Aspergers as an Adult

Newdirections

Has anyone been diagnosed with Aspergers or Autism in adulthood? I have severe social anxiety, but these days I am wondering whether it could be aspergers...

Jojo_fry

I have a friend who was diagnosed in his 30s, he found that it helped him to make sense of a lot of things and he found that there was a lot of support to help him cope better. However, I think my partner has some form of ASD, I think he knows it deep down but doesn't want to get tested or anything. I think a diagnosis is only helpful if you would find it helpful, if that makes sense?

Browntoa

I agree with the last post, what would any diagnosis achieve at your age ?

Social anxiety can be plain old fashioned shyness or lack of confidence

Most aspergers suffers learn to "conform" to normal social situation if it's mild

tensandunits_2

If you do decide to get tested just make sure it's a bona fide assessment done by medical professionals. (I say this because a lot of people diagnose themselves after doing an "Am I an Aspie" quiz on Facebook.)

boliston

Newdirections wrote: »

Has anyone been diagnosed with Aspergers or Autism in adulthood? I have severe social anxiety, but these days I am wondering whether it could be aspergers...

My partner sometimes tells me I have a mild form of this as she says I'm not very sociable with people and am always using my phone instead of talking to people and being friendly. I just tell her I'm not really much of a people person and am happy doing things that don't involve socialising. I know someone who has AS (diagnosed) and he spends almost all his time socialising!

moneyistooshorttomention

Is there a point to having a label/diagnosis? Would it improve life?

These days an awful lot of people seem to have a label or get mislabelled by others (through from parents trying to get a child of theirs mislabelled in order to get extra help at school etc to people throwing a "label" at someone they disagree with personally - eg racist or narcissist or just a general one implying mental health problems).

jackomdj

My mum has never been diagnosed (she doesn't even realise her behaviour isn't "normal"), however for me knowing why she behaves how she does helps incredibly as I know she can't help it. My sister gets very cross with how she behaves to her and her family, so within our family a diagnosis would help. It isn't going to happen though. I do worry what will happen as she gets older and possibly needs external help.

AylesburyDuck

While having my 16 year old son diagnosed last year (Aspergers) it became apparent that i have it as did my mother before me, i'm 52 so not going to bother getting an official diagnoses, Dont see the point, i am who i am, and it is what it is!

boliston

AylesburyDuck wrote: »

While having my 16 year old son diagnosed last year (Aspergers) it became apparent that i have it as did my mother before me, i'm 52 so not going to bother getting an official diagnoses, Dont see the point, i am who i am, and it is what it is!

It's not all bad - some of the world's most successful people either have it or are suspected of having it

http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-with-aspergers-syndrome/celebrity-lists

AylesburyDuck

boliston wrote: »

It's not all bad - some of the world's most successful people either have it or are suspected of having it

http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-with-aspergers-syndrome/celebrity-lists

Dont get me wrong, i dont see it as a bad thing AT ALL.
I've never EVER strived to be normal! :rotfl:

fishybusiness

Has anyone been diagnosed with Aspergers or Autism in adulthood?

My partner was at 28 yrs old.

I have severe social anxiety, but these days I am wondering whether it could be aspergers...

Social anxiety, or symptoms similar are ony one small area of diagnosis criteria. Development history, friendships, thinking patterns (black and white), lacking of understanding of social cues, preference for own company, the list just goes on and on, and not all pertain to all those on the spectrum.

Is there a point to having a label/diagnosis? Would it improve life?

Perhaps.....but not always. OP, the best thing to do is go and have a chat with your GP if you can. Maybe prepare for your chat with writing a list of points you think are relevant to a diagnosis. Ask for a referral to the team in your area that deal with ASD.