Maybe Aspergers

Hi janeytiff - I have recently been diagnosed as having Asperger and I am in my 50's.

My personal view is that I would have preferred to have been diagnosed when much younger. Mainly because I had so many problems as a child, then fitting in at work,  not knowing how to negotiate the NT world and use the qualifications I had gained. It is not just having the difference of Asperger, but the effects of that in trying to live a life 'like everyone else'. 

Getting through life with undiagnosed Aspergers created a lot of anxiety with me - and various trips to the Doctor only resulted in various 'mental health difficulties' being suggested as the problem. None of those were correct - and I knew it was something else.

A couple of years ago I read a newspaper article about AS and saw myself in the person described. I did the online test - AQ - not a diagnosis but a possible indicator. I scored high, so read as much as I could about the condition, then eventually went for an assessment and diagnosis. 

I feel I would have been able to do so much more if it had been discovered I had AS, when I was in my twenties  - but the option wasn't available then. As it is, I am very pleased to have found out now and feel very positive about being diagnosed, even in my 50's.

As Hawk256 says, Aspies are complex people. We have difficulty in communicating at the best of times, and what's inside is often very different to what we are seeming to communicate. 

The main point in all of this is that I wanted to find out why I was different and why I was having difficulties. You do not say what your daughter wants or feels about this.
You could advise her to see her GP if she is worried. 

Hi janeytiff - I have recently been diagnosed as having Asperger and I am in my 50's.

My personal view is that I would have preferred to have been diagnosed when much younger. Mainly because I had so many problems as a child, then fitting in at work,  not knowing how to negotiate the NT world and use the qualifications I had gained. It is not just having the difference of Asperger, but the effects of that in trying to live a life 'like everyone else'. 

Getting through life with undiagnosed Aspergers created a lot of anxiety with me - and various trips to the Doctor only resulted in various 'mental health difficulties' being suggested as the problem. None of those were correct - and I knew it was something else.

A couple of years ago I read a newspaper article about AS and saw myself in the person described. I did the online test - AQ - not a diagnosis but a possible indicator. I scored high, so read as much as I could about the condition, then eventually went for an assessment and diagnosis. 

I feel I would have been able to do so much more if it had been discovered I had AS, when I was in my twenties  - but the option wasn't available then. As it is, I am very pleased to have found out now and feel very positive about being diagnosed, even in my 50's.

As Hawk256 says, Aspies are complex people. We have difficulty in communicating at the best of times, and what's inside is often very different to what we are seeming to communicate. 

The main point in all of this is that I wanted to find out why I was different and why I was having difficulties. You do not say what your daughter wants or feels about this.
You could advise her to see her GP if she is worried.