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I'm pretty sure I have Aspergers.

H

Helen Madden

New Member
Hi, my name is Helen and I am 35 years old. My daughter was diagnosed with ASD in February this year. It has been a long process to gain a diagnosis for her, during this long process of discovery for her I have discovered that I too Could be on the spectrum. All of the troubles and struggles I have had in my life finally make sense. I find that I am wearing a mask, I pretend to be someone I am not a majority of the time and quite honestly I find life exhausting. I've dealt with bullying, OCD, depression, eating disorders and never feeling like I ever belonged and I always felt wrong. I also struggle to get my act together most of the time. I can get some areas of my life sorted but that means other areas start to decline and I certainly can't maintain things. I really think i would benefit from a diagnosis, if I could get some support then maybe I will be able to support my daughter better. How do I go about getting help? What kind of support is there for adults? I see a lot out there for children but not a great deal for adults!!

Thanks so much for reading
Helen
 
Welcome, Helen.

It is quite common for a parent to discover they may on the spectrum after their child is diagnosed. There is, after all, a strong hereditary link.

It is also true that most autism resources seem to be geared toward children. Finding help as a newly diagnosed adult can be more complicated.

The availability of resources differs from place to place, but the first step is getting a diagnosis. I would ask your daughters psychiatrist if she could refer you to somebody who is qualified to diagnose Asperger's in adults. The psychiatrist will likely ask you a lot of questions about your childhood development, so if you can get your hands on your old report cards and childhood assessments that will help.

You might also try searching for support groups and programs online via google, facebook, and other social media. I would type in you general geographic area pus "aspergers" or "autism" and "adult". That should at least provide you with some leads of such resources exist in your area.
 
I'm 35 and pretty sure I'm high functioning. I read about female traits a week ago and it read like my autobiography. I too jumped on here to get more info. I cannot find much for adults on the spectrum in my area or anything tailored for women. Very frustrating. I did find my local library held a few decent books and there are a few psych in my area who specialise is aspergers but mainly children although they suggest they can assist adults. A GP should be able to refer you to someone who knows AS that you can talk to... I'm hoping mine will on monday. Good luck.
 
Welcome :)

I was diagnosed last year at 30. Adult services vary wildly from country to country, and from what I can gather if you are in the US, from state to state. Overall, the majority of services are geared towards children but some areas have better help for adults than others.
 
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The help you can get varies widely depending on your country and area. The first port of call would be your general practitioner I would think. At least that's how it works in my country. You can also reach out to local or national charities, they can point you in the right direction and help you advocate for yourself with skeptical professionals.

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hi @Helen Madden are you in the UK?
ive got some ideas for you if so,im not well up on US autism assessment knowledge though unfortunately.

Lady Penelope said:
I'm 35 and pretty sure I'm high functioning. I read about female traits a week ago and it read like my autobiography. I too jumped on here to get more info. I cannot find much for adults on the spectrum in my area or anything tailored for women. Very frustrating. I did find my local library held a few decent books and there are a few psych in my area who specialise is aspergers but mainly children although they suggest they can assist adults. A GP should be able to refer you to someone who knows AS that you can talk to... I'm hoping mine will on monday. Good luck.
Click to expand...
high functioning and low functioning in terms of autism basically refers to intellectual capacity and how it makes the autism present.
people with high functioning autism have to have an IQ above 70,and those of us with low functioning autism are below 70.
 
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for your responses and your welcomes!! For those who are asking, I am in Australia. I reckon I will make my first point of call the GP and go from there. Hopefully he can point me in the right direction!!

Cheers everyone
 
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