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33 years old before discovery

C

Custos

New Member
I'm amused at the fact I first learned of autism spectrum when I was in programming IRC channels as a teen. Since everyone was self-diagnosing, I decided to ignore it completely.

But 10 years ago I realized something was different, but couldn't figure out what. With my passion being in cognitive science, I ended up spending many nights researching all the various disorders.

I had been diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety disorders at 15 but that didn't account for everything I was experiencing. So one by one I evaluated the others, finding things that fit, then discarding because it didn't fit.

Honestly ended up most closely identifying with psychopathy and narcissism, but without the malicious intent... so those also weren't it.

Then last month, my mom and the only girl I've been in a romantic relationship with and have known for 20 years noticed how similar my nephew who has been diagnosed behaves compared to me.

Another friend I met 6 months ago and who didn't know anything about that, also told me I reminded him a lot of his cousin who was diagnosed and he helped learn to socialize.

So I started researching, and damn. Nearly every problem I've had in close relationships can be explained by it. The ways I constantly ask people to treat me, are recommended ways to treat loved ones with HFA as well.

So now I'm attempting to find a doctor for an official diagnosis and research what i can do to prevent further straining relationships with people I care about.

The only person who ever really understood me until this point, was my wife. Though we've always been platonic, we became best friends and a team due to being able to understand, accept and support each other.

The most amusing part... was she had a reputation for being a pathological liar, and I had a zero-tolerance policy for lies. And somehow, she was able to be the first that never lied to me or I felt mislead by... so I wifed her ^_^.

Interesting journey getting here... glad I found it.
 
Welcome. I was 30 when I was diagnosed and had only heard about Asperger's/Autism a year before. Yes it really does explain so much of my past too. I have been able to slowly get my life on track with the support of the few friends I have, family, my partner and even this community has been a great support over the years.
 
Welcome. I was diagnosed at 48. Always felt different to other kids at school but didn't know why. In my 20's was diagnosed with depression and social anxiety disorder. Went for a diagnoses of ASD after a comment from someone who said they thought I was autistic. At first I dismissed it thinking autism was just Rainman, but on doing my own research found I ticked all the boxes for Adult Aspergers.
 
Hi I found out when I was 31 and before that I was misdiagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder which I knew wasn’t right though at the time I felt like I couldn’t argue about it,I hope you find friends here and also discover more about yourself.
 
Hi Custos

welcome to af.webp
 
Hey, that sounds a lot like me! I also learned about it in my teens and thought it sounded like me but was never sure because I kept hearing about people diagnosing themselves to excuse bad behavior or make themselves seem special, so I always doubted myself. Then when I was 28 I started studying to become a speech-language pathologist at a school with a strong emphasis on ASD, and everything I learned either sounded a lot like me or sounded like I would be if I had more language problems. I got kind of obsessed with it. I still doubted myself so I started writing down examples of the reasons I thought the diagnosis fit me and a year later I had a 58 page document of categorized examples and my academic, career, and social history, which was very helpful for getting diagnosed.
 
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