Adult Autism Disorder Diagnosis

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Hi there, I am 26 Female who went in today for an assessment/diagnosis for or against aspergers or autism spectrum. Well I went in fairly certain I was text book Aspie. I even made a 4 page list of each single "issue" i have. At the end of some questioning, the dr told me she would need to know two things before diagnosing me: how old I was when I began speaking in 2-3 word sentences, and how old I was when I was potty trained.

She then told me she was looking at Autism Disorder which she said is a specific diagnosis itself and NOT on the spectrum. How does that work? What does that mean? I wanted to know if it was less or more severe than Aspergers, she said it was more severe. I am shocked, I thought if I were an aspie, I would have a mild/upper mild case.

however, I am not sure, but I believe my potty training and language formation was not delayed, will that then relegate me to Aspergers?

God I just want a check by check list and then a clear cut answer TODAY. Sadly now I have to wait another two weeks.

I was diagnosed with Aspergers I had no speech delays in fact I was an early speaker, my mother says I was quick to potty train. I did however have delays in walking and learning to ride a bike.

Actually, if you look at the DSM IV criteria for autism, a language delay is NOT necessary for diagnosis:

Hi, I'm happy to hear about another adult going for a diagnosis. I'm 27yrs and female and havn't been for a diagnosis but feel pretty text book autistic - and like you, assume its high functioning end of the spectrum. I didn't start talking until 3 so im thinking autism rather than aspie. been so frustrating going all this time not knowing what's different about me and struggling so much, just found out about autism through studying child development which I'm studying online. I've been wondering whether to get a diagnosis but feel like it will be really hard to explain to the doctor. interested how that went for you?

Hi Floating, we seem to already have a lot of similarities. I realized I was textbook while studying Special Education in my grad program. It seems I found myself focusing on ABA, which is the therapy for people with Autism. The more I read, I kept getting these AHA moments. I started telling my S.O alot of this stuff resonated with me. She shrugged it off and said I was being silly. Only when I insisted we go over the symptoms did we both get the AHA and she now sees how all these seemingly weird things about me are actually all related. She just assumed I was quirky, particular, sensitive (sounds and emotionally), antisocial, ineloquent, clumsy, had stutter, and had little common sense. She (and I) never put them together as anything more.

I decided I couldn't wait another day without knowing so I called up every Autism group in the city. I live in Nashville, so I just called Vanderbilt's program. They dont deal with adults (many do not). I didn't find anything online sadly. I had to call the Autism Society and various Autism groups in Nashville that only did kids. However, even though they didnt see adults, they had a wealth of resources on people who DO see and diagnose adults.

Because of this, me going through autism avenues first and not just my normal physician who might've written it off as stress, I was able to get someone who had strong experience in Autism and would know what to look for. My insurance covered this because I technically didn't need a referral to see her.

I was nervous like you were about seeing someone so late and going in and having them tell me "You dont have AS, if you did, you would've been in here LONG ago." Ironic because AS is often a confusing ordeal with AS people. It's not like we know why we act or feel different...and women esp get misdiagnosed with a host of other things b/c people only see their emotional meltdowns or just want to focus on those. I was told by a therapist I was "borderline Borderline" which btw I have learned isnt a real diagnosis at all!! She said I had borderline symptoms but not enough to make me full borderline AKA not enough to diagnose me with it. Come to learn all the symptoms I had were also dominant Aspergers symptoms. I've heard a saying since that Men with Aspergers symptoms are just considered Aspergers in the field, but women with the same are considered BPD. Not sure how true this is, but I got caught up in it. Anyway that is so dangerous b/c I was constantly put into therapy that wasn't working and was even making things worse. They said I needed alone time because I shut myself off from people and I didn't like affection from my S.O. because I was pre-emptively punishing them for abandoning me one day. WTF? So I thought...ok well maybe.....if its true I don't know it, all i know is that when they touch or hold me for a long time I get very itchy and can't breathe...

Anyway wow that was a digression...

What I would do in your case is write a list of every single reason you think you might have aspergers. I would also just write every single thing you do that you know is different. Write down incidents and times when you clearly stood out. Write it all down, it will come flooding out. My therapist was psyched to see I had a list ready to go. Knowing me I would've shown up and when she asked why I thought I had it, I would've blanked and froze. Which was my worst fear.

So in closing I guess what I am trying to say more succinctly is:

Look up and contact local autism society's or groups.
Ask if they see adults or if they can refer you to someone who does, for a diagnosis
When you have an appt, make sure you have a list ready to go
Might help to interview your parents prior and ask them a series of questions. (I just found out that I used to rock myself and stare off for hours without speaking, that when kids approached me to play I used to give them nasty looks and say "I want you to go away!" and when my dad asked why I did this, I said because they interrupted me. AND I had twitches) They will tell you things you never knew or just forgot. It will also help them come to terms and see the "AHA" you see. After my interview with my dad, he sounded very sad and agreed something was very off with me, but admitted he just thought I was very smart, very antisocial, and just very particular.

Hope this helps. Also check out this womans presentation, she is author of Aspergirls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cW_cbD77YY

Parts of the video make you want to shoot yourself if you have sensory problems but I found this presentation eye opening. Especially when she talked about being hit by a van.

oh also, the Dr. Will ask you what you hope to gain from a diagnosis, or what you are looking for. Just have that answer ready, I didn't really, I kind of started stuttering and wanting to cry...it was a hot mess lol

Anyway now I can easily say I want the diagosis because I need help with every day things. I always feel like I am balancing plates all over my body and contorting my body to make sure they dont fall. I sometimes lie awake at night wondering when it will all come crashing down. Thinking, god I can't keep this act up forever... I already feel like I am running on empty and each day is more exhausting and grueling than the next and people seem to expect so much of me it seems unrealistic.

Anyway, now just knowing what I do, it helps me feel hope that A. I am not a deficient person, and B. I don't have to let it all come crashing down one day. I can learn how to function better...

http://www.aane.org/about_asperger_synd ... dults.html --also an awesome resource

yeah we do have lots in common. I was also diagnosed with BPD at one stage. That was when I was eighteen. I wasn't really able to explain myself though so I got that diagnosis from a psychiatrist but then when I went to see a psychologist for that reason, it ended up being someone I knew and they just said 'nup you don't have this, you might have some prob but not this' but I havn't had any kind of assessment since then so I never identified with BPD. I've always thought I have social anxiety and that I'm a hermit but I've always wondered...like you say, it's confusing for us and annoying that having missed the opportune time for a diagnosis, we have to work it out for ourselves.

there was a bit of an AHA moment when I talked about it with my mum, she gets it but she also prefers to be in denial and always has. that's frustrating. seems like my whole family's in denial, they know something's different etc but they don't understand. it's kind of nice in a way that they just except me for who I am but I don't think they realise how difficult it is for me and that a diagnosis would help me access the help that I often need.

thanks for that advice about the list and the reasons for wanting a diagnosis. I'll think about it. I still havn't been able to find someone in the area who can diagnose so I'll have to keep looking. think it will be important to see someone really familiar with ASD.