I know there are several people here with autism/aspergers diagnosis. I am wondering how old you were when you got your diagnosis.
I guess most diagnoses occur when in childhood/teens. I have definite aspergers/non verbal learning traits but no diagnosis. Neither was really recognised when I was a child/teenager in the 60s through to mid 70s.
The focus of the mental health team has been on the primary psychiatric diagnosis and accompanying symptoms and apart from the word autistic being used in relation to a few situations that possibility has not really been explored.
I don’t think I will ever be diagnosed because I am female, and there are strong stereotypes among most professionals about autism spectrum syndromes being a male thing. Plus I think it manifests a little differently in females.
Late twenties or early thirties. It came about because I was describing to a doctor how the meds had mostly stomped out delusions and hallucinations, but my ability to “see” and “smell” music, plus get visual representations of other data was completely unimpaired, which surprised me. This turned out to be synthesia, which is experienced by a minority of autistics. Thus the diagnosis. I have the social impairments that come with the condition and some of the motor control difficulties, although I’ve been using archery and playing the piano to improve on the latter.
I am male and nearly 60 and doubt too I will ever get a diagnosis. Has it impacted on my life? Yes- most definitely especially when it comes to social difficulties.
Even if by chance I did get a diagnosis of aspergers/non verbal learning disorder I doubt it would make a massive difference. Too much water gone under the bridge,too much damage done.
If you decide that nothing will make a difference, nothing will make a difference. The moment I started having a life is when I decided to take my life back from the illness that was suffocating it.
@#$%ing go for it, man. What have you got to lose?