Would you have been diagnosed?

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This is a question for those diagnosed in adulthood and those not diagnosed who believe they have an ASD: if awareness of the autism spectrum had been at the level it is now in your childhood, do you think you would have been diagnosed?

I think I would have been diagnosed quite young. In preschool, the teachers noticed that I didn't interact with the other children except as a passive part of their games. I was kept back a year in preschool because of this despite being ahead academically (I'd been reading fluently for quite a while, for example). In addition, at the same age, I was sent to occupational therapy and physiotherapy for high muscle tone and general motor clumsiness. I also had speech therapy right up until high school.
These days, a child like that would be setting off major "Asperger's" red flags in people's minds.

I would have been diagnosed very young as well, three years old at the latest. In preschool, the teachers were concerned about my lack of speech and interaction. My parents were not that concerned about these things. If they had been aware of autism and more concerned, then I would have been diagnosed earlier, probably around age two. I was obviously autistic by then. The lack of interaction and doing the same thing all day eberryday would have red flagged me for diagnosis.

No, there is still not much known to the general public about girls on the spectrum. I would have been seen as shy and quiet, which would still be considered normal girl behaviour

I may be diagnosed earlier on if my parents were more sensitive to things like tantrums, lack of eye contact, sensitivity to touch, abnormalities in learning languages, etc. It seems as though my parents are on the spectrum themselves, though, and just as oblivious, but not due to a lack of education. They still believe that there was and is nothing abnormal about me, despite me having a diagnosis.

i most likely would have. i'm sure of it!

Definitely. YES, In fact my mother told the doctor I was flapping my hands and he told her it could be Autism. Then later said no because I had pretty good speech. (I started talking at 7 months). People always told me I wasn't right or called me odd. I never really understood why. They all assured me I was "really smart though". I was not diagnosed until last December and I was then and am now 30.

Probably not.

Too passive and easy going to have manifested behavior that disturbed others. Plus, I could handle the workload of a child. Asocial behavior isn't something that seems to be seen as a "problem" if you're getting along fine in other ways.

Yes.

Everyone knew there was SOMETHING very 'wrong' with me as a child, but no one knew what.
I was very smart (far more so than classmates) and worked at high speed, yet I was non-verbal until I was 7 years old (only saying occasional words to my parents) with problems reading and writing into my teens, I was highly organised with attention to detail and patterns, intense interests, OCD-like rituals, I struggled to do basic things (walk, eat, bathroom, grooming), acted very odd, stimmed, not only did I not make friends but I was totally blind to the fact other people were people rather than objects to be interacted with when necessary, I had severe social anxiety issues, sensory issues, constant meltdowns, etc. etc. etc.

No one knew what to make of me as a kid, from 12-15 my school forced me into the mental health care system and AS was suspected then but never formally diagnosed - I never knew, my mother never knew, and obviously the resources for diagnosis are barely available now so certainly it would not have been easy to get a diagnosis back then.

I had very narrow interests as a child, had a very atypical language development (I could name the brands of the cars that drove by before I knew the name of the colors), was incredibly reckless regarding my own safety, had little empathy and was socially awkward. With the diagnostic criterias today, it would be fairly obvious that I did have AS.

Probably not. Given that every other medic blamed every single medical issue (including vomiting at night) on my eyesight.

I was diagnosed at an early age, but that diagnosis was not made available outside of the family. I'm almost positive that if today's awareness was widespread when I was in school, I would have been in "special ed" or an autism program if available.

This is one reason why my family did not tell anyone about my diagnosis. They wanted me to have the same chance in school as everyone else. Many of today's schools know how to teach autistic students, and in these cases, placement of students in these programs are appropriate.

Yes, because I did not interact in school at all and did not talk to the other children or participated in class (I do not have the written reports here, but they write about being withdrawn and not participating or talking). When I got tested to go to first grade, they told that my development equaled a child of 3 years old instead of 6, but then they said that I was "smart" and had to go to school immediately. Early on I had to join special ed the way they had it in this school, but it was only repeating the previous class, but I still could not follow. In the village I grew up, there was no special ed school except for children with severe mental handicap and I did not testpositive for having a severe mental handicap as my IQ was too high.

edit: diagnosed AS/HFA 1st and Autistic Disorder the 2nd time after longer observation, but female.

Absolutely Yes!! !! !
I wish I was that lucky it would have saved me alot of needless suffering.
Just knowing I have it brought me some peace.

I think so (it's unlikely that I'd have gotten the same diagnosis of AS back then that I got at age 18 however because of the stereotypes) unless they would have stuck me with a label describing a trauma or a diagnosis of mental retardation (due to complete lack of responsiveness to strangers who would engage me, don't think they'd have easily noticed that I am gifted).

Today, mom talked about that I had obvious (hysteria, goosebumps, funny spastic squirms) tactile and auditory sensory issues whenever I was touched or when there were (normal) sounds from the day I was born. I don't easily believe in those stories about parents talking about how their kid's ADHD or AS was "obvious" from before they were even born. My ASD definitely wasn't "obvious" but I suspect that some of my sensory issues might have indeed been obvious from the very beginning without anybody realising what they were. I displayed the same reactions that I showed in infancy to the same stimuli until elementary school and early secondary school (and with some of them, still display them today).

I can't remember a time when my paediatrician ever openly wondered about or commented on why I would not speak (though I could) and why my mom had to repeat all the commands to me (sit down, hold out your arm...) until we stopped seeing him (around age 5-7 or so if my memory serves correctly, I can't be bothered to check the date right now).

My elementary school teacher wouldn't notice even today, I think. And yeah, she probably knows a bit about ASDs by now because there are special needs students (with autistic features) at her school today. At the very least, she must be aware of ADHD which I am also diagnosed with and which could have been noticed already during my years in kindergarten and elementary school.

Last time I heard, when asked about that she'd please stay at work for another couple of minutes to help and comfort a special needs child about his maths homework that he was struggling with (a child with a borderline/mild case of intellectual disability and ADHD) she responded that "everyone is like that" and that he's just a normal kid which is why she won't help, claiming that he'll catch up on his own like the other kids. Not much to expect from a teacher like that.

The only reason I wasn't diagnosed at age 13 was because of the bias against diagnosing females.

I don't know when I'd have been diagnosed with how well we know stuff now. There is still the gifted vs. ASD vs 2e issue. I'm 2e, but its hard to tell the difference between those three groups.

I still have not officially been diagnosed, though I suspect I actually was & it was hidden by the family. Of course, this was WAAYY back in the 1960s, Autism was hardly ever thought about. If awareness was at the same degree as present day? ABSOLUTELY.
I have no doubt at all.

Sincerely,
Matthew

Yes,I think so.All the articles I've read on the diagnosis of children now leads me to believe I would have.The private parochial school I attended for kindergarten and first grade made it pretty clear they didn't want me back for second grade,I had to be physically carried onto the bus crying and clinging to my Dad begging not to go,talk about major meltdown.I had no idea how to talk or play with the other kids so I tucked a scarf into the back of my pants where it would hang down like a horse's tail and I would run around in circles or twist myself up in the swing and spin.I couldn't read or write till second grade,thankfully I had a wonderful,sweet tutor or I most likely wouldn't have caught up.