Allowing myself to raise the question: Am I on the spectrum?

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Maybe people sense you'll be offended if you're told you're on the Spectrum.

I am also seeing a therapist. Recognizing the signs of autism would be something they're trained in, right? Or would I have to explicitly tell her that I'm wondering if I might fall on the spectrum?

I don't think spotting the signs of Autism is something a therapist would be necessarily trained in. I'm not down playing what you are going though but it's important to remember that what we think of as 'Autistic traits' are kind of normal in life, even in those who are not Autistic! For instance: Lots of people are obsessional about their sports team, lots of people always take the same route to work, lots of people would rather stay at home than go out partying, lots of people have fixed meal times, lots of people hate loud thumping music etc. Now, some people have more of these traits, other less, and of course in some cases it can be explained by Autism. Fortunately there are guidelines, such as the DSM V, that give an idea of where the line is drawn and what side of that line you may fall on. Suffice to say, if your problems are such that they "limit and impair everyday functioning" then it's probably worth seeking a diagnosis, or at the very least discussing with you mother what options and channels are available to you should you wish to move forward. best of luck.

IMO you are wrong. I'm not saying you are autistic as I'm not qualified or even have a Dx myself but just because no one has mentioned it doesn't rule it out as some people have chameleon like skills at hiding it externally while internally it's a different story.

Some therapists are not fully trained in autism. Some have outmoded notions about it, and don't read the latest research.

If you can, go someplace which explicitly specializes in adult autism.

Last edited by B19 on 25 Aug 2017, 2:29 am, edited 1 time in total.: OP request

No way!

I've had quack therapists before, and some of them could never tell I was autistic before I told them. This is after no eye contact for 15 appointments, a complete flat affect and withdrawn towards the therapist, describing my moderate-severe sensory problems, talking about how unbelievably anxious I get when something changes, and stimming the entire time. She thought I just had Generalized Anxiety Disorder (I don't). The problem is, most therapists aren't trained in autism, at least in my experience. This is why so many people go undiagnosed. If I hadn't suspected autism, then I would have been diagnosed with GAD and would have probably spent the next 50 years of my life trying to figure out what was going on.

Moral: psychologists can be wrong. If I were you, I would do a little more research and if you still suspect it, then go to a psychologists who specializes in autism (preferably in adults) and get an assessment. Even if you are autistic, that's ok- it's not all of who you are. You can still accomplish things and be successful in spite of autism, you know !

Indeed, and often no more perceptive than any joe schmoe off the street. I was only diagnosed because I brought up the possibility to a therapist, who then referred me to a psychologist for testing and evaluation.

As for your having reached a particular age without anyone making a point of it, many of us here were well into middle age before we were diagnosed and only made the connection by freak accident.

I began to suspect I might have some form of autism in my early 20s, had people jokingly ask me over many years (because of my stimming), but I was 45 before someone stuck an article in my face and said "This sounds like YOU." Another 5 years went by after that before diagnosis.

A mental health diagnosis can be useful because if you are having difficulties, there are mental illnesses that show up in your 20s.

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/health/The_R ... dults.html
The first episodes of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder tend to appear in the late teens and early 20s. Researchers suspect that people are predisposed to develop these conditions from birth or childhood, but don't exhibit symptoms until they hit a particular phase of development and/or certain stressors.

I wonder why there are so many people that suffer for years until they get a diagnosis

I have only seen one competent psychologist in my life. The rest were idiots who didn't know what they were doing. If you think about it, in college, someone has to graduate at the bottom of the class, and I think a lot of people here end up with those types of psychologists (the ones who didn't really "learn" how to be a psychologist). There are a lot of clueless people out there.

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Really, at the "high functioning" end, autism can be very, very difficult to diagnose.

I am "fortunate" that when I was 3 years old (when I was diagnosed), I was "low-functioning" and had most of the "classic" symptoms---so it was easy to diagnose me.

Yeah, it sounds like your therapist is "okay."

But I disagree with the statement that people with anxiety/depression usually have trouble holding down a job or waking up in the morning. There are a lot of people with anxiety out there, but you can't tell because it's like an invisible disability. Even back when my anxiety issues were extreme, I still got up every morning and went to school, even if I spent the entire day shaking with anxiety.

A lot of people with ASD have trouble verbalizing feelings ( not saying you definitely have ASD, but it's a trait). If you like your psychologist, then that's good, but if you don't, then I would recommend trying to find someone else.

While I knew about Kanner autism since the 1980s, I didn't know about Asperger autism until I asked a friend to describe the differences to me a few years ago. At the time, I was 52 years of age, and had just been screened with Autism Spectrum Disorder. What my friend described was minimal, but enough to interest me about pursuing a diagnosis. I was diagnosed two years ago.

I suspect others of about the same age (who I call "survivors") were probably more Asperger autistic than Kanner autistic, so we raised less suspicions. But, I must have raised a few suspicions because I was diagnosed with depression three times by six clinicians over the years. I suspect that a diagnosis for depression was frequently given unwittingly to individuals who were believed to be depressed. So, as adults, it wouldn't be surprising that many were misdiagnosed as children or teens, only to seek a proper diagnosis as adults. Of course, deciding to seek a diagnosis is, emotionally itself, a big step.

Even though I was diagnosed with autism around 1964, I first learned the term "autism" on a TV public service message about 1971 or so. At first, I thought they were talking about "artistic" children.