HI, at almost 60 - It seems that I might have Asperger's or

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I guess the new DSM -5 phrase is something like, "High Function Autism Spectrum Disorder." I must admit that until recently I would have felt somewhat insulted if someone suggested I had any sort of Autism. But, I have read up on it and most - but not all of the criteria does seem to match. If I thought back to when I was eleven or twelve or even twenty-one or twenty-two - I would say that the criteria would have matched quite profoundly.

I also took three different online Autism Spectrum/Asperger's test; "The Quick and Easy Asperger's Test, The Aspie-Quiz and the AQ Test. All three put me in the mild range of Autism Spectrum. On the AQ Test I scored: "Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 151 of 200, Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 68 of 200, You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)" Again, if I had answered the questions based on how I was at eleven or twelve or even twenty-one or twenty-two - I would have probably been more than just the mild range.

I happen to live and work way out in the Western Pacific on a fairly small island in a U.S. Territory. Needless to say - there are not a lot of resources here to seek guidance on such a situation. I would also say that I have worked out many of the basic social skill issues. I was probably in my mid to late twenties, maybe even later before I got the eye contact thing down. Probably around about the same time I kind of learned how to have a conversation without annoying too many people or weirding people out - very often anyway. Although, I am still no doubt a bit socially awkward and can come off as a tad bit odd.

I have in spite of everything managed to work at a variety of places in the world in hospital intensive care units - taking care of mechanical ventilator systems. I probably should have chosen a less stressful occupation. But it did give me the opportunity to work a number of different places.

The only real day to day problem associated with this situaiton I run into along this line is that I am a fairly high strung and nervous person. It is however rare that my nervousness debilitates my ability to do my job adequately. However, I can appear a bit clumsy and of course, nervous - I tend to break into sweats fairly easily on the job and elsewhere.

I'm wondering - turning 60 in only a few months - is there a real benefit in getting an official diagnosis? Of course given my location - there are not a lot of resources here to do that. There is only one psychiatrist on the island and within hundreds of miles - Since I work in health care - I do happen to know him from the hospital. I suppose I could broach the subject with him. Although I have no idea how much he knows about the subject or what his thinking on the matter is.

I would be very grateful to hear any advice from anyone - especially those who have faced these questions themselves.

Thank you,

doug

results as the other three tests. I guess I should ask the one shrink within hundreds miles of here if he has any knowledge and interest in the Autism Spectrum area.

Again at the age of 60 I suppose I can imagine how an official diagnosis might give some peace of mind. But other than seeking some kind of treatment for my nervousness - I don't know if there is any other treatment that might be helpful.

Again thank you




Total score/ Average score of male with ASD

169 / 150.9

Language

13 / 12

Social relatedness

81 / 73.9

Sensory/motor

42 / 36.3

Circumscribed interests

33 / 28.7

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Hi r2d2, welcome to WrongPlanet.
I agree with previous posters, you may want to pursue getting diagnosed if you see a medical, professional or personal advantage (e.g. peace of mind). Then again, disclosure can backfire, so I'd have a good think about possible consequences and weigh the balance.
Here you will definitely find an incredible amount of knowledge, experience and opinions, from people who are living ASD.
Happy browsing

official diagnoses - might possibly not be a good idea in some situations. One person speaks of a possibility of it "backfiring". Please forgive my naivete - This is all completely new to me. But what do people think would be the downside of getting an official diagnoses? And how might it backfire?

i believe you should go for it, but make sure you really know who is diagnosing you. a lot of people in that field are unsupportive asshats who think they know you better than you do. the person who diagnosed me when i was 4 gave us enough attitude, my mom had to ask him to leave.

Hiya Doug - I'm 69 and was diagnosed with and treated for Asperger's Syndrome at age 49 under hypno-regression therapy by a private consultant clinical psychiatrist commissioned by my employer as I was involved in secret work for the government. I'd had a nervous breakdown as I hadn't known who I was for the previous 35 years of my life, despite starting and sustaining a brilliant professional career and meeting and marrying my teenage sweetheart and starting a family in that period, none of which of which I could remember as I had retrograde, anterograde, psychogenic and dissociative amnesia all operating in parallel at the same time, each and every day - I used to memory dump every night in my sleep unless I stayed awake - that gave me sleep deprivation that caused me to have the nervous breakdown at my desk in the office where I worked and requiring psychiatric intervention to get me back in harness becasue of the secret work I was involved in - despite all that I retired at 65 after exceeding all performance expectations and winning an UNESCO accolade for my 'flagship' town and country planning project near where I live to this very day - now I am a successful writer and a blogger about my life of autism and asperger's syndrome as you can see my signature - email me at adriant.esq@btinternet.com as I'm working on something you may be very interested in pursuing to help quench your nervousness - I've been coaching and counselling auties and aspies for 20 years and think I may have found the answer to lot of the problems auties and aspies have around the world and am developing a solution at this very moment for launch on Boxing Day - as for your question - I have been trying to get the UK National Health Service to confirm that I have aspergers since I retired 4 years ago as I believe my wife deserves their recognition for taking care of me when they conveniently turned a blind eye to my aspergers despite my informing them of it in 2000. All I have had from them by way of a response is a cursory visit by an adult mental health official about four years ago and being told they haven't got anyone well enough qualified to judge if I have it. The American Psychiatric Association is just as complacent as they have erased the name Asperger's Syndrome and diagnostic characteristics from their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, hoping the disease will go away if they ignore it. It is listed as a serious mental disease in the UN International Classification of Diseases, and you are lucky having a job in a hospital in a US territory, as you would be laid off as unfit if you were in a mainland one - that may yet happen to you if you obtain a formal diagnosis of autism or aspergers, as the medics are obliged to inform your employer if you have either of these - and they then have to undertake a risk assessment of keeping you on. So my advice is, if you managed to cope without psychiatric intervention until now, hang in there and continue to cope without it until you retire. I will coach and counsel you free until then if you want.

result in their employment being terminated. In the United States would it not be illegal under the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 to terminate someone on the bases of a diagnoses such as Asperger's or Autism Spectrum Disorder?

from their employment since the passage of the 1990 Americans with Disability Act on the sole basis that they were officially diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome or any Autism Spectrum Disorder?

If you were in the UK I would certainly suggest you get yourself DX-ed, as you'd get welfare assistance, in the form of DLA/PIP and a free transport pass, and with those you can still work - with our ever-increasing retirement age, you'd not be pensionable yet.

However, I have heard it is increasingly difficult, and I assume, though perhaps incorrectly in the context of the US it is the same, to acquire a DX over the age of 60. It certainly is here which is a grave shame.