Officially diagnosed last Thursday at 49 years old

[Bolletje]

Welcome!

 

[glenaim]

I only got my asd diagnosis at 47(im 51 now),but got my pure ocd diagnosis at 40 which made a lot of sense to me but i knew it didnt explain all i feltband did that was odd,i randomly did an asq test,got 35/40 then got professional diagnosis

 

[Vegenigma]

Hello, I will be 52 soon and I was diagnosed as an Aspie about 8 years ago. While it was a relief to finally know why I act the way that I do, it's been somewhat of a double-edged sword as well. Has anyone here found a therapist who has been able to help you adapt some social skills so you can "survive" with the neurotypical's? I've struggled. I end up with Therapists who are just happy to take my money every 1-3 weeks, but we really never address a plan to help me become more self-sufficient.

BTW, I have my own business, and I've been successful so far. Some people are amazed that I've accomplished this, other's don't even notice that I'm an Aspie. I believe that I am very high functioning.

Anyway, welcome to the board.

 

[Peter Morrison]

You are not alone. I find it difficult to imagine how my life might have been different had I known about ASD earlier in my life. I can feel cheated too, but I tend to realize that I am as subjected to nature as anyone else. The only value I can see in having known about ASD is that it would have helped me understand what specific limitations I had. I might not have wasted time and energy doing things that would result in failure. With or without an ASD diagnosis, I am still the same person. I now understand why I didn't fit in better, and I can be kinder to others who found me difficult or odd. They weren't being mean on purpose, and I can excuse them for being confused or making fun of me. I used to feel angry at being teased or mocked, but I now see how my behavior can be easily misunderstood. I think differently and I have profound insight into certain topics in the world. Most NTs don't understand much beyond retelling a newspaper headline. Having ASD, I have clearly understood the ignorance of people. The world is not going to change to accommodate us. It is our job to manage our lives with an understanding of what makes us different. That is a constant that is the reality of our condition.

I completely agree that knowing that you suffer from ASD is a shock when you realize it at a later point in life. It becomes easier to understand because we have piles of real-life situations where our ASD has caused an incident that we couldn't clearly understand. We used to blame ourselves for seeming stupid or inept. These are concrete examples to help us navigate our future with some kind of wisdom. I don't think I would have been able to understand this in my youth, so I cannot lament not having known. I'd rather innocently get up to bat believing that I will hit a home run than get up to bat worried about the reasons why I might strike out.

 

[Major Tom]

Welcome!

 

[Christie1969]

Hello, I will be 52 soon and I was diagnosed as an Aspie about 8 years ago. While it was a relief to finally know why I act the way that I do, it's been somewhat of a double-edged sword as well. Has anyone here found a therapist who has been able to help you adapt some social skills so you can "survive" with the neurotypical's? I've struggled. I end up with Therapists who are just happy to take my money every 1-3 weeks, but we really never address a plan to help me become more self-sufficient.

BTW, I have my own business, and I've been successful so far. Some people are amazed that I've accomplished this, other's don't even notice that I'm an Aspie. I believe that I am very high functioning.

Anyway, welcome to the board.

I totally understand the whole therapist just wanting your money thing . That’s why I’ve gone almost 50 yrs undiagnosed with anything but anxiety disorder . I feel pretty comfortable with my therapist because she has an aspie child and adult brother with Aspergers. She gave me a really good book which I appreciate her letting me read on my own and not have me pay for the info. I also have my own side business. I’ve been doing wedding flowers for 25 years and none of my friends or customers knew about my difficulties. I would never let someone be around me long enough to see all my awkwardness. The few people I’ve told thus far have been very loving and are even doing their own research to learn about me

 

[Christie1969]

You are not alone. I find it difficult to imagine how my life might have been different had I known about ASD earlier in my life. I can feel cheated too, but I tend to realize that I am as subjected to nature as anyone else. The only value I can see in having known about ASD is that it would have helped me understand what specific limitations I had. I might not have wasted time and energy doing things that would result in failure. With or without an ASD diagnosis, I am still the same person. I now understand why I didn't fit in better, and I can be kinder to others who found me difficult or odd. They weren't being mean on purpose, and I can excuse them for being confused or making fun of me. I used to feel angry at being teased or mocked, but I now see how my behavior can be easily misunderstood. I think differently and I have profound insight into certain topics in the world. Most NTs don't understand much beyond retelling a newspaper headline. Having ASD, I have clearly understood the ignorance of people. The world is not going to change to accommodate us. It is our job to manage our lives with an understanding of what makes us different. That is a constant that is the reality of our condition.

I completely agree that knowing that you suffer from ASD is a shock when you realize it at a later point in life. It becomes easier to understand because we have piles of real-life situations where our ASD has caused an incident that we couldn't clearly understand. We used to blame ourselves for seeming stupid or inept. These are concrete examples to help us navigate our future with some kind of wisdom. I don't think I would have been able to understand this in my youth, so I cannot lament not having known. I'd rather innocently get up to bat believing that I will hit a home run than get up to bat worried about the reasons why I might strike out.

Well said ! Thank you for your insight and wisdom.