poll for women on the spectrum about diagnosis age

Page 1 of 7 [ 104 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 7  Next

Ravenclawgurl
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 19 Jun 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,274
Location: somewhere over the rainbow

13 Mar 2012, 2:23 pm

how old were you when diagnosed it s said that females have a harder time diagnosed than males so i wanted to do a survey

please state how old you were and our diagnosis (aspergers, pddnos, autistic disorder) and if you have had any previous diagnosises

also if your comfortable can you say the year because you need to take into account the generation one in if you arent comfortable giving ur age away this way can you atleast give a general idea like example early 80s (80-83) mid 80s (84-86) late 80's (87-89)

thank you so much i may eventually do a graph and if i do ill post in on wrongplanet for you guys to see



League_Girl
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,262
Location: Pacific Northwest

13 Mar 2012, 2:33 pm

I was diagnosed in 1997 with AS at age 12.

Before that I was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder, dyspraxia, ADD, cluttering disorder, Language processing Disorder, and they suspected OCD in me. I was also labeled as being multip handicapped and had a communication disorder. I was diagnosed with autism in early childhood and then it was just autistic behavior and then communication disorder. My school also said I had behavior problems but my mother said I didn't. I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression along with AS in 6th grade.



nebrets
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Feb 2012
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 842
Location: Texas

13 Mar 2012, 2:34 pm

24. Have reoccurring depression, previous diagnosis of depression. (Eventually seeing a new psych for depression because I moved led to the Asperger's diagnosis).

When I was a child, grades K-3, I was referred repeatedly for testing because of a lack of social skills and other behaviors. I had 'autistic tendencies' but because I had no delay in language development I was not diagnosed with AS but was instead considered 'gifted and talented'. I would even throw fits that could not be calmed down unless a boy from an older class that I "played with" (on my terms) would come out of class to calm me down.

In grade 4 I moved to an area where there was very little awareness much less caring, so I slid under the radar until my 20's, although it was strange that a person with an off the charts IQ would have some much trouble in some parts of school.



Last edited by nebrets on 14 Mar 2012, 9:32 am, edited 2 times in total.

Tuttle
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,088
Location: Massachusetts

13 Mar 2012, 2:47 pm

I was diagnosed with Asperger's at age 22 in 2011.

I was told I probably was an aspie and was diagnosed with social anxiety in 2002.



MissConstrue
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Feb 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 17,052
Location: MO

13 Mar 2012, 2:56 pm

23 and it took a lot of hospitals and inpatient therapy. Only my mom and her family were the ones who finally figured out what it could be after watching a show on Aspergers on Oprah. They brought it up to one of my counselors who had a child recently diagnosed.


_________________
I live as I choose or I will not live at all.
~Delores O’Riordan


IdahoRose
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Age: 34
Gender: Female
Posts: 19,801
Location: The Gem State

13 Mar 2012, 5:54 pm

Diagnosed with Asperger's in 2006 at age 15.

Previous diagnoses: OCD, GAD, depression. All of which I genuinely did suffer from - they weren't misdiagnoses. However, their symptoms did mask my AS symptoms so even though a lot of doctors that I saw suspected that I was on the spectrum, they wanted to get my (other?) mental health issues under control first.



ghostar
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 20 Dec 2011
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 403
Location: Most likely work. Sigh.

13 Mar 2012, 6:05 pm

Diagnosed Aspie at age 29 in 2009.

Previously diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and major depression.



Kyra71
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 22 Feb 2012
Age: 52
Gender: Female
Posts: 117

13 Mar 2012, 6:09 pm

Diagnosed bipolar at 33, Aspie at 40. Back in the dinosaur age no one really looked for these things! :P



Seashell
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Age: 44
Gender: Female
Posts: 467

13 Mar 2012, 6:23 pm

I was diagnosed aged 25 in 2005. I was previously diagnosed with depression and social anxiety disorder. It took me a year from my first appointment until I was able to get a diagnosis. One psychiatrist told me I couldn't have Aspergers as only males have it.



questor
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 23 Apr 2011
Age: 64
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,696
Location: Twilight Zone

13 Mar 2012, 6:32 pm

I am an early 50s female, who self diagnosed in my late 40s after finding out about Asperger's. I don't recall the exact year. I took an online test, which confirmed my belief sometime between a year and two years ago. My older sister, not knowing of my personal research and testing, contacted me a while back and said she had recently read about Asperger's and believes I have it. At that point I told her of my own discovery, research, and testing, which confirmed that.

Back when I was young Autism/Asperger's were not known as such. We were diagnosed with emotional/behavior problems, and as being discipline problem kids. It was thought that we could be cured by the right combo of drugs, therapy, and discipline. Anyone not cured was believed to be not cooperating with the therapy, and was thought to be fighting the cure efforts, so often more drugs, therapy, and/or more discipline was used. There were some non spectrum kids who were "cured", but their problems were usually caused by family issues, not by a neurological problem, as we have.


_________________
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.
Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured, or far away.--Henry David Thoreau


slovaksiren
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 9 Oct 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 677
Location: la la land

13 Mar 2012, 6:47 pm

I was 5 when I was diagnosed.

Yeah, I was diagnosed quite early, though, that was because although I was very gifted for my age, around the age of 5 was when I started to stop growing developmentally and doing things that my age shouldn't be doing like putting things like legos into my mouth and avoding eye contact.



Erisad
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Jul 2010
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 13,058
Location: United States

13 Mar 2012, 6:51 pm

I was diagnosed when I was 16, although doctors said I had "autistic tendencies" when I was a toddler.



Jaz1787
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 2 Nov 2010
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 220
Location: Australia

13 Mar 2012, 8:03 pm

self-diagnosed early 20s. 25 now

not seeing a need to, the hardest part seems to be school and it's over.

never diagnosed anything else, i was a "keep your head down and do your work" kind of person. i didn't hang out with people i didn't like, so rarely had friend issues. did get picked on a bit but i put up with it

i've found traits to be more noticeable to myself the last few years. stress and tiredness makes it worse.


_________________
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. (Douglas Adams)


MusicMama
Raven
Raven

User avatar

Joined: 23 Feb 2012
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 109

13 Mar 2012, 8:53 pm

Self-diagnosed in late-20s. Both my closest friend (who has been dx with ADD and "gets" me) and my husband suggested the possibility and I scored 151/200 AS and 62/200 NT on the online test before I had read anything about AS. Unless I find a compelling reason I'm not planning on seeking an official dx since (as far back as I can remember) AS explains everything weird that's ever happened or that I've ever done in my life and I plan on self-teaching myself more social skills and non-verbal communication now that I know what I need to work on. If I don't plan on utilizing outside help then I don't see the need to seek an official dx.

I've mentioned the possibility of my having AS to three other fairly close friends and none of them were surprised at all. One of those friends has a sibling with AS and a husband who is most likely AS as well so I trust her opinion.

I was dx with depression in college and one therapist suggested the possibility of BPD although nobody else has thought that was even a possibility. I had a bad reaction to the anti-depressants they gave me and was self-medicating at the time the therapist suggested BPD and most of those symptoms (self-harm and such) stopped when I stopped taking the medication.



Jaz1787
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 2 Nov 2010
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 220
Location: Australia

13 Mar 2012, 9:13 pm

my little sister is dx BPD.


_________________
In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. (Douglas Adams)


Briana_Lopez
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 6 Jan 2012
Age: 28
Gender: Female
Posts: 331
Location: Tyngsboro, MA

13 Mar 2012, 9:58 pm

My preschool misdiagnosed me with ADD at age 3. I was 10 when I was diagnosed with AS, and 12 when I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS.