Hi, everyone. I just joined so I thought I'd make a post to say hi.
I'm 25 years old, and I just found out I have Asperger's yesterday. Really. The doctor who diagnosed me said it was the very first time he's ever been asked to diagnose it in an adult and that my case had been a "learning experience" for him, but also noted that he couldn't believe no one had caught it in me before since it was "obvious" and I've spent portions of my life in therapy.
I asked to be tested myself because, having only first heard of Asperger's (or even the idea that autism exists on a spectrum at all!) a few years ago, I'd been wondering for about a year but kept telling myself that I probably didn't have it since my symptoms fluctuate a little. However, I was recently watching a reality TV show in which a man who had autism auditioned for the show. During his interview, he explained to the judges what his symptoms were and said that they fluctuated, and there went that. The very next day, I set up an appointment to be tested and here I am! I was also told that I have "depression, anxiety, and an avoidant personality, likely from having gone this long without having a diagnosis."
I was so relieved to finally have a name for this collection of symptoms that I've experienced my whole life that I burst into hysterical laughter right there in the doctor's office. (Laughter is the way I react to relief--I've never understood it, but it's just how I react.) Things that I never even thought to question--such as the fact that I rock back and forth while stressed which now I know is one of my ways of stimming--and things that I've been questioning my whole life finally started to make sense!
I'm so happy to be here and to meet everyone and to finally find a place that feels like home. Thank you to everyone who's created this amazing space for us and I hope that in the future, I can contribute in some small way to that.
19 Jun 2012, 2:50 pm
welcome to our neat little cool club 
