Unexpected Adult Aspergers Diagnoses

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I notice reading around the forums on wrong planet, that lots of adults first self diagnose and then consciously seek an asd diagnosis. My experience was more along the lines of seeing a psychiatrist to review preexisting mental health issues and then being told that I also satisfied the criteria for aspergers (asd level 1) and adhd.

The problems I'd arranged to review, were long standing issues with anxiety (GAD and social anxiety) and depression (dysthymia). This was also after a really unhelpful period of psychotherapy in which I was told the source of my difficulties were psychological trauma. I figured it was time to get a full review of what was going on with me psychologically from someone else and figure out if I should still stay on anti-depressants. Hence the psychiatrist.

Anyone else have a similar unexpected diagnosis after seeking help for what turned out to be comorbid issues? I'm wondering if I'm just really passive about my mental health care, compared to the many proactive wrong planet users.

Thanks all

That could very well be why it was easier for you to be diagnosed with ASD.

It seems as if some people who "self-diagnose" go through sort of a Catch-22. They might be precluded from obtaining the diagnosis because of their acute insight into the disorder.

Sort of like saying one cannot be crazy if one knows one is crazy.

Welcome to Wrong Planet

The diagnosis must have been quite the shock. Part of the condition often involves reacting emotionally to situations in an atypical way. My advice is let your autistic brain do what it needs to do to process this.

We have people really knowlegeable and exprerienced with the Autism Spectrum here so feel free to ask questions no matter how embarrassing they may seem.

My diagnosis definitely came as a shock to me. I was seeing a psychologist so she could help me with an eating disorder / anxiety. This psychologist suggested I might be on the autism spectrum and referred me to someone for an assessment. I had a few preconceived notions about autism based on a noel I once read and because of this I didn't think I had autism at all. I am very different from the character in the book I read (who was none verbal / severely disabled) and I didn't even consider that I could be diagnosed with the same thing (though obviously at a very different level). The psychologist who was going to do the assessment told me not to research autism beforehand as it could bias the results so this story was pretty much all I knew. I was sure she was going to say I didn't have it or if I did have it, I would barely qualify. I was shocked that after filling in some forms, interviewing me and interviewing my parents she diagnosed me as being on the spectrum. I was also really surprised as my score was a lot higher than I thought it would be (on the questionnaire I did anything over 65 is considered being on the spectrum and I got 135). I only got diagnosed this week so I am still processing it all. I know realistically it doesn't change anything in my day to day life, but I still feel rather overwhelmed and disoriented as a result. I have been doing some reading on ASD since though and feel like I have a slightly better grasp on things. In a way I am glad I didn't know much before as I do think it could have influenced my answers. It is a strange thing to try and get your head around though.

I'm going through something similar: though I have been diagnosed as a child, my parents decided to keep it from me. They never told me anything until about some months ago, when, out of mere curiosity, I asked my mother whether my first psychologist, who had treated me since I was 4, had made any diagnosis. She reluctantly told me that she had: a pervasive developmental disorder. I didn't know what it meant, but I googled it and found out.

At the beginning I got depressed about it: it was one thing to know I was weird and had no friends, and a very different one to know that I would be like that forever. However, I willed myself to get out of bed and stay active, which helped me recover quite quickly.

Now I'm a bit excited, doing research and analyzing my past, trying to understand myself better. Overall, I'm still somewhat shocked, even after knowing about it for 2 months, and I would have liked it better if my parents had been open about it. Now I feel they don't accept me as I am. I guess that they hoped that if I never found out I was an aspie I would learn how to be an NT in time. Needless to say, it didn't happen.

Hi Sofisol612,

Maybe you need to ask your parents about their reasons for not telling you. Since they made sure you had psychological support, they may have felt that it would be easier for you as a kid not to have a stigmatised label like PDD-NOS, or autism.

That said, I think its great to have the diagnosis now since it means you can access other people's stories and coping strategies. This site seems to be a great place to find both of those things.I think lots of people use it for trouble shooting life problems too. Which is really very cool.

Copernicus - I definitely get what you mean about reassessing your life in light of the diagnosis. I am going through exactly the same thing. A lot of things that I couldn't explain about myself before make sense now. I am still struggling a bit to get my head around it all but it doesn't feel as shocking as it did at first. It is still playing on my mind a lot though and I am getting fed up of going over and over it all in my brain. I think I'll get use to the idea in time though and it won't dominate my thoughts the way it is now. I am looking forward to reading more about other peoples experiences too. The psychologist who assessed me said she would send me through a list of some good resources so I will be glad when she does and I can get some more information. It is great that NZ / Australia do have a public health system. I am seeing my psychologist and got my assessment done privately though so did (and do with my psychologist) have to pay up front. How are you finding things now? Are you finding that you have adjusted to the idea? Has getting diagnosed been helpful?

Solfisol612 - I totally relate to what you said about feeling depressed knowing that you would likely struggle with making friends forever. That was my first response too. Before this I had thought that people not liking me was a reflection on my character. While this wasn't a happy thought it was something I felt I could change which gave me hope things could be different in the future. I was really upset when I realised this wasn't the case. I have realised now though that getting a diagnosis (or in your case finding out about an existing one) might actually be a good thing. For one thing it stops me holding onto a false hope and lets me see the situation as it truly is. Secondly it doesn't necessarily mean I will be lonely forever. It just lets me change my expectations and allows me to find strategies / ways to build connections with others in a way that works for me. My social circle may look different to the ideals that are held up in popular culture but it doesn't mean that I can't be fulfilled and happy in my own way. I very much doubt that your parents decision to not disclose your diagnosis to you was because they didn't accept you as you were. I am sure they love you very much and 100% accept you. I imagine they just didn't want you to be held back or defined by a label. That they saw you as so much more than a diagnosis and didn't want you to put limitation on yourself (or have other people place them on you) as a result. I am sure they just wanted what was best for you and judged (perhaps wrongly) that they were doing the right thing. Even if they made the wrong call I bet they did it with the best intentions.