Adult diagnosis

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Has anyone here been diagnosed on the spectrum as an adult?
If you've learned how to compensate very well over your life, how can someone make a proper diagnosis, even if you struggle with things but act OK for the most part to everyone else?

They ask you a lot about when you were a kid. Often they have your parents fill out a questionnaire about how you acted when you were little.

I think it is also easy to diagnosis if you are unusually gifted. You can build a museum quality model, then make several more that are even better!

It does make it much more challenging, but they have screening questionnaires and if you don't meet the scoring on those it's less likely you'd be assessed. Sometimes it's by ruling out other possible conditions that you are left with AS as the only likely one. As someone else said, there are questionnaires/interviews with parents to discuss your childhood behaviour, but not all adults have access to parents or information on their childhood. This is where a very good clinician who is experienced in ASCs is essential.

Now here is where I get stumped. My sons were both dx'ed as PDD as toddlers and receiving services through EI. I have been told by the professionals that they can lose the diagnosis, but from what I've read is that the diagnosis never gets lost. My older son lost his diagnosis but I still see he struggles, and in fact his preschool teachers requested he get evaluated for a SEIT. This is tremendously confusing to me.

The way I look at it is, there's the syndrome that is never gone, and the disorder which can go bye bye. Over time Aspies can learn skills, behaviors, and coping strategies that help them function. This leads to dropping the diagnosis because one's life is no longer disordered by the syndrome. However, the syndrome is, and always will be, there. It's an effort to overcome the disordering aspects of the syndrome, but the syndrome remains. One of the reasons I don't pursue a diagnosis is because I have developed many strategies (20 years of acting lessons from the time you are 5 will do that for you - explicitly, if unintentionally, teach almost everything that is a deficit) over the course of my life that leave me in a good place, functionally. I still face challenges daily, but don't feel my life is disordered because of the syndrome.

I was just recently diagnosed with AS (at age 30). My wife spotted some of the typical Aspie traits and started researching convinced that all of my problems throughout life (social anxiety, lack of empathy, awkwardness, inability to hold down a job, etc.) were attributed to AS. I didn't believe her at first but started researching it on my own. After a lot of self reflection I began to believe that AS was a pretty strong possibility and sought out a psychologist who deals primarily in AS to be tested. She talked to me for about an hour and then performed the test. I assume that she spotted some of the typical Aspie things and picked up quite a bit from my dialogue about my past. She confirmed my suspicions in our next session.

Not knowing that I had a disability, I found ways to cope with or make up for some of the things I lacked apparently. Adapt, move, or die. Though, I can function relatively well in society... I still have quite a few major problems... but who doesn't, right?

Is this a requirement? My husband's parents have been trying to undermine and play the disability system from his childhood. If they were asked questions now it would be met in rage an manipulation...

His assessment is next month and biased criteria from angry, stigma-minded adults would do nothing but complicate and taint the process................

Is this a requirement? My husband's parents have been trying to undermine and play the disability system from his childhood. If they were asked questions now it would be met in rage an manipulation...

His assessment is next month and biased criteria from angry, stigma-minded adults would do nothing but complicate and taint the process................

It can be no less confusing as an adult. I have long suspected Aspergers due to my life story running parallel with AS symtoms. At 46, I finally went in for an evaluation. After many hours of testing across multiple days, I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. I was told I would have been diagnosed with AS years ago, but apparently after 46 years of acting 'normal', I have learned how to act NT enough that my AS isn't obvious enough now under clinical observation.

I was unofficially diagnosed by my psychiatrist around October. I still want to be officially tested by someone who specializes in ASD's though, and have a referral for that. In my case, I have not compensated all that well. Not being diagnosed as a child has drastically negatively affected my life. I think that the only way to really know a person has an ASD is to have a thorough testing with someone who specializes in ASD's in adults. They should understand that it is possible for an adult to gain some knowledge and be able to "blend in" over the years.

Yes, many people here have.



You do not compensate for everything. For me the social part still wont work. I am extremely asocial and find it very hard to form new bonds with people, a social dysfunction like that is still a cause to be diagnosed as an Aspie adult - its NOT a problem only for children!

However, as an adult i am more diplomatic, i can cope with stress better, i've learned to use my "Aspie superpowers" to find work and i also have learned my weaknesses so i can keep a job.

Going through the diagnosis process now. I had my initial interview and the psychologist said AS is very likely. Now doing testing. I am 26. There have been some compensations socially, but not enough to actual appear NT. I've been trying to cut back on monologues ever since I was a teenager. While I have improved in that area I still am told that I go on and on about the same things. I recently discovered something I didn't even know I was doing in conversations because someone told me that I bring up topics that don't match the conversation and leave everyone confused. I think there are many other things as well that I am not compensating for because I don't know that I am doing them. From this it seems it is possible to think you are compensating well enough to appear NT when in reality you are not. Also my compensation for sensory issues is very limited. I wear sunglasses outside. I use lamps at work instead of the overhead fluorescents. But there are still areas I haven't been able to compensate. For example, I am unable to do grocery shopping as I can only handle about 30 minutes of that before shutting down. This happens even sooner than 30 minutes if it is especially crowded, if I can't find something, or if I am already sensory or emotionally overloaded.

I went to a specialist, and from the copy of the diagnostic report, the diagnosis was mostly because of how I said I was in childhood and stories from my parents and others.

And everyone who knows me thinks I'm incredibly high functioning (one person has said repeatedly, most high functioning person with Asperger's she had ever met) but even through that, he knew what to ask me and how to test me and could tell by my speech and body language I guess (and that I went on about the musical Cats for a little and finally stopped when he asked me to sing it)

He ended up diagnosing me as severe Asperger's, at the level of High Functioning Autism.

Is there an all night Grocery store around? Try to pick the least crowded store--there is a store with discount prices but we never go there--too crowded!

It isn't easy, but if I can't find something on the list, and I'm tired, I'll just go onto the next item. Then, when I have all the easy to find stuff on the list, I'll pay for them and leave. Then, I either go to another store or go home.

Right now I rely on my mom for grocery shopping. I do go to a store that is generally less crowded than Wal-Mart but can still only handle it for a few minutes. I do go to pick up a few things as needed. Those few things I know exactly where they are so I can find them without stressing out, buy them and leave.