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bristolbloke

Hello and help please!

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Hello all

 

Over the last day or so I have been reading up a lot about autism and Aspergers, and the more I read, the more I feel it relates to me. I am nearly 30 and at no point has it ever been suggested to me that I might be autistic in any way, people have always just said I was very quiet, but I've always felt there may be more to it than that.

 

I just did the online C4 test and scored 32 and so I guess that points towards needing to look into this a bit further, but I'm just totally confused and finding this all a bit hard.

 

When I read up about all the symptoms of AspergersI know that I definitely display some of them, but it's far from conclusive. I've always been a bit socially awkward, but I always saw that as a bit of a lack of confidence around meeting new people, although saying that, even my friends see me as being very quiet (unless I've had a few drinks)!

 

I've never had any problems with speech, or reading between the lines or interpreting people's facial expressions though. But other things such as hating small talk and being bored by conversations that don't interest me have always been there. I've also had some trouble with personal relationships through my lack of caring/switching off/becoming distant or as it has been described to me before, a lack of a heart!!

 

I've always had a bit of an obsession relating to football, remembering facts and figures and results etc, and collecting lots of reference books and newspapers/magazines etc, people used to call me statto at school! But as football is quite a mainstream thing to be interested in, I (or anybody else) had never considered that it could be an indicator of some form of Aspergers, and even to this day I still take the football thing a lot further than most!

 

I do like to have a routine and be organised, but again, I've always just been seen as someone who is really organised, again though I was once described as regimented!! I do have a slight bit of OCD according to my wife and other people, most noticeably when I line up my ketchup sachets in neat rows when in pubs & restaurants!

 

Apologies for rambling on, I'm really lost here, I guess what I'm trying to ask is, does anyone else feel like this or have been through this? I have no problems operating a perfectly "normal" life, and so the things listed above have always just been me, if somewhat unusual. But since I've been doing this reading, I've convinced myself I have Aspergers, if perhaps only mildly.

 

Can anybody help me, and give me some advice and guidance? I really don't know what to do now! I don't even know if I'm just imagining things or making them all sound or seem worse than they are. Hopefully, your experience in this field will tell me if I have something to worry about or not!

 

Thanks in advance

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You could ask your GP to refer you to the Bristol Autism Spectrum Service. If you wish to meet others like yourself let me know as there are some social groups in the Bristol and Bath areas.

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Thanks, I'm booked in to see my GP on Friday and have read a lot about BASS. I have read about lots of horror stories about people being able to get referred, but I think Bristol seems to be a lot better than some areas so I'm hopeful of getting passed on to them for a referall.

 

I would be interested in the social groups, please can you PM me some more details?

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Hi Bristolbloke and welcome to the forum

 

It sounds like for the most part you are happy with your life and that if you are indeed on the autistic spectrum then you have managed to learn and compensate very well. What you might want to ask yourself is what you would like to achieve from gaining a diagnosis. Some people might find the diagnosis can lead to some adaptations being made for them in the workplace but just 'knowing' can mean that you can make adaptations in your everyday life to make life easier. For instance, many (if not most) people on the autistic spectrum have sensory difficulties along with the more 'recognisable' difficulties and it can be helpful to figure out what those are.

 

Good luck with the GP. You may find the info on the NAS website about approaching your GP helpfu.

 

Lynda :)

Edited by Lyndalou

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Tbh, to me it just sounds like you're a normal bloke with an organised streak! You say you have friends and a wife and have no difficulties in normal life. My lad is 19, has Aspergers and is considered 'able' in many ways compared to others with autism, but has never had a single friend in his whole life.

 

Don't know if that helps or not.

 

~ Mel ~

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Perhaps you should go onto the NAS website and lookup the diagnosis for adults section. What I advise to people who are seeking adult diagnosis is to note down things that you feel demonstrate what you feel is ASD, and then present that to the doctors. It's always worth a try, and if it turns out a no - at least it's something you can dismiss!

 

It's also worth talking to other adults with ASD on here - there's quite a few of us!

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Great news, just got back from the GP and I was only in there for 10 minutes, and he agreed to refer me! I feel so lucky, it's been a whirlwind 7 days but I feel like I've made such progress already and feel a lot happier in myself now as a result.

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Really hoping your referral goes well.

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