When were you diagnosed?

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If you have been formally diagnosed, how old were you and who initiated the idea you might have Asperger's? If you believe you are an Aspie but haven't gotten a formal diagnosis, why? And how did you know you had Asperger's?
I'm self-diagnosed - when I first learned about it, I was intrigued so I looked it up online. Wow, has that changed my life! I always knew I was different but I never understood why. Now I do and it's a good feeling!

I self-diagnosed (but kept quiet about it) at age 20ish, maybe 21. I realized it myself after doing research to prove my nephew is autistic. I realized what I was reading sounded exactly like me. At age 26, my counsellor at university said she suspected it (but wasn't qualified to diagnose it). A few months later I was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome; however, I was not given a full evaluation. I went to another clinic a few months later at age 27 for a complete evaluation. My Dad HAD to come to that one, and I learned during that time about my speech delays and my regressions. I was officially diagnosed there with classic autism, but still high-functioning.

And now I am realizing that this is in the teen forum. Sorry, that is one of the problems when clicking on the new or popular topics listed before getting into the forums.

I was officially diagnosed with an ASD (the person who diagnosed me told us it was Asperger's, but apparently the diagnosis technically had to be just "autistic spectrum disorder" because I was bilingual and so it was possible to measure whether I'd had any language delay or something, although both my parents and I know that I didn't o.O) when I was eleven. Prior to that neither my parents nor I knew what it was, and nobody ever brought it up.

When I moved to secondary school (I'm in the UK) I had a lot of trouble adjusting and some of the staff recognised the signs of Asperger's in me. They sent a letter home suggesting that my parents take me to CAMHS for an evaluation to see if it fitted.

I only went there once and I barely spoke during the session, but I got the diagnosis anyway on the basis of what my parents said. Now I've come to realise that actually, it does fit pretty well, and I've just about accepted the diagnosis in the past year or two.

I was diagnosed in 1980 at age 8 with "some sort of Autism" they could not be specific.
Then in 1984 with Aspergers but Aspergers was not a diagnosis then so left it blank!
but told me I have AS

They told like this.
First they told me what it was, and who Hans Asperger was.
They explained that I have Aspergers in the same way Nikola Tesla had it.
But it comes in many forms.
They told me Leonardo DaVinci most likely had it.
Edison & Ford both had it. and that I am in the company of great minds.

Unfortunately all gifts come with consequences.
Mine are social anxiety, .
awkwardness that invites bullies that provokes my anxiety!
Lack of empathy. But I do try hard!
High IQ level, That's right sometimes I feel I do not belong because nobody understands things on this level.
or the things I enjoy on this level Which also triggers anxiety.

The great thing is that we have come so far in 30 years.
We are far more accepted today.
School is still based on cultural studies but I believe one day we will have an education system just for Aspies.
Because of Social acceptance I have several friends that are just like me and I enjoy their company.

Knowing is everything though, learning to navigate the world with assistance from family and friends is important.

I've been diagnosed with AS for the first time when I was 6, and my current diagnosis (that is the last one a psychiatrist made) is Asperger's and Tourette's. My mother only told me about my first diagnosis when I was 13.

I'm 15 and i was diagnosed three days ago. I'm not sure what to think about it yet it's all still soaking in

I was diagnosed at age 3 which seems quite early compared to most people on this forum.

Age 6, I wasn't treated differently till I was 11, and that's when everything in my life went haywire.

I was thirteen. It was amazingly reassuring to know that my weirdness had a name.

I was 8. I was informed immediately, but I didn't really figure out what it meant until I was about 13. I always saw it as just my quirks, like stimming and special interests. I didn't realize the social side until later.

Pending. When I move to the UK with my adoptive mother, I'm going to be evaluated. ^^ Should be in the summer. I first thought I had it about three years ago, at 12-13. My mother (adoptive) suggested it to my mother (biological) and she denied it and refused to take me for testing of any kind. I just left it alone.

I was formally diagnosed when I was 6. I knew I was different even before that - was really happy when I found out why I was so weird!

I can say I was diagnosed, formally, in year 6.

I was diagnosed with an asd at four and then tested for Asperger's at seven- they won't test for Asperger's specifically before seven in the UK.
My mum suspected there was something wrote almost immediately after I got my MMR when I was two. I changed dramatically, became very weak and iritable, started lining things up and regressed back into nappies! I always knew I had Asperger's but didn't find out what that really was to me until a year or two ago!

I figured it out myself about 10 years ago at the age of 32. I haven't gotten a formal diagnosis because so far it seems unnecessary, and going to a doctor in general is something I avoid because any new social situation is something I tend to avoid. The discovery was a revelation for me, it explained so many things, and I'm not so down on myself anymore for my differences.