New member, new diagnosis!

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Hi. Less than a week ago, and a few days before my twentieth birthday, i was diagnosed with AS. I have to say that since i've managed to live a relatively normal life until now i was shocked and confused at the diagnosis, but the more i read about it the more things make sense. I've also discovered that the guy who diagnosed me, Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen, seems to be as much of a celebrity among the autism-spectrum community as his cousin is to the world at large!
So yeah - i'm going through a bit of a strange phase at the moment, as since i've gone such a relatively long time without being diagnosed i now feel like i have to reassess my personality and entire life in the light of this SHOCKING revelation.
I just thought i'd introduce myself here, say hello (hello) and ask if anyone has any advice to give or similar stories to share(?). i am also a bit of a 'n00b', having never posted on 'teh interwebs' before and am therefore not particularly down with the etiquette, so don't 'troll' me you guys!

Welcome to Wrong Planet! What was Dr.Baron-Cohen like? What kinds of things did he ask you to diagnose you? I'm interested because he's one of the leaders in the field of study and a lot of people here have been dismissed by doctors for dumb reasons.

Welcome greetings to the Wrong Planet forums, desertskiff...And also Happy 20th Birthday!

Welcome to WrongPlanet.

yes...Happy Birthday.

If I may ask.....What prompted you to seek a diagnosis, if you've lead a fairly functional life?

Wouldn't it be grand if Sacha came out with an aspie character? He's done race and sexuality...why not neurology?

It's like a lens through which your life comes more sharply into view. That's how I see confirmation/diagnosis anyway.

Happy birthday and welcome

I was really impressed by Baron-Cohen. A few days earlier i saw an ADHD specialist, who diagnosed me with inattentive-ADD - while the ADHD assessment seemed to me to just be a by-numbers, tick-the-boxes type thing, Baron-Cohen instead had a three hour conversation with me about my life. I imagine that you have to be a real pro to be able to diagnose that way. He did say that when i first walked in and for ten minutes or so afterwards he was convinced that i didn't have AS, because i have no real trouble making eye contact and responding to social cues, but he said later that these aspects of AS are "really very superficial". It's really quite hard to say exactly which questions he asked were aimed at a diagnosis, because he made the whole thing feel like a casual chat.

"If I may ask.....What prompted you to seek a diagnosis, if you've lead a fairly functional life? "

I went for an initial screening a couple of months ago at my university's disability resource centre because i had just failed my exams (i hadn't been able to bring myself to write anything. at all.) and i needed to put a case together to convince the uni to let me back in. it had been suggested in an off-hand sort of way a couple of times before this that i might have some sort of learning disability, so i thought i might as well go for a screening on the off-chance that i did, because having one would be a huge assist to my case - they told me that i showed indications of ADHD and AS, so since then i've been following these up.

Welcome to WrongPlanet.

How do you feel about your diagnosis, any different or relieved or anything if you don't mind me asking?

Welcome!

Hi. I was also diagnosed in my 20's (and this year) so yeah. Definitely understand the, "WHAT THE!?! wait, I've had this all my life but I still have to adjust? Weird!! !" feelings. That threw me for a loop for about a month where I felt like my mind/emotions had to rearrange themselves, but yeah. Now I'm more aware that I haven't necessarily changed - I just see myself from a new perspective. Welcome to WP! There's a lot of useful advice here