Adult diagnosis of aspergers/autism

My 24 yr old son was diagnosed last month.
It was a relief to him and us.
We can now get him the help he needs to have the best life he can. People like SS and jobcentre need the written conformation before they will help.
Be warned though all these things take a lot of time. He was on a two year NHS waiting list for diagnosis so we went private. He will have to wait 6-8 wks before he sees a mentor from SS.
He's only worked for 6 mths since leaving school so jobcentre have appointed him a job coach who will endeavour to find an employer willing to take him.

Hi mollie the best (only) way to search this site is via Google:

www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=asperger%27s%20on%20gransnet

Hi, I run 2 groups for late diagnosed adults with AS. PM me if you'd like to.

Thank you all and will pmJane. Good luck to your son Ninananna

My OH ought to go. He ticks most of the behavioural traits but I don't think he would do anything about it.
In his thought processes, it is everyone else's problem and if it was suggested to him, he would not go because he had not thought about doing so and that someone else had suggested it.

That to him means he then feels pressured and cannot cope with having been asked.

My dh knows he has AS. His GP gave him the brush-off when he asked to be referred for diagnosis. This is, apparently, standard practice for GPs.

Do you mind if I PM you, Jane, please?

The National Autism Society website will tell you that your OH has a legal right to be referred and explains procedure, Alchemillamollis, although I wonder if many GPs might think it a pointless exercise for older people when there is no treatment or employment/benefit need. I gather it can take about 2 years via the NHS to get through the waiting list and appointments etc., and a lot of money if you go private.

Apologies to Ninathenana for getting your name wrong earlier!

My DGS1 had his diagnosis age 5. My DH is 64 and has all the AS traits that my GS has. From the stories he tells of his behaviour as a child it is obvious to all of us that the has Asperger's. He has never been assessed, and will not bother now. I looked after a gentleman with AS who had developed early onset dementia, my word, he was fun!

hilda
My friends brother has recently been diagnosed with autism and is being assessed for dementia.
His sister and I suspected dementia, we were a little surprised by the autism.
I agree at your DH's age there is no benefit. At 24 we are hoping DS can be helped to find work and actually "have a life" at the moment the only time he leaves the house is to sign on

Alchemilla feel free! Diagnosis can be an enormous relief. Depending where the person lives there is most certainly help and support. There are implications around employment and organisations to help if required. Again in some areas there are support groups for families of adults with AS including for partners.

The posts about early-onset dementia and Asperger Syndrome are interesting. One of the reasons that I feel our GP surgery should be helping dh get an Aspergers diagnosis is that they would definitely, IMO, diagnose him with early-onset dementia if they didn't factor in Aspergers. That's if they bothered to investigate, which they won't. I'm assuming that they'll wait for some catastrophe and then say there's something wrong with his brain. Clearly there is.

I will PM you, Jane10 - thanks.

Does being AS or having autism make dementia more likely? I'd not connected the two until recently and now it's mentioned here I'd like to know more.

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't have thought that the risk is any greater for ASD's than the rest of the population for developing dementia. We are all individuals, and lead very different lifestyles. Dementia affects all kinds of people. For example, I have nursed doctors, nurses, vicars, and all sorts of people with dementia.

I'm no expert, but some aspects of Aspergers are similar to dementia, eg not being able to remember names, faces; not being able to "find" something which is right there in front of you; not being able to remember what has been said to you ("short term memory"??). My point is that medics would need to distinguish between Aspergers and dementia. My dh is quite likely to leave doors unlocked, forget to take things, not notice a spill on the kitchen floor etc.

HildajenniJ, people from any of those professions - doctors, nurses, vicars etc - can also have Aspergers.

Huge variation between people with AS. Their other genetic inheritance, life experience, cognitive ability etc all contribute to this difference.
I would be happy if I thought that differential diagnosis of AS vs dementia could be reliably done. There is pretty widespread ignorance among HCPs despite training being available. Its a worry.
Those of you worried about family members try to find out as much as poss about their earliest development ie have they always been like this of have they changed in any way.

Jane10 - are there any sources that you could recommend (books or websites perhaps) about AS and autism and perhaps dementia too?

I suppose you'll have checked out www.nas.org.uk ? They have a lot of info and also a book section. Most books are re children. Very frustrating. It has only recently occurred to people that all these children grow up and still have asd!
Can't comment re dementia.

The Alzheimers Society web site is very informative it covers all types of dementia and has a brilliant forum called Talking Point for discussion and support.

One of my grandsons was diagnosed as on the ASD when he was about 7. His dad told me that whilst he wasn't surprised by his son's diagnosis he was because the behaviours the psychiatrist set out as leading to the diagnosis made sil realise both he and his own father are undiagnosed but on the spectrum.
One of my friends who has taught for over 30 years believes we are now over diagnosing. I don't agree I suspect we're at the tip of the ice berg stage in relation to many similar conditions.

Iam64 - you make a good point. For most of us AS and Austism was unheard of until fairly recently and now it seems - to me - that so many people (me included) can identify with some of the traits. In fear of sticking my head over the parapet and being shot down, I am wondering if many otherwise highly functioning people are claiming to be AS as a shorthand explanation when there might be other answers. And if it is only the tip of the iceberg why is that? Are we, perhaps, looking so closely at human behaviour and placing it all in various categories that we are now pointing to some traits and saying 'these are a problem' the way left handed people were once thought of as abnormal?

I hadn't realised that girls/women present with AS differently from men and often go undiagnosed as a consequence. That has been an eye-opener and ought to be more widely talked about. As an introvert in a world that loves extraverts I already struggle to feel OK about myself. In the eyes of many 'introverts' are just shy but that really isn't the case. It's more complicated than that. Now I realise some of my ways tick AS boxes and it's been comforting for me to realise there are other people who share my 'oddness'.

mollie. I'm wondering if many high functioning people are claiming to be AS as a shorthand explanation when there might be other answers
No criticism intended but I would like to know what you think those 'other answers' might be. Why would someone feel the need to claim to be on the spectrum if they didn't genuinely think they are or had indeed been professionally diagnosed. Without an official diagnosis there is no benefit that I can see to saying so.

That's a good question and I suppose there might be any number of answers. Some people do like to jump on bandwagons. I can think of two examples - and here I'm playing Devil's advocate only to answer the question, not because I think it's OK - I've read recently that many female Aspies suffer mood swings that could be (and the writer said it happened) mis-diagnosed as bi-polar. Perhaps (me being devil's advocate) someone would rather be thought of as an Aspie rather than bi-polar so would make that claim for themselves rather than exploring the bi-polar route.

Another example, is an older male relative who has always seemed very nice and easy going as far as I'm concerned (we only meet a couple of times a year) and yet his family are certain he has AS because he can be a bit difficult at times. I don't know if he is or isn't. Sadly, even if he is diagnosed as being AS the wider family will be unimpressed and simply expect him to 'pull himself together and behave' - no sympathy for him!

And please, this is just ideas not my firm and fixed viewpoint. I'm happy to be told why I'm wrong (as long as it's politely )

Sorry to be pedantic but it's wrong to say "being AS" and "female Aspies" they are deemed to be on the Autistic Spectrum, it doesn't make sense to say "being Autistic Spectrum" and what is a female Asperger? Aspergers is part of the spectrum not a noun.

AS - aspergers syndrome. And yes, females on the autistic spectrum often present differently which is why females are less likely to be diagnosed with aspergers than males. My information comes from Sarah Hendrickx and Cynthia Kim, both have aspergers who work and write in the field.