that's never sat well with me, but hey, this was the 1970s. I have wondered whether there was something like an autistic spectrum disorder or ADD going on back then, though - something that would be recognised now, but "didn't exist" back then'.
...Anyway, that started the ball rolling with various assessments last summer and has led up to my eventual diagnosis this July.
I decided to have a look at this forum because I was curious to see if anyone has had a similar experience to me with regards to being diagnosed with an ASD relatively late in life.
Hi Gary
Welcome aboard You're not alone - I was diagnosed in my 40s too.
Hi Plastic!
Great to make your acquaintance and it's good to know I'm not alone.
What do you do? I'm a retired techy-nerd - I do lots of hobbies like making big RC models and classic cars - and lots of serious DIY.
Martin said:One of my old schoolfriends, John Tomlinson, edited both 2000AD and Judge Dredd comics in the 1990s
That's really cool, Martin. One of my old art college friends - Lee Carter - illustrated, amongst other things, a comic strip called Indigo Prime for 2000AD.
This is one of my biggest regrets about all the years I was drinking... the fact that I got so little artwork done and the fact that I could have have made a name for myself but just sunk into alcoholic oblivion instead. So many wasted years.
Still, I'm sober now and grateful for the 8 years of sobriety that I have under my belt. Plus being sober has allowed me to address things like my autism.
Nero-Boss said:Sounds like you have a lot of fun! I've just recently purchased an Xbox Ultimate Game Pass and I've been meaning to get into Doom.
Doom2 was one of my first PC games back in the 90s - I loved the challenge and the simplicity- and plying others over a network as a team or deathmatch is great fun - especially when you know the levels well.