ScotchEgg Report post Posted November 12, 2011 Hi, I recently found this site and hope that it may be able to assist on my odyssey. I am in my 40s, female, and coming to the conclusion that I *may* fulfil the criteria for AS. My dilemma is whether to pursue assessment, whether it would change anything, whether it would serve any purpose for me personally. I have an immovable mistrust of psychiatric services, having been mismanaged and misdiagnosed in my late teens and early twenties. This was obviously a long time ago, and I have learnt to manage and - to a certain extent - hide my social differences and difficulties. Nevertheless, at this point I cannot contemplate going to my GP, so a private assessment may be the way forward, although expensive. I am aware of AS and ASD through work and personal experience and have a good understanding of it. What is intriguing me at the moment, is that I do appear to fulfill the criteria for AS, albeit at the milder end. If this were to be the case, a lot of my many difficulties as a young person would be put into an explanatory context, and this would help me make sense of my life to date. I'm trying to write it all down now, piece together my past, ask questions of my father (unfortunately my mother has passed away, so I realise I need to be asking questions now). I dug out a primary school report today ... it went along the lines of shy, lacking in confidence, very able and articulate for age, perfectionist, works well on own, prefers fact to fiction, tolerated by peers but possessive over friends so on the outside of friendship groups (I was 7). Oh and I was obsessed with taking things to bits - no dolls for me! There is obviously a lot more to it than this, and none of the above on their own constitute a diagnosis, I know, but I am starting to feel the need to explore further. I guess I will be asking for advice on assessment in one of the other forums. Bye for now! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted November 12, 2011 Hello, and welcome to the forum. I too had a bit of a hard time from the mental health services in my teens and early 20s which has left me a bit anxious about approaching them for help. I think my undiagnosed and unrecognised AS was a major cause for the misunderstandings. So I can understand your reluctance to take this route. About going private, be warned that many private diagnosticians still insist on a referral from a GP. This is a sign they are responsible and won't accept your money without there being good reason to suspect you may have AS. However, if you can take a list of key traits that point to AS and you are willing to pay yourself, your GP might be quite happy to refer you. Mine was anyway, even though the mental health team had already noted quite categorically that I did not have AS. Anyway, I hope that you will be able to get some answers! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScotchEgg Report post Posted November 12, 2011 Many thanks for the reply. I completely agree that undiagnosed and unrecognised AS/ASD can be a cause for misunderstanding, especially as I suspect most GPs and psychiatrists in the 80s and 90s would not have had any meaningful knowledge of the condition. I fought against a diagnosis of bipolar in the late 80s and won, with the admission that it was more likely depression and severe anxiety. My primary concern is of having any link to mental health services on my mental records, due to the effect it could have on any future career moves. It is a ridiculous situation, but having had to be *screened* for every job I have had in the light of an overturned diagnosis, albeit with no problems, I am very, very wary of adding anything unnecessarily to my medical records. I have a really nice and supportive GP but do genuinely wonder how she would react if I came in asking for a referral for an AS assessment. I also don't know whether there are adequate adult diagnostic services in my area. I *manage* myself well these days, but via academic research (in which I feel comfortable professionally for the first time in my career), I realise that I tick pretty much all the boxes for AS. It has been a scary but also meaningful realisation. I realise that a dx does not offer solutions, but as I said in my first message, it could potentially help me to make sense of a horribly confused and unhappy childhood. It's all there in school reports and early anecdotal evidence - a very early precocious talker, lack of proper friendships, social difficulties, obsessions, tics, special interests, hypersensitivity to certain sounds ... the list goes on. I think I'd better post in the diagnosis section Thanks for such a great site! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darkshine Report post Posted November 12, 2011 Hello Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RainbowsButterflies Report post Posted November 12, 2011 Hi and welcome Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
