How old were you when you learned?

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I'm 25 years old and just learned that I might've had, or still have, autism while growing up. I gotta say, it was a beautiful discovery. It brought me answers to questions I never thought to ask before, and those answers integrated with the rest of the knowledge I've acquired over the past 25 years into a clarity about my relationship with existence that I'd never felt before. All my life I knew there was something wrong with the way my mind worked. Autism explains what I've been going through.

So I'm just curious. How old were you guys when you discovered you have, or had autism? Were you in your twenties or thirties like I was? What did that diagnosis do for you?

I was 38 when I worked if out got a formal diagnosis the year after.

I was about 43 when it was first suggested that I should get assessed (they were looking for an explanation for the severe mental health problems that I kept having over and over again.) By about a year later, from reading up in places like WP, I began to accept that the suggestion was worth taking seriously (lots of previous suggestions had been wrong, so I had been very skeptical.) About another year later (45 years old), I was formally diagnosed.

My feelings since then have been very mixed. Sometimes I hate all the mistakes and missed opportunities which might have worked out differently had I known earlier. Other times I'm very glad that I have made so many friends in the autism communities that I belong to, and that I understand myself so much better, which makes DIY improvements to my life much easier. I sometimes get pissed off that none of the support suggested in my diagnosis report is ever likely to happen because there are no resources for autistic adults. Then I get glad again that I don't beat myself up any more for doing "weird things" while worrying that I'm losing my mind. Up and down, up and down.

Overall, I think it's been a good thing, and I think my mood swings about it are starting to stabilise a bit - but now that I'm nearly 50, and autism acceptance is improving so slowly, I can't help thinking that it's all a bit too little, a bit too late. And I'm dreading what is to come when I reach old age, as geriatric care for paupers like me is very, very unlikely to suit my temperament (assuming that my lame attempts at looking after myself get me that far.)

At the age of 45 I was puzzling that I might possibly be on the fringes of being on the autistic spectrum, but at the age of 47, and coming on this site I found I do have autistic related traits. I am on a list awaiting to be assessed.

Welcome to WP my fellow Coloradan, and to the understanding that you are autistic. I was 46 when I discovered I was autistic, and although it took me much longer, I probably had a similar experience to what you described. It explained so much to me, too, and 3 1/2 years after my diagnosis, I feel much more comfortable with where I am in life and how/why I got there.

I was diagnosed when I was in fourth grade, but I had no clue what it meant until I was fourteen or so. It explained a lot about me, and once I and my parents actually understood what it meant, I started getting some of the assistance I need.

Age 55

I was 24 when I was officially diagnosed. However I had had people come up to me and say I reminded them of their autistic friend since I was 19.

Diagnosed 21


When I was 16, I read an article in Omni about Asperger's and it sounded familiar but I felt like I could not do anything about it


Regional center only provides services to clients diagnosed before 18


Functionally, the diagnosis did nothing except:. Bus pass, jury duty exemption

Diagnosed around age 3. Knew I was “brain-damaged.” Learned about the word autism at age 9.

Welcome, OP.

I was 48. There is no "had" autism. You're born that way and you have autism until you die. It's part of who you were, are and will be. Wrap your arms around yourself, give yourself a well deserved hug and celebrate who you are; or, as MartianPrincess said recently if I recall correctly: "You do you.". I liked that enough to repeat it.

I was 13 when I was diagnosed.

I was 8 or 9 when I was diagnosed. It's possible I was diagnosed at seven but my mother has a horrible memory.

After two years of therapy for PTSD my psychiatrist told me that not only was I OCD which I long suspected, but the I have ASD formally called Asperger's or High Functioning Autism. The psychologist treating me in conjunction with the therapy concurred with the diagnosis. I was 66 at the time.

It was quite a lengthy process for me . It started with a search for "high verbal" "low spatial" "intelligence" c2001 - which lead to NVLD and then autism . Then I started to post on a few NVLD yahoo groups, and also posted a few times on alt.support.autism . Around 2005 I started periodically mentioning autism to my mental health team. 2008 a care coordinator arranged for me to have an extra appt with a psychiatrist to discuss my concerns . He asked a few totally irrelevant questions before rather huffily stopping the discussion . From 2008- 2017 I brought the subject up several times for it to fall on daft/deaf ears .

Sept 2017 moved to be near my stepdaughter . I came under a new mental health trust .Oct 2018 appointment with new psychiatrist . I mentioned autism to him . My stepdaughter who was with me , and has provided care for people on the spectrum, said she saw signs of autism in me. The pdoc asked a few questions and had me do something with my hands (after which he said I was quite dyspraxic) . At the end he said ASD and schizophrenia were the most likely fits .
About 2 weeks later I got a letter from the autism diagnostic service saying an appt had been made for me for February this year. May this year I was given the Asperger's syndrome diagnosis .