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gigaday

Mature adult diagnosis

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Supposing that someone over 50 years old starts to wonder if the reason for their life difficulties and depressive bouts could be linked to ASD. And they were to complete an on-line AQ test showing that they are indeed on the spectrum. Bearing in mind that they have successfully held down jobs and raised a family through their adult life; what benefit might they achieve from a formal positive/negative diagnosis?

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the only real reason to get a dx later in life imo is to understand yourself better. I doubt there would be much in support available, but it may well help you understand your triggers and self management techniques. If you have had episodes of poor mental health that have led to professional input previously, a dx may be helpful for future therapeutic programs

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KezT, after reading your signature line I decided that I should stop worrying about myself ... Many thanks for your input. My biggest fear would be a negative diagnosis as this would put me back to looking for explanations as to why I am me.

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I received my diagnosis last year, at the age of 56. It was a revelation. Now, I can fit together all the bits of my life, and it begins to make sense to me: the bullying at school, the inability to make or sustain friendships, the disastrous relationships, the constant anxiety, the fact that I have no friends (though that doesn't unduly bother me - I prefer to be alone). I was hopeless at school, and finished bottom of the class. Yet I have an

IQ of 148, and I went on to attain a degree in later life. The diagnosis was a validation of my life. It showed my family that I wasn't the malingerer, the lazy low-achiever that many of them thought I was.

 

It hasn't all been positive, though. One paragraph, from the summary of my diagnosis, haunts me:

 

The problems noted have interfered with the patient's life by causing depression, social isolation, difficulties at school and at work, and an inability to attain life goals.

 

It makes me wonder how different my life would have turned out if I'd been diagnosed as a child - or, at least, earlier than this. It makes me feel like huge parts of my life have been lost to anxiety and depression, and to needless worry about why I couldn't be like everyone else when I was trying my hardest all the time.

 

I have to put all those thoughts behind me, though. I have to move on.

 

Overall, the diagnosis has been a good thing for me. And it gives me something to fall back on if I have problems in the future.

Edited by MartianTom

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