mild diagnosis of AS...what does this mean??help please

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Hi there,
I went for an assesment today, it was 4 hrs long........out come......"mild diagnosis of AS, she also suffers from anxiety which is not unusual in inderviduals with AS" .....
what does that mean, I don't really understand.....
I feel really confused, has anyone else had a diagnosis like this??
Does "mild diagnosis" mean she doubts if I have AS? or does it mean that cause I am 41 now, I have learn't to adapt, learn what I should do/say, so the symptoms are not as severe anymore??
any feedback would be really appreciated.
Thank you,
Verticalmum.

If she actually said "mild diagnosis of AS" rather than "diagnosis of mild AS" or "diagnosis of AS with mild symptoms", I would question her ability to communicate much of anything very clearly. But yes, and based on some of my own experience as well as things I have read here on WP, I would guess you are correct in suspecting she is saying your symptoms are now mild as compared to what you might have told her about your past.

it means you have AS but you have adapted to it so well that your symptoms are only mild. you should have just been diagnosed as AS, but your doctor did not take your coping strategies into account.

or you have mild as, a condition which currently does not exist, but probably should.

or, you are an NT with a few AS traits coupled with anxiety.

To me it only means that you have learnt to adapt. I have spent all my life trying to learn what the others do, and now that i am 31 i am capable of hiding my quirks, stims, extreme shyness, etc

Her actual words are.."I reciently assesed "verticalmum" for aspergers syndrome and she meets the criteia for a mild diagnosis of AS. I understand that "verticalmum" also suffers from anxiety, and this is not unusual for inderviduals with AS". does that clarify it any better as far as you can see leejosepho and 88bk?? appreciate your feedback...

thanks GeomAsp, I just don't really "fit in" and am having trouble dealing with what this all means.

If we say that ASDs range from severe and shade into the normal continuum of behaviour (as per Wing and pretty much everyone nowadays), then if you have "mild" AS, you're closer to the normal variant of behaviour, but still of the ASD make.

I got "severe" AS or "mild" autism by my psychiatrist when fitting me on the spectrum of severity, so I'd be around 2/3 of the way to the normal variant or so.

Thanks Danielismyname,
that made a little bit more sence to me,starting to feel ok,when you put it that way.so Thanks.

I feel so hopeless and such a loooser big time. My poor 4.5 yr old has such a dumb fu#* of a mother.
What future has he got...poor little soul... Im just your normal run of the mill no clue idiot its sounding like. May as well...........don't know,don't even want to sleep, feeling like punching my self in my dumbo head.....can't stop the negitive voice, there goes the food for the next week too......looser,don't deserve to eat anyway.

Last edited by verticalmum on 10 Nov 2009, 8:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

Is it the diagnosis of AS that makes you feel that way?

Know that there's nothing you can really do for anything that mediated via the AS, so it's in no way the fault of your personality. The disorder makes "us" behave in a certain way that our personality has absolutely no say over, but our personality does allow us to eventually understand this--a diagnosis can go a long way to making you accept this.

Hi , no probably the wording of the "fits criteria for mild diagnosis"....like did I only just make it in to the ASD, do I really belong here....or am I just plain dumb/slow......like is there no proper explination for how stupid I feel and how I think others think Im just soooo slow and stupid cause I can't always think of the right thing to say....so I dont say anything...uggg

dear vertical mum,
Please don't take on so. Your little boy will have a much better life if his mum loves him and does her best by him. So take care of yourself and sleep and eat and forget about punching yourself in the head (we all have 'dumbo' head, so try not to let it bother you ) Sure you deserve to eat, you are not any different that you were before you knew, now are you? Of course not. And now, you can actually DO something about how you feel and how you react to things because you are starting to have an understanding about yourself you never had before.

So hang out with us on WrongPlanet, we will show you the ropes and answer most of your questions and give suggestions of what worked for us, OK? You are definitely in the 'right place' here.

Merle

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Now I feel sad reading your posts. You are welcome here, no matter what.

And do not call yourself a dumb f*** of a mother. I am a mother who has been called this. You are anxious, and so am I, but we are worthy people.

Please, I hope you feel better. Stand tall and vertical.

"Mild diagnoses" no such thing. It's either a diagnoses or not one. The doctor must have a strange way of using words. She could have meant you have mild AS.

Hi Vertical Mum,

Here at WP you are around people who understand exactly how you feel. It has taken me three years since finding out about my AS to get my head around it. You are not dumb, you have AS and have spent 41 years trying to fit into a world not designed for us. We're not losers, we're just wired differently to the mainstream. Your son has the most important thing, a Mum who loves him, so stay strong for him, eat well and let yourself adjust slowly, and welcome to Wrong Planet.

Best wishes,

MsB

Thank you all for your kind words and support,
I am feeling alot better and a bit more rational now.....Dinner is in the oven and I will be ok.
So thank you once again for all your messages of support, really appreciate them.

I don't think doctors are always 100% clear with their diagnosis, and I think it's because the actual conditions don't always fit 100% into the diagnostic categories doctors make up to define them. My diagnosis is kind of like "PDD with probable ADD and some OCD" and it's like.. not even PDD NOS it's just PDD. But apparently the doctor told my mom that the serial number he was using for my official diagnosis was the same as for AS, so maybe it's AS, who knows. lol. This whole thing is sort of a mess, so maybe once they sort out what to call the different levels of ASDs there will be some more definite diagnoses available and they'll be used in clearer ways.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like being out of the ASD category would make your struggle less acceptable. It would just make you something else than ASD. You know who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are and what you've accomplished and struggled with. Doctors are only people who went to school and tried their best to understand the body/mind... that doesn't make them gods who can see everything about you and declare weather or not you are acceptable.