I'm an old man now, but I suspect that I have ASD. I'd like to know for sure, but it seems that diagnosis and treatment are not available for people my age. I live in Kansas, where mental health services are thin, and such issues are still minimized or dismissed.
I'd like to know so I might better understand myself and the unusual struggles I've had in life. I also wonder if such a diagnosis might aid in getting coverage for assistance that I will surely need as I become less able to live alone.
Does anyone here know someone who was diagnosed with ASD or Asperger's as an adult?
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I saw a shrink at the VA about 10 years ago and even though I wasn't officially diagnosed, it was implied that I have Aspergers.
After researching it, I was able to understand my weird adolescence, why I think the way I do, and now I embrace having it.
Now that I understand it I feel like I have a superpower.
DavePeet
Level 5
Sep 6, 2020
1
I don't need an official diagnosis, since it sounds like that won't help me with any coverage of health care services, but I would like to informally confirm my strong suspicion. I don't expect to discover any superpowers, but I would like to understand why I had to struggle so hard to do things that seem to come naturally for normal humans.
I think I'll pursue a path much like yours. I'm going to try and find a good shrink to help me with my depression, which I believe is situational, and see if it comes up. If not, I'll continue to seek that confirmation through interactions in groups like this.
Hey Dave, has it caused a lot of struggles in your life? I'm curious where I stand compared to other autistics diagnosed as an adult.
I stumbled across my symptoms as being on the spectrum at 59. I don't have a definite diagnosis. (My mistake was going thru the VA and having an old male doctor do the exam, but that's another story. )
If you are functioning now, you're not going to get any special treatment. As far as declining as you age, I would mention the concerns to your primary care physician. It's your mental state that will qualify you for help no matter what the cause is.
There is a group on Facebook of ASD people to which I belong. (There are several such groups. ) PM me if you want the name and link. It's a private group, though fairly large.
pegasus1074
Level 5
Sep 5, 2020
1
I was born in 1930 and was in my early twenties (the early 1950s) when my mother told me I didn’t talk until I was four. For info, do a search on “autism timeline”.
By the late 1970s, when I was nearing fifty, I knew the word “autism” and wss living in San Francisco when I heard that the city was starting a study to learn how a city agency might treat autistic clients. The study was looking for volunteer workers and I figured how better to learn about autism than to volunteer. i was interviewed but must have flunked because the interviewing panel seemed in a hurry to get me out of their office.
In 2013 I learned the reason both of my long-deceased parents seldom spoke and realized that my not talking until I was four might have resulted from not hearing words I could mimic. I’m now 89 and have decided to ignore the whole thing.
yvilletom
Level 8
Sep 3, 2020
2
I know a person who may know useful information for you. I'll let her know about you and she is a member of this site.
Sofabeast
Level 7
Sep 2, 2020
1
Thank you!
About 15 yrs ago, when I was 50, I was being treated for depression, and the shrink strongly implied I had Aspergers, but wouldn't actually diagnose it. I researched it online, took an online Aspy test, and yes, I'm an Aspy! And I suddenly realized why Mr Spock was always my favorite Star Trek character! Why woudn't the shrink diagnose it? I don't know. I think she wanted to encourage me to research it myself, for whatever reason.
davknight
Level 8
Sep 2, 2020
1
I'm 68. The two places I could find that serve ASD adults both said I was over their age limit. I talked to a therapist on the phone that said she could work with me after I was diagnosed. She talked one of the places into accepting me, but they want $1500 for the diagnostic session, and there's apparently no coverage for me under Medicare or my supplemental plan. I took an aspie test online (likely the same one you did) and got a score of 137 out of 200. That score would probably be even higher, but I think I have a black belt in masking. I've likely been doing it my whole, long life, and I don't think I'm conscious of it most of the time.
If I thought it would help me pay for some in-home help, I would spend the money, but if I'm only going to get the personal benefit of knowing myself better, I can probably get that benefit without the high cost. That's my dilemma...