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How did you first discover your Aspergers?

Well, I realised when I was about 7 that something was up. I had come back to school after a illness and missed a couple weeks school. I figured that I would catch up the work etc pretty easy, as I considered myself pretty smart. Over time I realised with horror that I was not catching up with what the other kids knew, and even more horrifying, realised THEY'D NEVER BEEN TAUGHT IT. They had become social beings -they knew how to make friends, how to keep them, how not to piss the teacher off, how to stand up for themselves. I remember wondering how a particular girl in my class had so many friends. She wasn't smart, or talented, or even nice but she had SO many friends. "o," say my parents, "She makes people like her"
"HOW????" I screamed. I didn't get an answer. I did some reading, both on mental illnesses, and developmental problems, and thought I had something like autism, but this was the 70s, and autistic kids were totally mute and sat in the corner spinning. So, not me. I had no idea what was "wrong" with me, only that I should hide it.

Fast forward a couple decades and a friend's son was diagnosed. I did some more reading. After confiding in a GP and a counsellor who both figured I didn't have it, the GP sent me to a shrink, possibly to humour me. I walked in with a list for and against (dead giveaway!) at at the end of going through them both, and talking to me, he said "What if I told you you DID have it?"

So there you go. I'm officially unofficially diagnosed.:p
 
If I remember it was probably around 10 years ago or so. I think I was reading something about Sasha Baron Cohen and it went on to say about his advocacy for aspergers syndrome and that it is not a syndrome but a trait. I had never heard of aspergers so I did some research out of curiosity.

My findings were shocking. Especially how the foundations of aspergers were so heavily applicable to as a kid. "Oh my god! That is me!!!" I was dumbfounded, but also heartened, and my heart was literally pounding away as I read more about it. It explained so much about me when I never understood why I was so different from most other people. It was life changing, for the better, so much made so much more sense. It was like a person who's vision started slipping away just finally got a pair of glasses and can see just fine.

I don't need to be formally diagnosed. A doctor would just be telling me what I already know with every fiber of my liver. It would be a complete and utter waste of time and effort, possibly money depending how that works.
 
My nephew was showing very obvious traits of autism so me being me, I had to read everything I could find on the subject. I was gobsmacked when I recognized myself and most likely my father as well. Once I got over the shock I realized it explained a lifetime of questions without answers. A couple of questionnaires later there was no longer any doubt. Then I searched for online support groups for Aspergers...... and here I am. Joining this forum has been one of the best things I've ever done for myself, so thanks everyone. :)
 
I first heard of it from a newspaper article I happened to read and saw similarities to myself (especially my younger self) but it was nearly 12 years before I really looked into it further, and read more about how it and overlaps with Dyspraxia (my original childhood diagnosis) then I saw a psychiatrist who specialized in Asperger's and similar conditions and he soon pointed out that I had it although a very mild form .
 
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Roughly 5 or 6 or so year's ago, a magazine called: the Awake, had an article in it about a young girl who found it very hard to socialise and her parents tried several times to find out what was going on, until a friend discovered a piece on something called: aspergers and on reading it, both mother and daughter was astounding with how well it described her ( daughter) and then, got an official diagnosis and the article, I was reading, was just outlining her difficulties.

I had never come across the word: aspergers, but on reading that it was on the autism spectrum, I was a bit confused, because I was amazed at the similarites between us, but considered she was worse, because of not understanding fancial expressions and having a montoned voice and further, there was no doubt in my mind that I do not have autism, so I tried to dismiss, it, but for some bizarre reason, it kept propping up and I got intriqued and eventually, joined aspiecentral, because I could not get an official diagnosis, so what better way, than to join a forum where every one does have aspergers and be in contact with official aspies, to determine whether I have it or not?

I felt a fraud at first; but no longer and little by little, realising things about myself. I have not always been able to read facial expressions, but never had a montoned voice etc and learned that we are all still different.
 
I was 12, I was bawling my eyes out in my room. Mom came in with a big medical book and was afraid to tell me at first because she was afraid I would get mad. I kept on saying, "What is it, what is it?", until she said, "You have Asperger's syndrome.". Of course I was confused at first.

At 13, I developed an eating disorder. I was 40lbs underweight and could barely walk around the house. I went to a psychologist and she said I nearly have all traits and she said that the root cause of the eating disorder, was Asperger's. It made all sense. Ritual, rules and routines. I call it the 3 R's.

Here I am today, still doubting and still trying to accept it. It's hard, but I'm getting there.
 
It was no big secret growing up that I didn’t pick up on Social stuff and wouldn’t make eye contact.
I was one very awkward kid, who’s intelligence was higher than his peers. First grade mandatory IQ test showed me having an IQ of 115, which is really high for a first grader.
That was accompanied with a lack of fine motor skills(it got worse in adulthood), a slower development of speech, and I was hyper sensitive from the get go. I was also hyper emotional (which is supposed to be unnatural for boys) and full of anxiety from the beginning.
I also grew up with an undiagnosed severe bipolar type 1 mother, who took it out on me (she was diagnosed when I was 17) and a drunken mentally unstable first step father. My own dad didn’t want much to do with me. So the fact I fell through the cracks is not surprising at all.

I had severe bouts of depression, anxiety and a few emotional/mental breakdown by the time I graduated high school.

I was also not close to anyone and didn’t bond to others. I’ve gone most of my life without friends, dating, bonding with family etc... granted I did successfully bond close with my friend (who I met at work). We are a lot alike (he’s not autistic)

Then in the beginning of 2010, I started to fall a part again to the point of being sucidal. When in a few weeks of the therapy season I was given the Asperger diagnosis. They also diagnosed with clinical depression.

7 years later at 32, I’ve come to the realization that I’m not clinically depressed but probably bipolar type 2. The medication didn’t help fight depression and it didn’t really work. Though Wellbutrin does many good things, it doesn’t stop my mood swings and the impulsive behavior that goes with it. It also doesn’t help with depression and anxiety. I’m still essentially without energy and can barely get through the work day, but at least I have part of the riddle solved.

Wednesday I go to the new psychiatrist and try to find out the other half.
 
About 4 years ago while I was sitting in on a lecture about autism was when I discovered some things about Asperger's that I didn't know before. I realized that my son probably had many of the traits, and I saw a lot of similarity in myself, but the traits related mostly to males. I may have been more of a tomboy in my childhood and youth, but I still have more Aspie traits that are specifically female.

Anyway, I started doing a lot of research, because I had been trying to figure out certain things about my son for ages, and I came to believe this was a clear fit. I always felt a connection with my son in many ways.

Previously, I thought his idiosyncrasies resulted from being extremely gifted, and I had read about Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities and I could relate to all of that, as I could see that in myself too. In fact, all 3 of my kids ended up being tested with gifted IQs, but my middle son was more so.

At the time I was just discovering that I was gifted, and I thought that explained away every difficulty I had with people. They just didn't understand me! Or my kids.

Amongst other moms, there was no way I could ever just be myself, and they certainly didn't want to hear about how my kids had just scored very high IQs, so I could never talk about my kids and the homeschooling we did. They didn't care about anything except how great their kids were at sports, so never mind academics or musical ability. It was so isolating.

Here was my middle son, who started reading spontaneously at age 3 (maybe sooner?) and when I told him about multiplication tables at the age of 5, he figured them out right away up to 12x15, and could relate these to the clock, calendar, etc. etc. in real life in no time at all. No one ever wanted to hear about it except his pediatrician, who also believed he was gifted and who never mentioned ASD until I brought it up in early 2014 (when my son was 12).

That was when I just knew. That was when all the anxiety and depression I experienced as a child, teen, and all along made sense. And my newest (at the time) special interest in Aspergers was what helped me to advocate for my son... sometimes I had to become "momma bear".
 
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For as long as I can remember, I was different than everyone else. I did not know how or why, just different. This is how it was for my entire life. I was married, had a family and a job. But I was always considered eccentric or odd by others. When I was 60, I saw a documentary about Asperger's Syndrome. I was amazed! It was like watching a documentary about myself. After that I started researching AS to find out all I could about it and took some online tests. It did not take long before I was convinced that I had AS. It made so much sense and explained so many unknowns about my life.

When I was 62, I decided to get a diagnosis. I got my GP to refer me to a psychiatrist who had experience with Asperger's. I made an appointment and 3 trips later I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (DSM IV 229.80). That was almost 10 years ago.

I would have to say that the diagnosis was uplifting for me. I like being a Aspie and if someone were to offer me a procedure that would cure autism, I would not hesitate to decline.
 
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ironically enough, i found out about my own condition by reading other people's posts here. i didn't tick off a lot of the boxes, but there were certain things people complained about that hit way too close to home. i started to put the pieces together, and after being misdiagnosed with a less severe condition and ADHD for the third time, i went to my pediatrician and explained what i had started to realize. she gave me a diagnosis of AS, and soon i'll be in a therapy group for high-functioning teenagers.
 
A couple of years ago I started binge-watching the TV show Parenthood on Netflix. I watched 103 episodes, six seasons, in a matter of weeks. Over the final three seasons I watched Hank Rizzoli, the character played by Ray Romano, go through his own Asperger's self-discovery process. Similarly to Hank, I started thinking, "I'm not watching a character on TV anymore. I'm watching me!" Discovering who you REALLY are after 51 years of fumbling through life is mind blowing, to say the least.
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It's amazing how we all seemed to have done some form of binge researching before going ahead with getting diagnosed or self-diagnosing. While it's a spectrum, we all seem inclined to do some of the exact same things, lol.
 
isthisreallife said:
It's amazing how we all seemed to have done some form of binge researching before going ahead with getting diagnosed or self-diagnosing. While it's a spectrum, we all seem inclined to do some of the exact same things, lol.
Click to expand...

Yep, that is what we do.
 
I too learned about it from a Temple Grandin video a friend had posted. When she described her childhood it caught my attention and realized I was like her.
 
Beguiling Orbit said:
A couple of years ago I started binge-watching the TV show Parenthood on Netflix. I watched 103 episodes, six seasons, in a matter of weeks. Over the final three seasons I watched Hank Rizzoli, the character played by Ray Romano, go through his own Asperger's self-discovery process. Similarly to Hank, I started thinking, "I'm not watching a character on TV anymore. I'm watching me!" Discovering who you REALLY are after 51 years of fumbling through life is mind blowing, to say the least.
Click to expand...

This is what got me to look into it but when I first pulled up the traditional "classic boys" list of aspergers it didn't quite fit. However an article someone shared on facebook got me to take another look into it. It covered how girls often present differently with aspergers and can be misdiagnosed. It was a light bulb moment. I did a lot more reading on it and then had my husband and parents look at a checklist to get their opinions on it. Two therapists also said they could see it but I didn't look into pursuing an official diagnosis due to tight finances.
 
At age 29 I was in therapy for the nth recurrent depressive episode and my new therapist told me she wanted to look into the cause of my depressions more thoroughly. She shen told me she really wanted to look into autism, because she had the feeling I might have Aspergers. And that feeling turned out to be correct, and I'm very grateful she followed up on that hunch.
 
I was officially diagnosed 10 yrs ago at a mental health facility. I don't remember all the circumstances and stuff leading up to this, but found out I had Asperger's. I've always known something was different with me, but knowing now what it's called has helped me some. I've had a good grip on things the last 3 yrs and understand my strengths and weaknesses now and am able to live life a little easier. Take care everyone and have a great day!
 
I was diagnosed at 8 after being sent to therapy for a comic I wrote. The school psychologist diagnosed me and my mom hid it from me for 3 years. I found out only because one of my doctors let it slip while looking at my chart when I was getting a checkup.
 
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