Were you diagnosed as an adult and did it change anything?

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I haven't been diagnosed yet, and I don't plan to unless it's absoulutly necessary. And the way I see it, I'm in no immediate danger...sooo...

Excellent way of positioning yourself. Especially if you work in technology a 'nerd' is highly thought of.

First post here I am mid-40's and think I may have Asperger's but have no formal diagnosis.

Upthread, some people have mentioned that when they were diagnosed with Asperger's, their doctors changed their drug treatment and they really felt better.

If anyone could give more details on which drugs have really helped their Asperger's symptoms, that would be great.

Thanks!

I haven't read extensively, but to my knowledge there are no drugs for Asperger's syndrome. IMHO I'm glad there are no drugs. I'd be very concerned about drugs messing up my thinking.

Hi Brodi56

Thanks for your reply. Yes, my understanding was the same: that there were no drugs usually used in Asperger's.

That's why I was surprised to read what some previous posters said about their doctors/therapists changing their medication after the AS diagnosis and furthermore that that change in drugs had helped. I wonder if the drugs may have been for co-morbid conditions e.g. depression or anxiety than for the AS itself? Either way I would have been interested to know what they were, from a personal point of view.

Cheers, K

Suspected I was AS 2 years ago by accident after reading a novel. In September 2011 financial situation lead to depression and homelessness. I currently live in a shelter and get counseling and meds for the depression. I have now been diagnosed with AS. As I continue to learn more about AS through books and websites I realize more and more how much my life was impacted by something I knew little about at the time. (In 1988 I had a major depression and lost a good job at a computer manufacturer. Since then my life has been more downs than ups. The change I fear most at this time is the fact that at my age it is difficukt to recover from a lost career and an earlier divorce. I clearly understand AS now. I suppose the near future will be whether I reteat into my shell again or try to go forward with new changes or perhaps even move somwhere that be AS friendly. Sorry I'm just rambling so I'll stop.

no.

Looking back I knew I always had Aspergers but back then it wasn't even really known. I am so happy to know I have it because now I know why I suffered so badly when it came to my social life but more in my employment history.
Being diagnosed has given me a peace about I never had before.
I know now that all the trouble I had working was never my fault.

So many of the responses on this thread resonate with me and my experience. I was formally diagnosed at 50, six years after a self-diagnosis. I was given misinformation when I approached my GP at that point to try and get a clinical assessment: he told me there were no NHS diagnostic services for adults. I had to just set the whole question aside, as even if I had been ready to 'come out' as being autistic, I didn't feel I could do so based only on a self-diagnosis. I didn't realise that it's actually quite common for people to self-diagnose, and that it's usually considered pretty accurate if you've done your research. Anyway, I eventually found out through a delegate I was sitting next to at a conference(!) that there is a specialist service in my area that sees adults, so I returned to my GP. I happened to see a different doctor, who knew all about the Asperger team; she referred me and I was seen and diagnosed very quickly.

Not long before I went for a job that I should have got (even the people offering it thought I should have got it!), but I did a really unfocused interview because of my AS. If I'd only had the diagnosis then, I could have asked for the access requirement that would have given me a fair chance: the opportunity to spend 10 minutes with the interview team, in the room where the interview was to take place, informally and outside the interview. If I'd had a few minutes to get used to the funny buzzing noise the projector was making and the faces and voices and smells and clothes of the interview team, I'd have been able to put all my energy into the interview instead of being distracted by all the unfamiliarity.

So I'm glad I got a diagnosis and I think it'll help my career rather than hinder it. I told my employers straight away, and they immediately asked me if I needed anything. They're quite happy to make full use of the positive things about my AS, and they seemed very happy to offer any support they could with the negative things. If I go for another job interview any time, I'll definitely disclose and ask for an opportunity to meet the panel informally. No big deal, it's just about asking for a level playing field. And folks like me, with their long work histories, are in a good position to trailblaze for younger AS people with slimmer CVs who might find it harder to get jobs. If us oldies can demonstrate to employers that people with AS make really good employees by just telling them they've unknowingly had one on the staff all along, there might come a time when there's less nervousness about taking on younger people who're diagnosed and 'out' from the start!

Oh, that sounds like such a wonderful benefit to have.

I've never been able to get a diagnosis, but from what I've been reading, it may simply be that my HMO does not formally recognize it (in a way, I'm thankful for this too). I may not even have it (how could one possibly delineate with no exam), but I have many of the symptoms.

That said, I would call my first learning of Aspergers (due to issues my son was experiencing) a revelation. I saw so much of the profile in myself, and made a lot of adjustments. I know to look for visual cues in others and intentionally keep my dialogue concise. I'm always trying to learn more and alter my behavior and mannerisms, so as to fit it better and avoid problems. Unfortunately, I've had a lot of employment issues, mostly related to self-destructive meltdowns and interaction problems.

Last edited by E8 on 26 May 2012, 3:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hit the nail on the head with this one - I've had a lot of issues with "social politicking" for this reason.

In my view it's not a benefit, it's a perfectly reasonable access requirement. I happen to be physically disabled as well, and always have to request level access for my wheelchair; most people would think that a reasonable and obvious request. As someone with autism, requesting disabled access in the form of time is equally reasonable, it's just slightly less obvious. The onus is always on the disabled person to explain their access requirements anyway – no-one else knows what constitutes a barrier for any individual – and explaining that you require time to adjust to the people and environment in a uniquely stressful situation such as a job interview is no different to explaining that you are deaf and require a sign language interpreter. And here in the UK at least, discrimination against people with disabilities is illegal. That doesn't mean some employers aren't still scared by the whole issue of disability, but more and more are prepared at least to give disabled people the opportunity to show that they can do the job by making their recruitment processes fully accessible. And there's no way I'm offering my skills, commitment and enthusiasm to someone who won't.

I know many autistic people are reluctant to see their autism/AS as a disability, they want it viewed as part of human diversity. Well, I feel the same about my physical impairment. But we're not there yet, at least where I live; we're still having to fight for real equality. I believe that it'll come, and there won't be any need for terms like 'access requirements' because access will be taken for granted. In the meantime, I'm going to carry on fighting for my rights – and in order to do that, I have to identify as a disabled person. In my view, it's just where we are in human evolution.

The inconsiderate eople here would laugh at the idea of having to give someone "time to adjust" for an employment interview, and there's quite a lot of them. It's sad. I work in an environment where the people are constantly putting down every minority that exists, but because of the economy I worry about losing my job and not finding work. If they were to even get a hint of my differences I know it would become a hostile work environment, but I'd rather bide my time until I can find something else than to cause wave and cause more issues for myself than I'm really willing to deal with right now.

I think if I were already working in that environment, found my job stressful enough already, and knew I had no allies, I might be inclined to take the same course. But I meant disclosure at the point of interview in order to give myself an equal chance of getting a new job. Here we're backed up by the law – are you in the US?

We have the Disability Discrimination Acts, which make it illegal to discriminate against anyone who has 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day to day activities'. Asperger Syndrome would fall under this definition. In addition, anyone 'providing goods, facilities or services to the public, whether for a fee or not' is obliged to make 'reasonable adjustments' in order to enable disabled people to use their services, work for them (including continuing to work for them in the case of an acquired impairment or ill health), and be recruited for available work. To me, asking for 10 minutes in a room with an interview panel falls well within the definition of 'reasonable adjustments'. Care would have to be taken to ensure that additional time with an interview panel didn't give the candidate an advantage over others, but that simply means not discussing anything related to the job. If an employer refused to make such a minor adjustment and could not give a good enough reason, the interview candidate could claim they had been discriminated against because of their disability and take the company to court under the Disability Discrimination Act.

I'm under no illusions as to the reason for these Acts (known collectively as the DDA) having been passed. I don't think many politicians are very taken up by the rights of disabled people, really. They do care very much about government budgets though. Widespread discrimination by employers against disabled people over decades has meant they have had to live on state benefits. The bill for supporting all these people, many of whom are perfectly capable of working and want to work, was/is absolutely enormous. So the government decided employers really had to start doing their bit. The DDA were much better than they could have been, however, thanks to some politicians who really did care about people. It's not only employers who are under obligation to their employees: local government services, shops, leisure facilities, schools and colleges, places of worship, etc, all fall under the terms of the DDA. It may all sound very convoluted, but until we get to the stage where there is genuine equality, we need laws like this, and we need to be prepared to use them. No, I wouldn't lay myself open to bullying or stigmatisation in a situation I couldn't easily escape from, but I'd certainly be prepared to ask a potential new employer for equal access to the recruitment process. Frankly I wouldn't want to work for them anyway if they weren't prepared to give me 10 minutes!