How/when were you diagnosed?

What is it like for you to have a diagnosis?

PM me if you would rather talk privately.

Cathy

Cathy, Have you looked at WrongPlanet and OASIS@MAAP websites yet? They have lots of info for adult Aspies. Nan

Yes, I have. I was hoping to find somebody here. Thank you for the resources, though!

I've seen a few adults with AS here recently, and wondered if you'd like to have a place where we couuld chat

I think that's a great idea, I suspect many parents of gifted/highly gifted/profoundly gifted kids may be somewhere on the spectrum and not even know it.

It sounds like most adults only find out they have it when their kids (usually boys) are diagnosed. We totally discounted the possibility for a long time because we didn't realize that the symptoms in girls can be so different from what you read in the mass media and their obsessions tend to be seen as typical or normal gifted behaviors (reading, animals etc). Fascinating stuff

Have you read Tony Attwood's book, The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome? I think it's pretty good. I was a little concerned to read about the experiences of kids whose *parents* have AS. It makes me question my ability to be a good parent.

Not yet, I'll see if they have it at the library. I am now reading "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults" very interesting (and scary).

On parenting: With what I know now, part of me thinks its a miracle that my parents did as well as they did with us (although we did go to boarding school). Looking back though, my mom intuitively did everything for us that she would have wanted for herself. Even though I grew up thinking she was a bit immature and sometimes downright loony, she really created an environment that we were able to thrive in without the control and conformity issues that seem to be a source of major problems for many. I always knew I had unconditional love and never felt I had to prove anything to anyone to earn that. YAY Mom! My dad, although brilliant, always seemed like a child to me, people were always taking advantage of him and I felt very protective in social situations, now I get why he was that way. He was great at his job though, so between the two of them it worked out alright.