How did you discovered you where aspie ?

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How did you discovered you had the syndrome ?

personally, when I was around 8 or 9 year old, due to problem with anger management, I got to a psychiatrist, I was diagnosed shortly afterward, my parent told me during a diner (both of them, they are separated) and I got pretty lucky with most of my schooling, no harassent and really nice teachers

I was speaking with one of my son's college psychology professors, and she gave me an impromptu (and free!) verbal examination.  Later, I paid out-of-pocket for a formal and official examination from three more professors from the same psychology department.

When I got in contact with my son, after 17 years of no contact (I could, and I do, blame his mother for that, but anyways) I learned that he had a diagnosis and started reading up on the subject.
5 years later I contacted a psychiatrist who assesed and diagnosed me. That was close to a year ago.

/Mats

My parents figured out that I might be autistic after my brother was diagnosed with Asperger's, and then told me about it + getting me assessed at 6 (which didn't end up in me getting diagnosed) when I was 11.

From about 20 to 30 I went through all kinds of psychological help and assessment, and it wasn't until a trip to the hospital and (afterward) finally being assessed by someone who worked with autists that I was diagnosed. It was completely unexpected and I didn't really believe it at first. It took me several years to really learn what it means (the info I found was all useless BS, just simple generalized point-form summaries that usually didn't cover the whole spectrum or even properly noted that it's a spectrum. also, f paywalled science) and realized that it was where so much of my difficulties through life came from.

In the late 90s or early 2000s I had a boss who said I was a little bit autistic. I thought he was bullying me although I was confused because I thought that was a weird way to bully someone. When the TV show 'Bones' came out I noticed the lead character had a lot of similarities to me. When the newspapers said that character had Aspergers I said to myself I probably have it. It did not become anything more than a minor curiosity at the time. I completely did not understand the importance. As my career cratered and my life completely stopped going anywhere(what I now realize was Autistic burnout) my sister who is a speech pathologist recognized it in her older brother and found a well-qualified clinician. I felt being nowhere in life, just existing that I had no moral right or reason to tell my family who had a life "no". The burnout had stripped me of my stubbornness and resistance. The clinician said she had no problem diagnosing me and that was that.

My niece was diagnosed years ago and I was looking into it for my daughter. I thought maybe she got "it" from my (NT) husband b/c he's unexpressive and antisocial (emotionally avoidant). I am a whole bunch of expressive and social, which was not "advertised" as AS. I took the AQ test along with him (I love tests!). I got a 26 (masking to self) and he got a 12 or something. Oh. Then I started to be aware of how life was for me relative to others, reading AS blogs and memoirs. A toxic manager gave me a leg up to identify my differences. ---My AQ settled in the low to mid 30s, etc.

watching a program about teens with autism in school and what their lives were like. I ended up in a sobbing heap crying "that was me" It was like that for me. Daughter was present and suggested I check out whether I might be autistic. Checking further I figured out my mother had been autistic, my siblings were autistic, I am autistic, and so are my kids (and maybe my husband although he will deny that to his grave for fear of stigma he attaches to it) I got formal diagnosis at age 68. It is never too late. Diagnosis has helped so much in so many ways!

This is so good to know. Thank you. It gives me hope for obtaining an accurate diagnosis for my daughter. (Her 9yo eval didn't do it - she wasn't in sufficient crisis .)


So cool/interesting it's near 100% ----- my BFF and I suspect it's near 100% in her family (none diagnosed... yet). My family is 50%: my mom married NT as did I and we each produced 1 ASD and 1 NT child (so far just I am diagnosed). It would be nice to have our mother's (mid 70s) evaluated... as you said, the stigma is a hurdle... (my mom may be getting past that a bit; not my BFF's family... yet?)

I went decades with no clue I was on the on the Autism Spectrum but with an increasing suspicion there was some fundamental difference between me and everyone else. In fact, I had not even heard of the Autism Spectrum and knew virtually nothing about Autism (I was vaguely aware of Rain Man but had never seen it).

My Dad is still alive and two of my siblings live near him and therefore visit him frequently. One of the siblings is my sister who works as a nanny for special needs children and sometime during 2018 she apparently had one of those kids with her when she visited Dad. At the end of 2018/beginning of 2019 it was reported to me that Dad said that kid was doing the same "weird" things I used to do. (The kid did them in 2018...I would've been doing them in the 1950s!) I'm sure I must've looked confused when I got this report because my sister had previously mentioned that kid and that they thought he might be Autistic.

That was enough of a hint for me that I started reading about Autism on the Internet. And it FIT! I got my bride to read about it and she agreed. We both thought I was likely a High-Functioning Autistic. I found and took the Autism Spectrum Quotient Test and my bride also took the test for me (answering the questions the way she thought I should answer them) and we both got scores indicating "significant Autistic traits (Autism)".

On the strength of that I got a formal Adult Autism Assessment. And, in 2019, at the age of 64, I got my diagnosis and some champagne to celebrate it!

My therapist told me when I was trying to recover from a major breakdown.
I was 32.

I was diagnosed with AS when I was 13. I did not know what my specialist was talking about because I believed my specialist said either "Asparagus" or "Alzheimer's."

A number of micro realisations led me to believe I am. I’m due to be assessed in March 2022.

1. I teach and do support work for autistic children. I can and do identify within myself a lot of traits in those who are diagnosed with Level 1 ASD (or those previously diagnosed with Aspergers).

2. I attended a seminar which had multiple neurodivergent speakers and was given a copy of a table highlighting female autistic traits. I managed to identify with most of them and this solidified my suspicions.

3. I have felt fundamentally different from all my peers, since before I can remember. ASD fits my narrative and I’m keen to see what a formal assessment brings about for me.

4. I have C-PTSD and have asked myself many times what might be what in terms of nature/nurture and behavioural representation. My therapist has suggested I seek diagnosis and candidly mentioned I am likely HFA.

5. AQ and other Aspie quizzes tend toward suggesting I seek diagnosis.

My son was diagnosed at 16. I learned a lot about Aspergers and thought it sounded like me too, so to prove myself wrong I went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me and sent me to a counselor who specializes in Aspergers (autism) and she diagnosed me too because I couldn’t believe it. It explained my whole life! I was diagnosed at 51 and for once in my life I understood myself. I was shocked, but relieved and sad that I didn’t know sooner. We think my father and my aunt were Aspies too. I am not ashamed of it, but I don’t broadcast it either because people act weird about it and make ignorant comments and I don’t waste my time on idiots.

many years after being diagnosed. I just had to face the facts. But I'm not an aspie, I'm a human being.

So am I.