Get tested: Aspergers/HFA/ADD

sunnyone

Indie_Kid wrote: »

I was just diagnosed with other stuff. No point even considering attempting to get a diagnosis as a child - parents had enough problems getting my brother diagnosed and enough problems attempting (and failing badly) to get me diagnosed with other things. A lot of us (me included) hide the issues we have. I used to attend a local group which started off with 8 people, which was fine. We then ended up with a load of people, which I struggled with; so had to leave. I think in my case, it's a mixture of not fitting the streeotype of what Autism is (I'm a female and males and females are different) and my other disabilities.

My dad did tell me that he did wonder if I had ASD when I was 12. You also have to remember that many of us have been diagnosed with other things first. Almost everyone I know with ASD has been diagnosed with depression / another mental health problem. I was diagnosed with OCD at 16, depression at 18 and then again at 21. I remember from the age of 14, a friend claiming I have Autism. Needless to say, his response when I told him was "I can't say I'm surprised".



Aspergers wasn't recognised until 1994, I do believe.

I was dignosed as "diffrent" from the age of 4+, they didnt diagnose a learning disability because I have a high IQ which in those days precluded a LD like ASD.

I am female and I was wasnt diagnosed with mental illnesses pre diagnosis of Aspergers apart from post injury normal reactions, I am older than you yet I got regular assessment by the education department from begining school, my parents didnt push for anything, they were so disintrested I left home at 8 to live with family because I couldnt cope at home anymore.

Indie_Kid

sunnyone wrote: »

I am older than you yet I got regular assessment by the education department from begining school

Interesting. I never had anything like this. I know that some children at my school did. But they had very obvious behaviour problems or things like Dyslexia. Whereas I was probably just considered a bit weird.

Savvy_Sue

sunnyone wrote: »

ASD is a life long conditions and I cant understand how so many people got through their childhood without anything being picked up at school?

But it can change in presentation, I believe.

We were asked if we wanted to get DS1 assessed formally when he was 12, but it was obvious for years before that that he was 'different'. I think the schools suspected from nursery onwards but it was never bad enough for me to march down to the GP surgery and refuse to leave until someone helped us work out what the problem was.

Indeed, at 12 we declined formal diagnosis as long as the school were prepared to accept that he wasn't neurotypical, and couldn't be treated as such.

We then had to get a letter from the school medical service when he was 16 to get him extra time in exams. And then at Uni he was more formally assessed, and the verdict was 'fragments of Aspergers'.

I'm sure FIL and DH are also Aspies. In DH's case he changed a lot when he got to Uni, and the same happened to DS1.

The underlying issues are still there, but they have learned behaviours which make them stand out less in a crowd ...

Indie_Kid

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

But it can change in presentation, I believe.

This is true for me. I have an older friend who I suspect is Aspie. I've known him for about 16 months now and it's only started to become obvious.

sh0597

Indie_Kid wrote: »

This is true for me. I have an older friend who I suspect is Aspie. I've known him for about 16 months now and it's only started to become obvious.

What are the main symptoms of Asperger's? If you don't mind me asking?

Indie_Kid

sh0597 wrote: »

What are the main symptoms of Asperger's? If you don't mind me asking?

Remember, we're all different but I have friends who have the following symptoms:
- need for routine
- obsessions
- socially we can be a bit awkward

Many of us have some sensory issues, I for example, have hypersenstive hearing, severe sensitivity to light and hyposensitivity (too undersensitive) to pain. But it's not a symptom of Aspergers / Autism.

Many of us may have issues with large groups of people. I had to leave a local group for this matter (although they're not aware of the reason why) and it's why I had to leave uni.

Savvy_Sue

sh0597 wrote: »

What are the main symptoms of Asperger's? If you don't mind me asking?

I think the link here is quite comprehensive.

With DS what we noticed first was the way everything had to be very precise and logical: pedantry as an art form is one way I have described it! Also that things had to be 'just so': I could keep him in his bedroom for a few minutes each morning by scattering some jigsaw puzzles on the floor, and he'd complete them before coming out. When he fell downstairs and I shot out of the loo to see if he was OK, he was more upset that I'd left the loo door open when it was always kept shut. And so on.

He was completely unable to connect with how someone else might feel. So if he destroyed his brother's Lego model, there was no point asking how he would feel if his brother destroyed HIS model. He didn't know.

He hated music: I could have Radio 4 on, but when they went on strike he freaked out with Radio 3.

I have a couple of other Aspie friends. One of them stands too close, and will only move if you actually ask him to do so. He knows he's standing too close, he'll ask you if he's standing too close, but he won't move unless you ask him to.

The other one: if you say "would you like to do X" or "would you mind doing X", he gives the honest answer, eg "would you mind moving your boots" "Yes I would mind."

Savvy_Sue

BTW, we all cope a lot better with FIL now we know what 'the rules' are. He had some very clear ideas about how children should behave, and once I'd worked out what these were I was able to issue reminders beforehand. The real killer was that he had to hear what they said first time around: if they said "goodbye" and he didn't hear it, they hadn't said it, and there was no point saying it again. That wouldn't have been so bad, but he was quite deaf at the time ...

DS1 has also picked up on some rules too. He won't waste money posting useless pieces of cardboard around the country, but he knows that a phone call on Mother's Day, Father's Day and our birthdays will be an acceptable substitute.

Indie_Kid

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

DS1 has also picked up on some rules too. He won't waste money posting useless pieces of cardboard around the country, but he knows that a phone call on Mother's Day, Father's Day and our birthdays will be an acceptable substitute.

I'm with your DS on this.

I do have an Aspie friend who has a habit of saying what he really thinks. He did that once which really upset me. He replied with "I know what I said to you on Tuesday. But that's sometimes how it feels". I was hoping he'd apologise.

And some of us talk a lot. One of my friends who I mentioned earlier, if you ask him a music question, he goes on forever. I was waiting for him to go with me (he picks me up and drops me to the train station) and he was rambling on about something. He then said "Sorry. I think I just like the sound of my own voice.":rotfl:

sh0597

I have a diagnosis of ADHD as an adult but find there are some similarities between ASD and ADHD. I find routine is important but can't really follow one on my own. I think many people have both conditions too which is confusing, and others.