Late Diagnoses

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I was diagnosed with Asperger's when I was 10, though at age 18 the school psychologist and bunch thought I fit classic autism dx better, so they did a bunch of evaluations, though they haven't finalized it quite yet, which is really annoying since I'm leaving for college in less than a month, and they still need to contact the autism specialists (which they said they'd do in May/June) for me to have an evaluation.

I agree with you to an extent. I think in the younger kids Aspergers is over diagnosed and is a catch-all excuse for just being a brat. Heck half the kids I met who are dx with ASD are nothing like I was as a child. They show no sensory issues, coordination problems, eye contact problems or any of the many other nuisances. They are just little punk s**ts that like to throw tantrums. I never threw a tantrum even as a toddler my parents say! I was too shy to make that kind of ruckus. The ASD kids I see seem to have some kind of behavior problem like explosive disorder, bipolar or multiple personalities and are not truly autistic.

On the other hand I think legitimate teens and older adults are totally being missed and not diagnosed. Heck my own parents and for that matter my uncles are in their sixties and have never been diagnosed with anything yet its glaring that they are on the spectrum. I run into MANY older adults (lol such as doctors) or people at work that seem quite obviously Aspie. It's wrong people are allowed to linger in mental anguish into their senior years never knowing that they are not eccentric or bad people and that there really is a reason they never got married, struggle to interact with people and have strange sensitivities.

The way AS is being diagnosed needs to be changed. Alot of psychs are not following the DSM.

Hi. Sorry no one has answered your question. Adults should go to a neuropsychologist for diagnosis. They honestly are the only ones with enough training to know what they are talking about. Sometimes neuros are hard to find, so in that case scan your phonebook or internet for listings of local psychologists that specialize in "developmental or behavioral disorders" and they might know something about Aspergers. Some people go to psychiatrists, but they are a bad choice as the first thing they will do is put you down for being the way you were born and try to put you on psych meds.

It is quite common to be diagnosed later.

I self-DXd in my mid-twenties and finally got it officially confirmed last year at the age of 37.

im 25 this year and struggeled with this 'something' for a loooong time not knowing what it was. it has only been brought to my attention 2 weeks ago that ive probably got asperges. id never heard of it b4. im just happy to see that im not the only one who struggels with it and there are others out there. and im not nuts like alot of people have made me feel.

Well, I think I know what you're getting at, but I fit that description too. And am in-between AS and HFA.

I was having constant tantrums as a toddler and young child, had excellent coordination, if prompted didn't have a problem with eye-contact etc... I also was never shy or anxious.

You may very well have AS, but the tantrums if extreme are often evidence that the child has another disorder. You can have comorbid conditions you know. Its just that in the US every bratty kid that throws a tantrum is now getting labeled with Aspergers when that is the only issue they have is temper tantrums.

I think you're being told you are in-between AS and HFA is a disservice to you. That is part of the problem with the new multitude of ASD diagnoses. It honestly should be either you have classic autism, Rhetts or you are an Aspie. Do away with the PDD-NOS diagnosis as well as it is useless. The whole DSM needs to be changed and it needs to be consistant from one psychologist to another and consistant from one country to the next. Otherwise its unfair to the patients.

Maybe Aspergers should not even be diagnosed till at least until the preteen years. Toddler and preschool years are such an awkward time for many that I don't think you can accurately diagnose them with anything till they get older. The bad thing is all the adults in society that have major Aspergers and never got diagnosed with anything. If they knew by the time they were 18 what was wrong with them and got counseling they might have had a much better adult life.

I have a friend who is 43 and I am sure she has Aspergers way worse than me. Yet she had never been diagnosed with anything, fights with everyone she meets, including getting into an argument with the store employees everytime she goes shopping and she thinks everyone around her has a problem NOT her. She didn't start working till she was 40 years old and is just a janitor. She has never been able to live independantly and finds one abusive man after another to mooch off of. Now she has been done a disservice because doctors give AS diagnosis willy nilly to toddlers yet adults often get overlooked for life.

I was diagnosed around 16-18 during High School after I was wondering what was wrong with me, my academic progress, etc. You could say that was late but mostly my problems were internal and back then I wasn't very receptive to other people about my problems, etc. I'm finally glad it's out of the way though.

I would think somewhere between 9-15 is the best age to get a diagnosis. Diagnosing 2 year olds is stupid and bad medicine in my opinion. But wait too long and it causes problems.

My tantrums were the result of the autism itself. I still have the explosive type of ASD too. Changes of routines, sensory overload and frustration about communication. It is possible, just as it is of course possible that tantrums are the normal terrible 2 or due to a physical disorder that puts the child at discomfort or due to something else.

Oh, I guess I never think of the US and how ASDs are diagnosed over there. Where I live, AS is rare and rarely get diagnosed. (Just as any other ASD too.) It's a true miracle if AS is diagnosed at age 8 here.) The bad thing is, this does leave many without help in kindergarten and elementary school where they could have started on therapies.



Officially, I have AS. No professional doubts that. We don't have PDD-NOS here. And AS and any other type of ASD give way to the very same services, so that in the end it does not matter which label you get in respect to services.

But I know I don't fit the AS profile just right and am in-between classical/HFA and Asperger's. The single label does not not explain all about me and aspies have been very wary of me because of that. I would be nothing if I had to be either really fit the criteria of AS or classical. This realisation helps insofar as that I can't get along well with most that have AS, but aren't really classically autistic either.

I agree that every country should use the same criteria though.



I do think it should be diagnosed earlier to give those children who are impaired (I think that a clinically significant impairment should be present to receive the label) have access to appropriate help. I do think, however, that professionals should be a lot better educated on ASD and other learning and developmental disorders.

I just asked my dad, and he said although I would never throw a tantrum, I would be obstinate.
"Can I have another lolly?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so."
"Why?"
*insert lengthy explanation of a two year olds dietary intake requirements*
"Oh ok."
...
"Please?"
"No."

I'd say that would be close to what would happen.