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  #31  
Old 20th October 2018, 23:09
Mr. Spaceman Mr. Spaceman is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Woozle
Were the assessors understanding about that sort of thing?

.
The assessment took place at the Maudsley Hospital in south London, which is one of the major mental health places in the UK so I'm fairly confident of them being understanding. The women doing the assessment were quite pleasant. The one asking the questions had a permanent smile on her face but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and say that is just her nature rather than she was laughing at me

As for being blacklisted, if you cancel your appointment (my surgery says to give them 24 hours notice), then it shouldn't be a problem. It's when you simply don't turn up for an appointment that they get mad, and even then you have to do it regularly for them to kick you off the practice list.
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  #32  
Old 25th October 2018, 20:20
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Did anyone else worry about a forthcoming ASD assessment ?

Or is it just me being a chronic worry wort? I'm more certain I'm neurodiverse than I am I'm on the spectrum. Things like dyspraxia and NVLD make as much , or more, sense.

My fear is that not being found to be on the spectrum would shut down other avenues re being neurodiverse.
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  #33  
Old 27th October 2018, 18:11
Copernicium Copernicium is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Spaceman
The story I came up with was there was a man eating an ice cream, and a bird swooped down and stole it, then the man drove home and sat on his cube shaped sofa.

I've already had enquiries from a couple of major publishing houses.
That sounds a pretty good effort to me. Not easy to think creatively under pressure.

I'm not on the spectrum, as far as I know, so I probably shouldn't be commenting on the assessment questions, but I have to admit that the temptation to tease them with the most disturbing sexual story I could think of involving ice cream and feathers and cars would have crossed my mind - just to see if they started scribbling notes furiously. It might have wiped the smile off that lady's face if you you got all enthusiastic about what the hero of your story likes to with ice cream and feathers in the back of his car with sexual partners and then go into all sorts of worryingly lurid details about his adventures.

But I suppose if anyone were to do that they might end up being referred for quite a different sort of assessment.
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  #34  
Old 29th October 2018, 20:01
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

My worry is remembering details of my childhood if asked. My autobiographical memory is poor. And as you say -talking to strangers.

I'm 90% certain I'm neurodiverse but only 35-50% certain I'm on the spectrum(it fluctuates).
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  #35  
Old 5th November 2018, 11:07
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Date for autism assessment has been made . February 2019. Apprehension /expectations levels are through the roof . Ideally they would like to speak to someone has known me from birth/infancy. That is tricky. Father is 88,lives in the States and has a patchy memory for my early years . My mother is dead. I have a brother and sister who live in London. I'm doubtful they'd come to Wiltshire to be with me at the assessments. There are no Aunts and Uncles to come to an assessment.
Best I can really do is my stepdaughter who has only known me since I was 25 .

They say they'll go by medical/social care reports if not , but I'm wondering if written info from my brother and sister will suffice.
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  #36  
Old 5th November 2018, 22:01
choirgirl choirgirl is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Would your siblings be able to help you though? Is there a big enough age gap? I suppose whatever info you can muster up is helpful.
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  #37  
Old 5th November 2018, 22:52
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by choirgirl
Would your siblings be able to help you though? Is there a big enough age gap? I suppose whatever info you can muster up is helpful.

Have emailed them. My brother has said he's not sure what to say. I've sent him a few links to give him some ideas. My sister has said she'll try and come to the assessment work permitting.

They are 2 and 3 years younger than me .
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  #38  
Old 7th November 2018, 06:53
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^ Thanks. Nervous as can be . Have heard conflicting stories about the assessment process ranging from it was a gruelling experience to it being a walk in the park.

Big fear is if they don't say ASD other areas to obvious neurodiversity won't be mentioned. I already know they don't cover NVLD which is what I believe I fit better than ASD.

It's the fear of not getting official confirmation of the way you are and still being left in the dark.
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  #39  
Old 11th November 2018, 13:53
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Well got email back from my dad. According to him-

Quote:
There seem to be few if any characteristics of you as a child up to age 8 on which could provide evidence that would be supportive of a diagnosis of autism
I don’t know whether this is because there are no signs or a case of a parent not wanting to accept a child of their’s may be on the spectrum. It certainly contrasts with my sister scoring me 165 on the RAADS-R at aspie tests. Cut off for ASD is 65.

He added that he’d always seen me as being at the high potential end of any scale. As I have mentioned probable learning difficulties before on Facebook I get the impression he may be in denial.
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  #40  
Old 14th November 2018, 11:07
Dougella Dougella is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^^ Perhaps your father's idea of signs of autism are more on the severe end of the scale, like speech delays or signs of a low IQ. In his generation the diagnosis of Asperger's didn't exist so people saw autism in a certain way rather than the way we now know it can present?
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  #41  
Old 24th November 2018, 10:37
choirgirl choirgirl is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Tony Attwood on YouTube, some good stuff:

Aspergers in Girls:

https://youtu.be/wfOHnt4PMFo

Dealing with Anxiety Issues:

.https://youtu.be/TLoHfU-WEUw

Could it be Aspergers?

https://youtu.be/LuZFThlOiJI
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  #42  
Old 24th November 2018, 16:37
Mo34 Mo34 is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^
I've only watched the first one so far, but really enjoyed it. I identified with a great deal of it as it goes...
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  #43  
Old 24th November 2018, 22:11
Mr. Spaceman Mr. Spaceman is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

I had my final assessment last week and have been given an autism diagnosis, she said she will be sending me and my GP the full report within the next 2 weeks. She also told me that the term Aspergers is no longer used as a diagnosis, you are just considered to have an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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  #44  
Old 25th November 2018, 10:29
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

I thought this was good,including the stuff about people who know(or suspect)of someone who is on the spectrum.



https://aspergers101.com/social-tips...ith-aspergers/
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  #45  
Old 1st December 2018, 14:15
Mo34 Mo34 is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Out of interest if you had an ASD assessment but it turned out you didn't have ASD but something else do they diagnoses the something else? Or even if they thought you had ASD but also something else as well would they put this down in a diagnosis?

For instances say you thought it was ASD but it turned out to be AvPD or Schizophrenia or ADHD or I dunno, whatever, would they give you a formal diagnosis of these things instead of or as well as the ASD?
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  #46  
Old 1st December 2018, 17:17
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

@Mo34. Good question I really don't know. I did find this but not sure it applies to adults being assessed.

Quote:
How is autism diagnosed?

There is not a 'gold-standard' test for autism. Usually diagnosis involves:

A psychiatric assessment to rule in or out other diagnoses

https://www.priorygroup.com/blog/aut...arly-diagnosis



This was interesting(link posted previously
by someone on National autistic society forums)



Quote:
Finally, during the study a new diagnostic interview will be developed and piloted for use to identify ASCs in adults in situations when there is little or no early developmental history available.

https://research.ncl.ac.uk/neurodisa...orascinadults/
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  #47  
Old 1st December 2018, 21:16
Mo34 Mo34 is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^ Thanks for that
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  #48  
Old 3rd December 2018, 02:47
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Who here has early memories of playing or not playing with other children? All I can think is from 8 onwards I was very much a loner and into solitary activities. I have no recollection of playing with other children before that age . Is that something you could just forget ?
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  #49  
Old 3rd December 2018, 17:58
Dougella Dougella is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

I have to think quite hard to remember being that young, I can remember bits of when I first went to school. Do you remember being at school with other children, or in the playground?
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  #50  
Old 3rd December 2018, 19:12
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

I have very vague memories of queueing up for a choice of flavoured milk during breaktime at my first school. Also of lining up by class in the school yard. I can't remember playing with the other children though.
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  #51  
Old 11th January 2019, 14:55
Dougella Dougella is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread


An interesting conversation about social anxiety in autistic girls and women.
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  #52  
Old 11th January 2019, 15:46
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^ They both come over as much more functional than I would seem to be in terms in being confident enough to do something such as a youtube channel. I couldn't do that in a hundred or more years. For starters I would say they are both very high functioning. Of course I accept that how they come over on a a Youtube channel might not reflect how they are in other domains.

All in all they come over as much more normal than me.
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  #53  
Old 11th January 2019, 16:09
Dougella Dougella is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^ I wonder if the fact that they both have years of practice of being on YouTube might make a difference to how confident they appear. Also they can cut out any parts afterwards where they didn't know what to say, or made a mistake or whatever but we don't get to see any of that. I have to be honest though I don't think I could do it either!
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  #54  
Old 12th January 2019, 07:25
gregarious_introvert gregarious_introvert is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^^I found this mirrored my own experiences quite well; having dated someone with an autistic daughter, I knew already about masking and mimicry, which is one of the major differences between male and female on the spectrum.

One of the things I have learned in recent times, as I've been trying to overcome my autism, is being able to read non-verbal communication better; in the video, Charlotte's body language is much more open than Dan's - he has his arms folded and is hunched forward throughout the video and frequently covers his mouth with his right hand when not talking, whereas there is only a short section when Charlotte's body language becomes noticeably defensive. They both make eye contact with the camera (again, Charlotte more so than Dan, who sometimes looks down at the desk) but not with each other - they look towards each other, but not at the same time).

In terms of confidence, Dan doesn't come across as confident at all, whereas Charlotte, probably because of the masking, does appear a little more confident. From my own personal experience, despite not being comfortable having my photograph taken (as is evident in every photograph of me in existence), I'm less inhibited with video (those of you who remember some of my early posts, which no longer exist, may recall that I've appeared on television in the past), so I can understand that they feel able to make a YouTube video.

@firemonkey, I didn't see your posts from early December until now, but I have memories of childhood and school. I never played with other children at any time (if I had wanted to, I didn't have the opportunity because the bullying started on my first day at school). I spent my break times looking for somewhere to hide or trying to stay in the classroom until discovered by a teacher and made to go outside, where I knew that I would be bullied. I was probably a loner before school started, but became even more isolated and subsequently more of a loner once school started (1966).
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  #55  
Old 12th January 2019, 08:02
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

There's this interesting article from 2007 titled "Playground Politics: Lack Of Athletic Skill Often Means Loneliness And Peer Rejection" https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1019085951.htm . I was a child who was bad at sports. I got included in leisure time games at boarding school if there was no one else around to make up the numbers . I think this ineptitude at sports often goes with people with autism/autistic traits and/or dyspraxia. Being excluded is essentially a form of peer rejection.


The prowess of sports= better human being angle was further emphasised at my public school with the giving of special school ties if you were in a school sports team.

I had minor teasing at prep school but when I got to public school I was rapidly marked out by my peers as an 'odd one' and treated accordingly. I had no friends there. I had had one person I saw as a friend at prep school. However on hindsight I think that was wishful thinking. He was just someone I got on a little better with.

The only time we saw each each other out of school was just before I went to public school. We never saw each other after that.
Decades later I found him on Twitter. He had developed into someone with an avid liking for women who post 'sexy' photos of themselves and spam twitter with such stuff. He blocked me from his Twitter account. So much for any idea that we were close friends in the past.
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  #56  
Old 12th February 2019, 17:57
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Assessment tomorrow. These are the points my sister has offered.


1) From age of 4 I became more quiet and withdrawn. She was told this by our parents. 2) I didn’t seem able to engage in imaginary play and found it difficult to truly play as she and my brother did 3) I was much happier doing my own thing 4) I was physically awkward and quite clumsy 5) I

could be quite obsessive over certain things- like collecting baseball/ football cards even though I had no interest in playing the sport. 6) I had a difficult time reading the emotions ,feelings or reactions outside of those in the family. 7) I had no close friends in childhood and teenage years 8)I preferred to spend much of my time alone 9)As I grew to my teenage years I became more socially awkward and reclusive 10)When younger was quite obsessed with facts and figures 11)I was very insistent on always being right 12)When in a bad phase I had difficulty thinking of others and struggled with empathy 13) I was prone to serious rages 14)When I met my wife in hospital I stabilised more and more . 15)My wife ran the household something I’ve struggled to do without strong outside support 16)I was much calmer by this time but could not function without my wife organising my life 17) I suffer from extreme social anxiety 18)I have compassion and kindness but struggle with empathy at times. 19) I find it very difficult to multi task 20)

I remain academically smart but increasingly less socially able 21) I’m very intelligent.

Much of what she said is I believe accurate but the bit about serious rages is somewhat revisionist. She says I got quite physical with my brother. If so it’s not something my brother has ever brought up in conversation and we have a good if physically distant relationship ie regularly email each other. I could get quite verbally heated but the only physical incidence I can recall is when my mother accused me of probably getting a girl I saw pregnant and that we’d have funny babies. This was 6 or so years before I even had sex. Some very heated words were exchanged and I remember my sister hitting me. I remember I pressed for an apology from my mother which never came. I was certainly very angry at the remarks she’d made.
My brother has also said she is quite revisionist about things. It is quite true that I tend to raise my voice when angry and being quite tall and well built can come over as more intimidating than I really am .
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  #57  
Old 12th February 2019, 19:36
Dougella Dougella is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^ It sounds like the background your sister has given could be very useful for the assessment. I think you're right in saying that when a male is tall and quite well built when they get angry it can seem a lot more intimidating to other people than they mean to be.

Hope tomorrow goes well
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  #58  
Old 12th February 2019, 20:51
Dougella Dougella is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

^ That's ok, I thought it was really interesting and I could relate to a lot of it too.
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  #59  
Old 13th February 2019, 07:03
Consolida Consolida is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Wishing you the best of luck with your assessment today Firemonkey
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  #60  
Old 13th February 2019, 07:17
firemonkey firemonkey is offline
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Default Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread

Went to bed early last night so as not to wake up late. I have this tendency to go into brain fart mode under pressure/stress. I***8217;m not sure whether that***8217;s a good thing in this situation.
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