To people who realized you were ASD in adulthood....

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...what was the first step you took? I'm well into my 30s, and even though I'm un-DX'ed to this day (the folks at the mental health center I went to were lazy and unhelpful and essentially refused to provide me with any real substantial help), I've become quite sure I have some sort of autism-related disorder. Where did you turn to once you realized you might be autistic/Aspie? As in, support groups, specialists, etc?

I just logged onto here and started reading really...

I wish I knew. Supposedly someone's looking in to someone who could diagnose me, but so far everything's been a dead end.

Came to the realization around 31 years of age (back in late 2004, now almost 34) that I likely had AS (was diagnosed officially by mid-2005) after my oldest son was dx'd with autism. I got in contact through a researcher at the research center at the children's hospital to help me find someone that could assess me for a dx. After the dx, there really wasn't much for help or anything because I live in a very small town and there isn't many of us well around on the spectrum that I know of here.

Hmmm. I don't know. It was very difficult when I first realized because it seemed like there wasn't a single aspect of my personality that couldn't be attributed to asperger's - it was like I didn't exist is a person. But I eventually came to terms with it and accepted it, and I'm the one who suggested to the psychologist that I thought I had it.

She did say I could come back and discuss ways to get around problems caused by it but i never made an appointmentafter she diagosed me, partly because she was going to be out for a month and by the time it dawned on me that to see the other psych i would have to call and make an appointment the summer session was over

Well, I've always been odd. But since my daughter has been having major learning issues ( very much like mine ), I decided to do some research online, which led me to some of those online tests. My scores were quite high.
I've been dealing with serious mood disorders ( depression, anxiety ) for most of my life. I talked to my psychiatrist about it and she took the time to do a serious dx. And so it goes.

My wife has always suspected I was wired differently, but she comes from a culture where social reticence is common and direct eye contact is discouraged. But all the same she tells me " you're stranger than you know "....Oh well...

I really think the answers to "What should I do?" really varies based on where you're located. Stuff that worked for some people in one area might not work somewhere else (i.e., there may be a serious derth of ASC diagnosticians in your area).

For myself, I first self-dxed back in the summer of 2004. Then in the summer of 2005 I went to a local autism center where I got an ASC assessment (my mother came along to be interviewed). They said I was AS but couldn't give an official dx (as I knew prior to going) because they didn't have any licensed diagnosticians on staff. So this last March, I finally got the official rubber stamp from a former colleague of my mother's.

But in the midst of all that, I also went in for an assessment at a children's hospital to someone who didn't know much about ASC and especially in adults. I was refused a dx there. Then I went to the autism center.

After years of participating on ADD message boards, somebody in one of my other online forums told me that they thought I seemed to have alot of aspie-like qualities...It was either in my "Dropped on the Head as a Kid" tribe, or the "Tribe for the Socially Inept"....When I talked about my difficulty with recognising faces, non-existant concept of time..dislike of eye-contact and unexpected physical contact.....all this other stuff....
So I looked into it and while I will pass any online AS quiz that is sent my way....and have been somewhat obsessed with AS off and on for a couple of years...I can't imagine ever getting a formal diagnosis. I don't concider myself self-diagnosed (as I did for a long time with ADD before getting diagnosed) The ADD was too completely obvious....The AS I still have a shadow of a doubt about. There is not much I can do besides maybe try not to think about it too much...avoid self-imposed limitations....when and if possible...and just continue to do the best I can with the messed up slow-running computer I have for a mind.

It really depends on what's available in your area. The larger metropolitan areas probably have more to offer. I turned to my MD who diagnosed me and she sent me to a neurologist that re-diagnosed me with AS and PTSD. The psychologists in the area are complete morons and have a waiting list 3-6 months long. The autism support group in town quite bluntly sucks. There is no support, no help for adults, its all about the kids. The adult AS don't get along with each other and really it is funny to expect a group of socially challenged people to get along with each other and make friends. So really the only support is here at WP, though sometimes what you get here is abuse in my experience. You just have to ignore the idiots on here and concentrate on the nice people.

I have thought about starting an AS support group..I have the facility..if only I had a formal diagnosis...or other people involved who do.

I live in a major metropolitan area and it seems as though the resources suck...for adult AS and ADD...there is the Baylor college of medicine and they have a sliding scale clinic., but it seems like they are only interested in people who have depression or are bi-polar...and while I am not a stranger to depression, it comes and goes in phases..the other stuff has always been with me and has not improved with age. There is a place in Houston that is an Adult ADD clinic, but after spending a few hundred dollars for a very intimidating interview...I was told I would need to spend several more hundred dollars to take hours of tests....When really, all it took was the opinion of a MD

A long time ago, when I was in my early 20's I had wanted to start a support group for 'people who were completely overwhealmed by society"......go figure....

The first thing I did was to go any try and read up as much as I could to try and disprove I had AS because it all seemed to good to be true.

I used to be alot more inclined towards initiating stuff like that when I was younger for some reason. I seem to have alot less focus and courage these days. It might be good for me to start again. I will at least attempt to put some feelers out there...maybe set up every other Sunday afternoon or something...It will be like the old Comix Jam was...except without comix...

well I knew something was odd all thoughout my life, I applied for ssd after being very sinsitive to hearing, etc and was almost ignored, however I have couple doctors in my family, father and sister, which helped alot. had to go to a place that helps me get on medical and social security disability. kind of like a attorney but it was more on a a community outreach program. this was about a year ago (26 yrs old) and thank god for that, they referred me to a autism/schizophrenia,PSTD expert.

I knew I was ASD since the movie Rainman came out. I was finally diagnosed AS at the VA hospitol where I'm being treated for PTSD that I aquired after I was wounded by an terrorist attack.