Hi (new member)...a few questions

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Hi all, I was referred to this site by the specialist who diagnosed our 8 year old son. He has been very lucky to have had teachers who care about their students and obviously have come across aspergers before. He's doing really well at school but has problems with social interaction and worries about things that kids shouldn't be concerned with. Throughout the diagnoses procedure and after researching aspergers, I'm 99 percent sure that I am as much,if not higher on the autism spectrum than our son. My question is, considering I'm now 35 years old, working, married etc.. is it worthwhile talking to specialists etc... about myself? Deep down I'd like to know but have no idea where to start. I find it hard to bring the subject up with my partner let alone a doctor. My personal opinion is that it isn't a disorder at all, but I hate talking about myself (severely!) Any input is most welcome.

Welcome to the forums.

Hi and Welcome.

My son was diagnosed at age 5 and this led me to be diagnosed at age 37.

Unless you're likely to get any benefit from your diagnosis (concessions etc), there's not really much point in earning yourself a label. Unless it's free of course.

There's no reason why you simply can't do the aspie quiz (which has proven to be surprisingly accurate).

http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php

It's good for your relationship to understand who you are and what your behaviours are influenced by but they don't have to rule your life. I totally agree that it's not a disorder. It's a natural state of evolution with both good and bad points.

Knowing that you're an aspie will help you to help your child.

Good luck.

Welcome to WP.

I also have an 8 year old son who was diagnosed with Asperger's.

When my wife was pregnant with my son, I started seeing doctors about my own problems -- some I recognized and many I didn't. In looking for answers, I was diagnosed at various times with ADHD, OCD, a Learning Disability, Anxiety and Depression. We ultimately came to Asperger's.

For me, there were two reasons why I needed to understand about Asperger's: (i) I had never been successful at a job and needed to find a way to take care of my family; I had opportunities and apparently had the knowledge and skills to succeed and couldn't figure out why I kept failing; and (ii) I needed to understand myself so that I could better understand and help my kids.

Welcome to WP!

Hello DM1974 and welcome to the WP. I was diagnosed with AS last November at the age of 44. My sons are 7 and 12. The 7 year old probably has AS---just hasn't been diagnosed. My 12 year old has needed some tutoring in the past. Both my sons required speech therapy. My wife is NT and is most understanding.

I think it helps to get diagnosed just because it offered me peace of mind to know why I was different. Then, with some therapy, I learned how to be a better father and husband.

I enjoy having AS. I have found it fun. But there are challenges too---and getting diagnosed can help with that.

I hope you enjoy the WP.

Greetings, and welcome to the Wrong Planet community, Dm1974.

Thanks everone for the replies, it's been a great help. I was suprised to see how similiar other peoples situations are. I can't find anything conclusive that ASD is genetic but it may be? I completed the aspie quiz and scored 104 (both aspie and NT traits). Thanks again!