What other diagnosis did you get before Asperger's?

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When I was six, a doctor mentioned something to my mum about "autistic traits", which wasn't bad for the mid eighties. But all anyone ever told me until my mid teens was that I was "different". Yeah, right. What's that supposed to mean?????

When we took Andrew to the doctor about his hand movements and noises they said it was just a "tic ". They said he would eventually grow out of it. But he never did. His noises and movements got worse they still said it was "tics" or maybe tourettes. When he started school they got specialist to come and evaluate him. He was then diagnosed with aspergers.

I was born in 1973, to give a frame of reference as to the time period...

When I was three, my mother told the Doc. that I wasn't playing with other kids, he told her that she musn't be giving me enough attention (even though I was an only child at the time)

At the ripe old age of seven it was "hyperactive" (Way back before they got sick of typing all those letters, and shortened it to ADD or ADHD) and ritalin which only made things worse.

I tested well enough to be put in the gifted program, but school was so horrible for me that I had rotten grades in every class. They couldn't justify having a kid with horrible grades put in the gifted program...

In high school it was supposed to be depression, then bi-polar. When that didn't do anything it was supposed to be Schizophrenia. The medication (Risperdal) gave me hallucinations, so if I wasn't schizo before, I was certainly starting to live up to it.

I lost faith in doctors, and then I was just "anti-social, and a little weird"

At the end of yet another relationship with a wonderful girl, I decided to give the docs another try, figuring they might have learned something in the past few years. So, here I am, at least I understand now. And rather than endless drugs, the remedy is basically self-understanding and awareness, coupled with learning ways to integrate into society.

I'll take it.

Yes my son was diagnosed with anxiety, Odd (oppositional Defiant Disorder and AdHD.

Alex(Site Administrator) Has anyone ever told you that you look like Clay Aiken.

In 1976 I remember the kindergarten teacher and the school psychologists calling in my parents to discuss the possibility of my being dyslexic. This was before the ADD/ADHD was known or I probably would have been labeled with that. That whole incident occurred because the teacher did not understand what I called "The System". Can you imagine a 5 year old trying to explain to adults how every number and letter has a color and some letters should always be capitalized and others always lowercased because it gives them more power?! This was my experience with Synathesia and after that I learned to shut my mouth about The System.

My parents response was "not our child". So I was never taken to a professional psychologist but did start seeing the high school counselors on my own because of the abuse I was getting at home. They would say things like what's your problem, look at me when I talk to you dammit, you're just a weirdo and you need to learn how to act right. That was in '86 so Aspergers wasn't a possible diagnosis in the Deep South yet but that was all symptoms of AS. The very same people that tested my IQ at 165 would sit and tell me I was stupid. Go figure. Then one of the counselors believed in me and tried to get my parents to enroll me at the University for gifted kids at age 16 that would have allowed me to earn college credit hours while still in high school. But my parents said she's too stupid we aren't going to waste money on such nonsense.

I was failing Chemistry at the time but the reason was I couldn't see the blackboard. I kept complaining to parents I can't see the board, but they never thought maybe they should take me to get my eyes checked. I failed my drivers learners permit test because I failed the vision test and had to get glasses before I could drive. Now who was the stupid one?

I was diagnosed in 2005 with Aspergers after growing up as a weirdo.

I don't have an ASD, but I have enough ASPIE traits to post here, I think. I was diagnosed with something called CYCLOTHYMIA in my early 20s - basically, a gentler version of bi-polar disorder. I'm 37 years old now, and the troughs in the cycles have long since faded away, if they were ever there. I still perserverate, though, which I'm content with, because I actually enjoy obsessing and find the tendency to be quite practical.

Depression and schizoid personality disorder.

I'm only sort-of diagnosed, but my history is as follows:

Because of severe behavior and social problems as a kid, I was labeled as ADHD and Severely Emotionally Impaired

Jump to 25 when I had a major psychotic/emotional breakdown. I suspected Asperger's was part of my problems, but the Psychiatrists focused on my mental illness, here is the progression:

Bipolar, Major Depression with Psychotic features, Psychosis NOS, Schizoaffective, Schizoaffective with OCD

Now my therapist thinks that ADHD and Asperger's and maybe Avoidant Personality Disorder should be in the mix somewhere.

Bah

When I was in sixth grade, the big bad bully in my class told me I had cerebral palsy.

Now I wonder what was wrong with him, he seemed so angry and spiteful all the time.

I was diagnosed with Asperger's (AS) with the possibility of being considered High Functioning Autism (HFA). During the evaluation process, I was told that it was the opinion that AS and HFA were the same thing. The therapy I received was for AS issues. So, for me, it has always been AS or HFA.

Now, for my two sons.

My oldest son was evaluated when he was in elementary school back around 2001/2002? Thought no formal diagnosis was given to him, his pediatrician gave him Strattera for possible ADHD. That made him a miserable zombie like mess of depression and...it's hard to talk about it. We took the Strattera away and never gave him another one. He has AS traits. He is in the 8th grade now, and doing better.

My youngest son is in elementary school. Upon a recommendation of his school, he was evaluated by a child psychiatrist very knowledgeable in the autism spectrum and other issues. After the evaluation process, and a lot of paperwork, he was given the diagnosis of AS. Then the school called in their own team of psychologists and evaluators that did their own testing of my son. They observed him in the classroom. He was then given an IEP for autism. They considered him an easy diagnosis of AS. That is, his traits and testing results were textbook like AS. He was even used as our school's example autistic student for a state school conference on autism.

Autism and hearing loss, then it was autistic behavior and commication disorder.

ADD, dyspraxia, Sensory processing disorder, suspected OCD and suspected ADHD, cluttering.

I was also labeled as being multi handicapped.

Then I was diagnosed with AS along with depression and anxiety. I was surprised OCD was in there too when my mom had told me three years ago I don't have it and was never diagnosed with it.

My first dx was ADD w/ Major Depression (I wasn't). Then there was speculation about Bipolar (could be comorbid with AS), then a few months later they actually "ruled out" AS - which to this day I cannot for the life of me understand. 4 years after that, I was formally diagnosed as having AS.

I didn't get the official diagnosis of all these, but this is what I have:

generalized anxiety (official)
OCD
PTSD
depression maybe?

For some reason I didn't meet the diagnostic criteria as a kid for ADHD, but I was treated for it. I looked like a classic case of ADHD anyways. I'll be getting a diagnosis for [Adult] ADHD soon, most likely. When we can get this stupid diagnostics crap finally over with.

After hospitalization in the psych ward for 10 days, I was diagnosed with Major Depression - which I'm sure I have, but one of my doctors is insistent that it's Bipolar, and "Cyclothymia"... which is BS, because having a major depressive episode automatically disqualifies Cyclothymia, and I haven't had mania or hypomania long enough (nor am I a "rapid cycler") to get that diagnosis.

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