28 year with Asperger

Hello everyone,
I'am 28 year old guy. I was in a special school while a child and diagnosticied with PDD at 6, however didn't knew about it until recently.
After alot of trouble and social anxiety i got last year a diagnosis of Asperger's. However i still doubt it to this day because i don't get how they wouldn't notice during the 4 whole years that i spend in psychiatirc school that i was autistic. Also i had a bad experience with the psychologist who participated with my diag, so i'am here wondering searching for some answers on the internet.

hi GeckoMan,

welcome to the AS forum.

there's not a lot to go on here in terms of circumstances, history and symptoms. as such, i'll try to answer as best i can from a very broad perspective.

it's not remotely unusual for AS to go undiagnosed. however, in your case you had a diagnosis of PDD (pervasive development disorder) at the age of 6. there must have been symptoms at that time that prompted this diagnosis and, in particular, someone who was responsible for you to have sought some degree of medical intervention. this, from my limited perspective, is a strong indication that there was a significant issue regarding your development.

and, my guess is that, this issue has persisted in your life for you to now have a diagnosis of AS, however that came about.

it's not remotely unusual for people to be unsure about a diagnosis of AS. indeed, the range of views and reactions to diagnosis between people is enormous. part of the reason for this is the subjective nature of the diagnosis itself. the other part is, of course, the emotive aspect related to being diagnosed. there's quite simply nothing that's right or wrong here. everyone has different views and reactions.

given that i don't know exactly what's prompted you to raise this issus, my best advice is for you to talk over any concerns that you might have with whoever is medically responsible for you, be that your doctor or a specialist consultant.

you might also consider doing some form of self-diagnosis, such as on-line tests.

for me, the thing that i found most helpful was reading 'loving mr spock' by barbara jacobs. the narrative she uses was far more accessible than a list of symptoms. in a way, i was lucky to have chanced upon this book. up until then i too had my doubts, just like you.

very best wishes,

shock (the monkey).

Thanks for the answer and sorry for late reply.

The reason why i doubt my diag is that as a kid i had a too vivid imagination, always fearing monsters and other unreal dangers. The reason why i was sent to this special school was that i used to become violent and unable to be controlled, as well as problems going along with others.

I also always been very attracted to subjects such as paranormal phenomenon, metaphysical, conspiracy theories,... and sometimes feel like i have a special role in life like an important detiny to fufill. However in the other hand i have a very "skeptical" side and tends to doubt everything. So there is always an internal conflict running between my rational and magical me.
This does not look very close to the autistic "profile" we generally see.


I talked with the psychologist who was in charge when i was a kid, she is no expert with asperger's but rather only with child's psychatry in general. She agrees that at the time i was not considered autistic but rather PDD with psychotic anxieties. However the other psychologist who gave me the Asperger's diag tells me according to her it is sure that i'am autistic, but unable to explain further as to why.

Another thing that adds to the confusion is that they removed the Asperger's diag from the DSM. Actually i fit well with the traditional Asperger's profile rather than with the actual HFA one. The reason is that i had no language delay, never had problem to verbally communicate but have alot of troubles with spatial and visual capacities.

I would really be able to see clearer into all this because i'am afraid ending up with the wrong diag and getting help that is unappropriate, especially now that i'am in a time in my life facing alot of confusions and self doubts.

hi Gechoman,

i think you should bear in mind that AS is a PDD. also, i personally think that removing AS from DSM-5 was a mistake, thought it does appear that ICD-11 will be following suit.

as for the other aspects you mention, i'd be hard pressed to pin any of them to contradicting what i know of the diagnostic criteria for AS. for example, when i was very young i had a fear of a t-rex appearing outside my bedroom window and eating me. such things don't rule out AS, in my opinion. also, i'm fascinated by meta-physics. again, not a reason to rule out AS, in my opinion.

as for getting help that might be inappropriate, i doubt that even if it were that it would actually be detrimental, assuming that we're taking about therapy here. and, by and large, AS can't be medicated, unless we're considering factors like anxiety.

i'm honestly not sure if that helps at all. as i said previously ...

shock_the_monkey wrote:you might also consider doing some form of self-diagnosis, such as on-line tests.

... as this is most likely to give you a better insight into whether you do indeed have AS, should you still have doubts about the medical advice that you're being given by your psychologists.

very best wishes,

shock (the monkey).

What you're describing doesn't sound contradictory with AS at all. In fact it sounds very common. Unless you feel like she doesn't understand your issues I would take the latest diagnosis more seriously. If she's specialized she should know if there's something about you that doesn't fit into the AS/autism diagnosis. Just because the name of the diagnosis changed doesn't mean it doesn't apply still. If you're missing clarity, ask for it, write your questions down if you need to think about them first. And if she can't give it to you, find another specialist for a second opinion.