Just got diagnosed

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Joined: 29 Nov 2012
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Posts: 26

30 Nov 2012, 9:49 am

Hey guys and gals.

I'm Brian. I'm 28, I live in New York City, and I got diagnosed yesterday with Aspergers. I'm participating in a study at Yeshiva University on ASD, and as I strongly suspected myself of being on the spectrum, I got in contact with 'em and they said they offer diagnoses for people who haven't yet received one. So I they ran me through the ADOS and I met the requirements, but interestingly, I met them just barely.

The doctor's theory is that, had she interviewed me, say, 10 years ago, I would have scored much higher in a number of areas based on what I told her about my personal history, so she's going to do a developmental history with my mom over the phone. But, she said, she couldn't imagine my cluster of symptoms being anything else, even if they're all relatively mild, or at least well-hidden.

So, yeah. After years of wondering, I've finally got the word, and man, I am decidedly less happy about this than I thought I would be. I mean, I'd been worried going in that they'd just tell me I was an inconsiderate jerk, not an aspie, so I mean I'm glad for that, but it's something to be told by a trained clinician that your brain isn't quite right. As much as its good to know one way or the other, it's kind of freaky to think about it. It makes me worry about my future kids, about my relationships, about lots of things.

So anyway, I'm pretty mild on the spectrum, basically just barely there, and that itself has been enough to destroy a significant number of relationships. It made seminary a living hell which I fled prematurely, and it makes my relationship with my fiancee pretty dicey at times.

Man, this is messed up.