Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone. I am a 61 year old male whom others often think of as having strange habits and strange ideas. I am also 'stuck in my ways'. I find that I am frequently misunderstood and have problems with spoken communication at times. For example when someone asks 'How are you', not knowing what to say so I'll say something like 'I'll live'. I am very abrupt with answers, often resorting to one or two words and not carrying on the conversation. I speak inappropriately at the wrong times in meetings, play unnecessarily with, for example, paper cups to the annoyance of others without realising what I am doing and am often talking to myself.
Conversely, once I get going on a topic that I have an interest in, I talk the hind legs off a donkey, not knowing when to stop and boring the pants off the recipient of my talk. Job interviews have always been a problem, I have been told I do not engage enough eye contact and either fidget a lot or sit bolt upright with my arms folded. I have failed so many job interviews that I am a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records. This led to a l-o-n-g period of unemployment lasting twenty years from my twenties to my forties.
Recently, my job changed- I used to work as a data manager but having been Tuped over it changed to an office administrator. I cannot work how I would like and I know there are better ways of doing things but I am not allowed to do them the way I want (I am very computer literate). This has caused problems with accuracy by working in a way that is not how I like to work and also there are so many interuptions that I find it difficult to complete the tasks and it has caused so much stress and anxiety that I am now on long term sickness for stress manifesting itself in anxiety and depression.
I strongly suspect I may have Aspergers. Some time ago I took the Aspergers Test (self took, not with a doctor) and got a score of 42. Taking it again recently had the same result. I am aware that self tests are not necessarily accurate but I think a lot of my experiences fit in with Aspergers. I have been trying to convince my GP to refer me for a proper assessment but it is so far falling on deaf ears. I believe an assessment if positive would provide me with a strong case for adjustments at work so that I can better cope. What do others think?
changewillhappen said:Hi there,This is my first post and I'm particularly interested in this discuassion as I'm 56 and only now considering getting a referral from my doctor after years of wondering whether I have autism problems. My life has been very chaotic at times and I have lived getting deeply frustrated with what I see as my own incompetence at organising and ordering my life. I have had therapy and treatment for depression but because my inter-personal skills 'seem' good I had doubts about whetehr autism could be a real issue or another 'excuse' I'm creating for the 'balls up' my life appears (to me) to be!I scored 31 in the Autism Spectrum test, so doea that indicate 'some' traits rather than the 'full job?' behavioural traits I have are:Quite a lot of pacing around not knowing what to do next.Great difficulty prioritising tasks.Sudden obsession with things from nowhere which I go into deeply even without any background in it (e.g some years ago I trained as a rugby referee having zero backround in it-and did it!)Holding down jobs and relationships have been very hard.Dispraxic tendencies doing practical tasksDifficulty moving objects and reordering things which creates anxiety.Plenty more but |I wont bore you with them. Any advice here, appreciated. I'm worried my doctor will think I'm exagerating as I appear 'well' and good on communication.
Hi there,
This is my first post and I'm particularly interested in this discuassion as I'm 56 and only now considering getting a referral from my doctor after years of wondering whether I have autism problems. My life has been very chaotic at times and I have lived getting deeply frustrated with what I see as my own incompetence at organising and ordering my life. I have had therapy and treatment for depression but because my inter-personal skills 'seem' good I had doubts about whetehr autism could be a real issue or another 'excuse' I'm creating for the 'balls up' my life appears (to me) to be!
I scored 31 in the Autism Spectrum test, so doea that indicate 'some' traits rather than the 'full job?' behavioural traits I have are:
Quite a lot of pacing around not knowing what to do next.
Great difficulty prioritising tasks.
Sudden obsession with things from nowhere which I go into deeply even without any background in it (e.g some years ago I trained as a rugby referee having zero backround in it-and did it!)
Holding down jobs and relationships have been very hard.
Dispraxic tendencies doing practical tasks
Difficulty moving objects and reordering things which creates anxiety.
Plenty more but |I wont bore you with them. Any advice here, appreciated. I'm worried my doctor will think I'm exagerating as I appear 'well' and good on communication.
Your score and you last comment are interesting. Most of us who have reached a certain age without diagnosis have learned to adapt to situations and to communicate. We also, having a hidden condition, can appear very well and 'normal'. Some people I know refuse to accept that I have Asperger's because I seem to have good communication skills. But they're not natural or instinctive skills. I've learned to make eye contact, but I'm very uncomfortable with it and can't sustain it beyond a couple of seconds. It was only in relatively recent years that I began to realise that I was hogging conversations, and going on at great length and in great detail to questions like 'How was your weekend?' - without even thinking to return the question to the other person. I still don't 'get' body language. I can be very friendly and sociable at work - because I have to be! Outside of work, I have no friends, I rarely go out, I never use my phone - and that's how I like it!
There's always the risk of seeing a set of symptoms and building them up into a diagnosis for something that might not actually be there. There's the likewise risk of taking the test and giving answers that you think are the ones most likely to point to autistic behaviour, rather than being totally honest about it. Or, perhaps, you've been a bit more generous to yourself in your answers. Whatever - it's not a diagnosis, just an indicator. As I understand it, a score above 32 is indicative of autistic behaviour. You're close to that. Much closer than a NT would be, anyway. So it could well be worth your while pursuing it.