Recently diagnosed with AS and trying to understand it

.Welcome to our planet, FemmeAspie! I also just got diagnosed last year at age 43, also because of my kid, although he's 10 now. He has ADHD and possibly AS. Oh and I've had that same "other planet" discussion with my husband too

Yes parents are often diagnosed when one child is diagnosed. I am so grateful that my son's pediatrician pushed us to get him tested, I had refused to believe he was different. He has started socialization courses for one year, that should help him a lot interacting with his peers.

How long have you been maried? Here we have been together for 10 years, and it's not always easy to live with an Aspie . We are actually seeing a psychologist tomorrow who specializes in Aspies, first visit... We'll see if that helps.

FemmeAspie wrote:Yes parents are often diagnosed when one child is diagnosed. I am so grateful that my son's pediatrician pushed us to get him tested, I had refused to believe he was different.

Yup. Mine actually came about because my son's teachers suspected ADHD. His 1st grade teacher mentioned it but I blew it off. When he was in 4th grade it came up again, and I took it more seriously, and started googling about it. That's when I came upon a list of symptoms for Adult ADHD and my jaw dropped to the floor, it described me to a T! So I joined an ADHD forum, and that's where I saw people discussing aspergers and they mentioned some symptoms that I have. At first I balked and said "but I'm not autistic!" then I googled it just to see, and sure enough I could not deny what I saw.

So, since then I've been officially diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive) and AS. My son has been diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive), he was not dx'd AS but the psychologist said that she can see signs of it, but the ADHD is so prominent that it overshadows the AS so we're not even worried about that with him right now. In any case, I'm there to interpret the world for him

FemmeAspie wrote:How long have you been maried? Here we have been together for 10 years, and it's not always easy to live with an Aspie . We are actually seeing a psychologist tomorrow who specializes in Aspies, first visit... We'll see if that helps.

This is actually my 2nd marriage. I was married the first time to (my kids' father) for 16 years, and now I've been married for 3 years. My husband has been a lot more patient and understanding with me since my diagnosis, he already knew WHO I am, but now he knows WHY!
I haven't seen a psychologist for it yet, but I'd like to. Just myself though.

My husband says he understands I am different but all he sees is that because I am supersensitive to noises, it's a hassle for him when he is in the house as I need silence to work.

Well the 1st psychologist was a wasted visit. Seeing a 2nd one Friday, this one will come to my place to discuss my noise sensitivity.

try to understand yourself B4 you stare yourself blind at a diagnosis
we tend to think in extremes
and/or become a self fulfilling prophecy
it's hard to be objective
try to get someone who knows you well to help you (and you trust)
doesn't have to be a therapist
ther's a chanse that someone who knows you your entire life knows you better than a therapist ever would

Eclectic_Aspie wrote:Hi all,

I've recently been diagnosed with AS at 35 years old and am conducting research in order to understand the condition, and how it affects things.

As part of my previous research, I've read all the usual texts and sources, but now reading deeper into the neurological aspects of the differences in brain makeup compared to NTs.

It certainly is an interesting line of inquiry, but I'm only just scratching the surface, so there's still much more to learn.

One of the first neurological things I've learned is that people with AS have sensorimotor gating difficulties, i.e. we can't filter out only the most important information, as NTs do, leaving us often overwhelmed with information, and subsequently exhausted.

A lower amount of 'grey matter' in the brain compared to NTs is my next point of research, and one which I'm currently investigating.

I think that by understanding the neurological aspects more, it will help me cope with the debilitating and frustrating symptoms that I'm suffering from.

If anyone would like to contribute to this discussion, then please feel free to do so.

Thanks and all the best

I got my diagnosis at age 32 so we're not far off.

An inability to filter out the most important information? Most people would think I have that problem, but I see it as "EVERYTHING is important!!!". It's been speculated that Mozart had Asperger's, and when he was once criticized for his music having "too many notes", his response was that he only put in as many notes as it needed.

Lower amount of gray matter? I'd have figured that Aspies have larger brains. Who knows. It's always been difficult for me to find hats that fit, and I'm not especially overweight. I've always joked that it's because my brain is so big that I needed an unusually large skull to house it.