indiscreet

I'm the same as Lilbec - like dogs but prefer cats.

From posts on this and other sites it would appear that diagnosis varies wildly between different parts of the country. It also seems to depend on age and how much financial or other support woiuld be involved if a positive diagnosis were to be given.

1. Retired. 2. Wouldn't have considered any other - how else would I have survived? 3. I never did.

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Unfortunately in my area of London the waiting time for ANY therapy/treatment tends to dominate one's thoughts and actions.

Therapists have to go through a very rigorous training experience and they have to be constantly examining themselves and their practice, being aware of themselves, their emotions, their thoughts, prejudices and the issues that their clients bring. When they are faced with an AS client it's like they're trying to relate to a different species which is almost impossible. Lupuscandenti, do you have the same problems when faced with an NT client?

I've recently found myself in a similar situation. My GP arranged for me to "see someone" about my anxiety and depression, which has recently worsened as a result of mobility problems. During the first session I realised that what I was being offered was CBT. During the second session I said that I felt I needed someone who was familiar with AS and that continuing would not be productive. I think to a certain extent the therapist was relieved and she is arranging for me to see someone else in a different facility. Like you, I felt it was maybe unwise to stop the therapy since it means going on another waiting list but I reasoned that any time and effort invested in therapy that's non-productive is a waste of both the patient's and the therapist's time - and the Health Service money. So I think you've done exactly the right thing and I hope everything goes well for you.

Some years ago I had CBT in connexion with my difficulties in social situations and being away from home I didn't find that it had any long-term effect. I can see it working in situations like Willow-Tree's problems with bullying at school, since that's something specific and you don't have to be on the spectrum to suffer from anxiety/depression because of bullying. I wonder, though, whether in the case of people with autism/AS the problems are so intrinsic to the condition that CBT won't be effective - unless the therapist concentrates on helping the patient to find ways of living with the basic problem rather than attempting to eradicate it.

Ambitious and hard-working? Mmm - it depends. However, I do always feel a need for closure and, as you say, that helps me to complete tasks and goals to a high standard.

INTJ Introvert 78%; Intuitive 25%; Intuitive Thinking 75%; Judging 67%.

Apart from this one I belong to Wrong Planet, Aspies Central and the NAS forum. WP and Aspies Central are my favourites. I also visit the IMDb boards regularly and some 'special interest' ones.

I can understand how disheartening it is, Lyndalou, but try not to let it get to you. After I received a diagnosis I was happy to tell a few close friends and relatives thinking that this would explain certain 'oddities' in my behaviour over the years but (with just one exception) I found I wasn't believed. The reply to any examples of AS I gave was "Well, I'm a bit like that" and "I'm sure most people feel the same way." The fact is that most people who have no personal experience of autism - either in themselves or in family/friends - believe it's just the latest fad; people wear Asperger's Syndrome in the same way they would acquire the latest fashion accessory as well as using it as an excuse for criminal/anti-social behaviour. The problem with children is that the discovery of childhood autism unfortunately coincided with the growth of a 'child-centred philopsophy' with regard to their upbringing so that NT children are often permitted to behave in a way very similar to those who are genuinely on the spectrum, with the result that among the general public there is a large amount of sceptism about the condition itself. I don't think trying to explain what it's like being on the spectrum works any more successfully than trying to describe the aura that accompanies some severe migraines to people who've never suffered the effects. I know that sounds negative but that's the way I've come to see it.

I'll cast my vote for ASW as Mod, since I believe he would do a very good job. Go for it ASW!

Hi Jackliejacob, good to meet you.

Happy Christmas everyone and best wishes for 2013.

Best wishes to you too, Ben, and everyone else who interacts on this board.

I also only had one wrong guess (the baby) but I agree that in real life one doesn't have the time to study the face in the way one can with a picture.

Exactly. It makes me furious to go into a thread because I'm interested in it's subject-matter only to find the latest post is on something completely different.

I'd say 'yes' if the new post is on the same subject; 'no' if it's about something quite different.

I've never thought that those who have self-diagnosed are consciously lying but I do think that one can't be completely objective about oneself. It needs a professional with experience of the condition to make the diagnosis as happens with other mental an physical conditions. It is, after all, quite normal to be convinced our symptoms mean we have a particular disease only to find out (with relief) we were worrying unnecessarily so this could quite easily be the case with someone who has self-diagnosed. Also, self-diagnosis affects the creditibility of autism/AS in the eyes of the general public who too often view it as "flavour of the month".

Nobody has made the point that self-diagnosis for adults shouldn't be necessary. It should be possible to obtain a diagnosis in the way one would with other mental and physical illnesses but it's all a question of cost - not just the cost to the NHS of obtaining a dx but the amount of financial and other support that might then be expected to follow a positive diagnosis. It seems crazy to me that parents of a child with autism aren't automatically tested, not just for their benefit but to give researchers more information about the way it occurs in families. I personally don't agree with self-diagnosis; it's much too easy to be subjective when filling in a questionnaire. Joining a forum to ask questions and learn is one thing but to give opinions and advice when you don 't even know if you have the syndrome is another.

This needed saying LancsLad, and I admire your frankness. I think one of the problems is that older people who come on boards like this one have learnt to come to terms with the NT world; which doesn't mean we don't still have a great many problems but we've managed to make a life for ourselves. To parents who are struggling with the day-to-day problems of sometimes quite severely autistic children it probably seems that people like us are more or less on a different planet. There's also the widespread belief held by both professionals and others that we are not "really on the spectrum" and have only obtained a diagnosis because the parameters have been altered.

Maybe you SHOULD get angry towards him.

Test Result: 126 points. Your result is broken down into various factors to give you some insight into your result. Category: Difficulty Identifying Feelings: 23 Points <15 - 18> In this category you show high alexithymic traits. Category: Difficulty Describing Feelings: 14 Points <10 - 12> In this category you show high alexithymic traits. Category: Vicarious Interpretation of Feelings: 10 Points <8 - 9> In this category you show high alexithymic traits. Category: Externally-Oriented Thinking: 19 Points <24 - 21> In this category you show high alexithymic traits. Category: Restricted Imaginative Processes: 20 Points <18 - 21> In this category you show some alexithymic traits. Category: Problematic Interpersonal Relationships: 20 Points <15 - 18> In this category you show high alexithymic traits. Category: Sexual Difficulties and Disinterest: 15 Points <10 - 12> In this category you show high alexithymic traits.