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A few months ago, my wife told me she thought I was autistic, just out of the blue. Then she pointed to my musical skills, and my love of writing and computers. Also, I don't do well making friends, in crowds, you name it.
So in November, I went through the raads-r test. I could see myself that I was in the autism spectrum, but for officialdom, I sent it off. And waited. And waited. Finally called, and they told me they'd never got my test. So I resent it and waited. And waited.
they didn't receive it again.
This time I sent it off and the receptionist got it while I was on the phone. She told me she'd hand-deliver it to their scoring person the next day and it was going to be in the next batch to be scored. The next day my phone rang. The autism spectrum starts with a score of 65. Am at 159. The person who scored it was actually surprised I could hold down a job.
I have the reason for all these problems (add being trans in there as well) but beyond the satisfaction of knowing, it gives me nothing. As with being trans, it seems to rarely be understood enough by people who don't experience the situation themselves.
Rather disheartening.
So in November, I went through the raads-r test. I could see myself that I was in the autism spectrum, but for officialdom, I sent it off. And waited. And waited. Finally called, and they told me they'd never got my test. So I resent it and waited. And waited.
they didn't receive it again.
This time I sent it off and the receptionist got it while I was on the phone. She told me she'd hand-deliver it to their scoring person the next day and it was going to be in the next batch to be scored. The next day my phone rang. The autism spectrum starts with a score of 65. Am at 159. The person who scored it was actually surprised I could hold down a job.
I have the reason for all these problems (add being trans in there as well) but beyond the satisfaction of knowing, it gives me nothing. As with being trans, it seems to rarely be understood enough by people who don't experience the situation themselves.
Rather disheartening.
Comments
I was diagnosed with Asperger
I was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome* 5 years ago, aged 48.
Two of my colleagues are also on the spectrum (although one is merely an assumption held by most of the department) and it had been talked about in the family for at least a decade; I would have been surprised if my result was negative.
Even so it hit me quite hard. My diagnosed colleague had taken a long time before getting a formal diagnosis *because* she had heard that it takes quite a while to recover from hearing the news.
However you do recover.
I've been told that the majority of the patients in the main UK gender clinic are on the autistic spectrum, so there is a significant overlap ...
*The senior clinician who diagnosed me still distinguished between AS and High Functioning Autism.
Good luck.
I'm on the borderline
knowing why you do what you do can help, if only because then you can give yourself a break for some things about yourself that frustrate you. Hugs !
When my oldest son was in elementary school.......
One of his teachers insisted that he be tested for ADD. I can’t remember what grade he was in at the time, but I do remember being very angry at the woman for it. It was may impression, which was later found to be true, that she simply was not a very good teacher and would often insist that children had ADD because she couldn’t keep their interest and had problems controlling her class.
However, before that was proven to be true, we did in fact take our son to a specialist and have him tested. The doctor’s findings were that he was borderline, but in speaking to us, he also stated that the vast majority of people tested would qualify as borderline. He then showed us the list of symptoms for people with ADD, and after reading them, I looked up at him and told him that I had quite a few of them!
Laughingly, he told me that he did as well.
Bottom line, we all have our issues, and none of us fit the mold of the perfect person.
It is that diversity that makes life interesting, and we all simply have to find our own way to cope with our problems and make our way through life.
Yes, there are those who are so far over the line that their issues make doing so extremely difficult, or even impossible for them to do so. But by remembering that we all are on the line in one way or another, we can help those others to be better. And in so doing, we become better people ourselves.
Oh, and as for my son, he is now a wonderful teacher, teaching history to junior high and high school kids, as well as a very much sought after track coach.
I guess he really did make lemonade with his life.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus