Hello - Anyone here diagnosed as an adult (or from Houston)?

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I PM'ed you!

Welcome to WP.

I love your avatar, it's my background on my work PC

i am in a similar situation, just got diagnosed a year and a half ago, i am 36, at first i lost everything, almost lost my job because of doctors misinterpreting what it meant to have asperger, but after going tru a battery of test (the diagnosis alone took 6 hours) i finally was cleared sane. after a 2 year battle i have now been to secure a full time job, buy a new car and a house, i am in the canadian army, now regular forces, i used to be able to work only part time, but now with proper medication i am able to function "normally", all in all it helped me to get the diagnosis, now i know what im fighting against and it makes it much easier for me

also i noticed there is a meetup clup in houston, http://aspergers.meetup.com/249/?gj=sj5, looks like it is more for parents of kids with asperger, but they had to get the diagnosis somewhere, maybe they could help you

good luck

MADDuck - I PM'ed you back. Thanks again!

syzygyish - Even without knowing yet, I'm at the acceptance stage too. I could actually accept being told I have some form of ASD and I could accept being told I'm just pathetic. Either is fine, but I'd really just like to know. After reading what people who have been diagnosed say, however, I think I will be surprised if I'm not. There's only so much coincidence that can be possible (though I suppose you can also argue that the very meaning of coincidence makes that assumption untrue...). I think I'll avoid any WP posting beyond this one though until I get a professional opinion. If I don't have some form of ASD, I really don't want to offend or insult anyone here.

pizzaman31195 - I envy you. I did lose my job, my home, and my life savings. And that was years ago. Realizing I'll never get any of it back now is painful. I think the largest factor in my wanting to know if there may be a real condition behind why I am what I am is that it would help me understand the past - not really help with the future. Any fight is already lost. I actually did find that club too, but like you say it's really for parents whose kids have the condition. No way I'd ever attend something like that even if I was diagnosed. That would seem really inappropriate to me. I did contact various group organizers for suggestions though. Thanks for the link though!

Welcome ZerO_Voltage,

Lots of people here know this from the inside out. So why do you want to see someone who one charges, and two, is an outsider looking in?

I remember when they started thier little science religion, working out of cheap storefronts, Not an MD, but for five office visits at only $40 I will write a letter to your draft board, and keep you ot of Nam. They also gave away free samples of drugs by the handful.

You are lucky to not be insured, that would take a lot of time and many office visits.

In the end they will say, something like ASD, always ducking the malpractice suit, and when sure you have no more money, toss you in the alley.

They give you a DX, not an education, books are about how cool I am, I wrote a book.

Only WP can teach you to become a functioning aspie.

I read your post, you belong here.

Hi Inventor.

Why do I want to see an outsider? Well... I suppose proper full understanding can come from diversified external sources. I can't just rely on my own assumptions, I need analysis from other parties - both inside and outside - to be completely certain.

Ask a delusional person if he can fly by jumping off a roof. He may say yes. Ask others who are also delusional if he can and they may also say yes. They all believe it, but an outsider knows it isn't true.

So as I stand on the edge of a metaphorical roof, how do I know if I would fly or fall?

I've gotten the insider input just by researching and by reading through posts here. The insider consensus is fly. But would the outsider consensus be fall?

Of course, I do agree with you too. I'm no fan of psychology/psychiatry, but it is the official diagnostic source. Can't exactly get a result via blood test.

But I'm not looking for the backroom phony wanting quick cash. I've been trying to find someone qualified and experienced. I should be rational and intelligent enough to know if I end up with someone offering anything dismissive or assumed or patronizing.

And sure, I'd like help for free. Don't see any way to get it though. About all I could find free is suicide hotlines, and I really couldn't bring myself to misuse a service like that.

You really shouldn't say I'm lucky not to be insured though. Believe me, I'm not. I know what you meant and that you were just applying the comment to this specific issue, but due to not being insured I'm also living in constant physical pain because of something I can't get treated for. No insurance is never a good thing for anyone.

As for becoming a "functioning" aspie, I'd like to think I already am - if I am an aspie. I don't feel there's anything I need (or want) to change. I just want to know.

As for whether or not I belong here, I guess it's a matter of what others would think. Do I have ASD or do I just have bizarrely coincidental similarities to those who do? And if so, would it be fair to those truly affected for me to claim some level of kinship? I'm not sure. But I am sure that I don't want to make an assumption and end up being wrong and have someone get offended or think I was being deceptive or insensitive.

Thanks for the welcome and concern though!

Try the Aspie Quiz here: http://www.rdos.net/eng/
Maybe it will give you a better idea.

Well that was just plain cool. I can't believe I never found that during my online searching.

I got the following results:





Not sure how accurate it is based on some of my responses though. I believe I was over-thinking way too many of the questions and responding with a "maybe / a little" since I wasn't sure which way to go.

For example, one question is "Is it easy for you to make friends?". Well, no, of course not. Duh. Select "Yes". But then my brain goes, "But wait, that's not true - it depends completely on the person". I can, in rare cases, become friends with someone. So I switch the answer to maybe. But in reality, being able to make friends with 1 person out out some vast number isn't a maybe.

I had the same problem with "reaction" questions. Do I react atypically? Well, no. Not outwardly. I've adapted and put on an act. How I appear to react is rarely how my brain wants to react. So again I probably answered questions related to such matters incorrectly.

I'm going to retake the test without over-analyzing the questions and with keeping the answers based on what my brain really wants to do. Should be interesting to see how much the results differ.

Thanks so much for that link zghost!

Well, answering on "instinct" my results were certainly different (more Aspie, less neurotypical)...

I guess the two sets of results could support the possibility of being an adapted Aspie.

In the past I've also taken the Jung / Myers-Briggs Typology Test here:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

I always score as an INTJ with a really high "Introverted" score and a fairly high "Thinking" score.

Reading up on the INTJ personality type, I always found it surprising how accurate it was for me. Not 100%, but extremely close. I wonder if this is a typical personality type among those with ASD?

Hi Zer0_Voltage,
I'm not from Texas, Indiana actually, but, like you am new to WP and was diagnosed six years ago at the age of 38. I feel for you. As I have learned from my therapist and the research I've done so far, AS was first discovered by Hans Asperger in the late thirties, early fourties, but until the early nineties science lacked the keys to truly understand it. It is for this reason that a lot of adults like us thought we were going insane by slow degrees until, quite by accident, we learned otherwise. The problem is that this syndrome has been recognized only recently, since the early 1990s, and therapists, doctors, educators, etc. are struggling to catch-up which is why there aren't anywhere near enough of them at the moment and most of 'em are concentrated in the NYC area with a handful or pockets of 'em scattered hither and yon. The suggestion to call every doc in the phone book is a good one. Also, check out Tony Attwood's stuff- Tony Attwood.org, (I think)- especially his books. One, that I can't lay hands on 'cause I don't know what I pile I buried it in- is called, The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome, or something like that and contains all of the latest info. on everything currently known about AS and what we still need to learn. Tony Attwood is one the world's foremost experts on AS and currently resides in Australia; you can contact him via his website and he wonderful about responding. His books can be found at most all of the major book stores and he always lists lots of resources in the back. Also check out Lianne Willey's, Pretending To Be Normal, a book that was very helpful to me and may be to you. Check with the universities in your area; they usually are doing AS research or services or can put you you in touch with those who are. As for me, it was sheer dumb luck. A friend with various PDD/spectrum issues introduced me to her therapist and that's what got the ball rolling for me. (And, as I said, it took 38 yrs. to get to that point.) Don't be afraid to gently explain to potential therapists that you don't have insurence or buckets of money, (I feel ya! Me neither!), sometimes you may run across one who'll work with you re: fees and/or who may have a sliding rate. Good luck and hang in there!

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/


You'd think I'd be afraid that Dr.T would get almost 15,000 e-mails but I'm not

Wow, this has been beyond frustrating...

If there's anyone left in the Houston area, I just don't know about them.

I've either called or e-mailed (or both) every doc I could find. Everyone either said no experience with adults or they just never responded.

How could any medical professional not respond to a potential patient? I actually don't mind the ones who were honest enough to say no, but those who didn't even return calls really bother me.

Even the one doctor I got a lead on from Joybob hasn't returned my call. I'm really hoping he's just away on business or something since he may be my only shot.

Is it really supposed to be this hard? Houston is the fourth largest city in the U.S.! What do people in small towns do?

Ugh.

I did actually find one clinic who at least said come in, but I think I made the mistake of over-discussing my past medical history which, although bizarre, really doesn't tie in to why I think I'm an ASD potential. The doc said I didn't appear to have any level of autism and seemed more like a somatoform disorder candidate. I was actually jazzed about that and though he might see something I didn't, but after reading up on SD I just can't see any relation - though I can now see why he would have thought that. I'll need to be more careful about misleading the next doc into just thinking I'm a hypochondriac.

Plus I think my behavior also threw things off. I'm so adapted I appear outwardly normal in almost every situation even while I'm struggling inside. It's like habit I can't break. I tried to explain that, but by then it seemed to get linked as a part of the possible SD theory. He also implied that my apparent level of "intelligence" might rule out any possibility of autism. I wasn't sure how to react to that because I wasn't completely sure how he meant it. I would think most with ASD would be pretty offended if he really thought IQ was somehow a rule-out factor. I'm guessing it was really more due to my apparent behavior though. And the limited time I spent with him. And maybe an inability for him to get past my current life situation (which is extremely bad, but I had ASD symptoms long before my current problems).

Oh how I just want one doctor with experience in diagnosing ASD in adults...

I really wouldn't mind an expert ruling it out, so long as they could then give me some other reasonable explanation for how I am. I don't expect miracles in a single visit, but whether I have some form of ASD or not, I just want an informed diagnosis. I know it would be hard to do in my case, especially with how I outwardly appear and considering that I'd be mild at the most, but surely someone somewhere has seen others like me? I guess just not in Houston.

Wish I had the money for a trip to Oz...

Yep, it is a problem. AS is defined by normal or above IQ.

The big picture is it is recent, 1994, so most studied after that, and it took ten years to figure out a few things.

Where will medical services be rationed? They can be most effective with young children, that with a little support can reach a normal level of function, and in developing the educational system that helps children.

We old free range Aspies are only of scientific interest for a few things, how bent out of shape we can become from known causes, a measure of outcome to measure a properly treated child.

Copeing methods developed to get by, how we interact with the world.

By the numbers 2,000,000 in the US, mostly old, never treated, and no way to reach them.

Sorry about you old folks, I am sixty, but therapists can do the most good working with the children.

Even on WP, teens with AS, who have had treatment, knowledge, understanding, are still teens. Their lives have been improved, but they are not cured, and no one knows what to do.

Most of the over thirty are self Dxed, no treatment, but they know and have always known, I am different.

From my era, ret*d was it. Having a high IQ, left only one choice, Demonic Possesion.

WP works because it fills a big need. As long as they are not a danger to themselves and others, changing the personality of adults, mature people, half way through life, goes against medical ethics. There is no need, and unknown harm is possible. Do not fix what is not broken. First, do no harm.

The only class of adults that need to be Dxed and made aware, are the parents of AS children, which is where most are discovered. Treating the whole family is good.

Compared to the past, life is good. Many AS person spent their life in a mental institution, and after a year, could have never functioned. Autistic children were smothered, drowned, locked in cellers, mental hospitals, and considered not worthy of life.

WP changed my life. Compared to not knowing, being alone, this support site is a wonder. Self help is all we have. This is a world of discovery. Some of the most observent posters here, it seems are non-verbal LFA, but from their posts, I thought some of the bright minds.

I would rather see the limited medical services go to a four year old than you. We have not caught up with the kids yet, the field may take another twenty years to develop, as they are studied. shrink posted, asking help with relationshp issues, he is a shrink, but the medical text lack that information, and his patients need help, so he went looking. WP is a knowledge pool, and growing.

I bad mouth the slimey little psychobabbling pill pushing priests of the psycho religion, because I know many of them are making a study of WP, of what goes on in our heads, how we see it, and they will be treating people on the front lines soon. The sorry little nut case Psyc Majors are all we have, and their godlike complex is something to step on early, not later, in the parking lot, by their car.

We are all we have to offer you.

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Inventor
youare a wonder
why didn't I ever
notice thatis before
autistisc I suppose

Don't know if this will do you any good, but I found the Autism Society of America website. It seems to be mostly "standard" autism, but I found it doing an Asperger's search. Here is their site:
http://www.autism-society.org/site/Page ... e=homepage
And they have links to local chapters, here is one in Houston: http://www.houstonchapterasa.org/

I contacted my local chapter (e-mail) several days ago and haven't heard back, but you can take a shot. Maybe they can suggest someone or something.