For those of you that were diagnosed as children/young adults, what kind of help did you get?

[Guppyfry]

When I was growing up, no one had heard of Asperger's. It wasn't until my teens and in my 20's, when I so badly wanted to fit in but felt like a complete alien on this planet, that I became aware that there was something very, very different about me. I self-diagnosed then got an official diagnosis in my late thirties, and what a relief to have answers! I feel somewhat cheated that I struggled so much with no support throughout my childhood/young adulthood.

For those of you that were diagnosed while still in school, what did support and therapy consist of? Do you feel it has helped? How?

I think if I have had a diagnosis, it would have helped me tremendously to accept and understand myself, but at the same time, I'm not sure if I would have worked as hard as I have to be "normal", to develop social skills, and to hide my AS to fit in better. I'm not sure if I would be as functional as I am now, though being functional came at the cost of major depression, major anxiety, and mental - emotional collapse. It was getting an official diagnosis that was the start of me picking up the pieces and getting my life together and moving on.

So how do you feel that getting support/help/accomodation from at an early age has helped you?

 

[toothless]

although i have a different level of autism,i didnt get that much support either with a diagnosis.
i had terrible experiences with speech therapy and it never made me verbal,my parents fought to keep me in the same mainstream primary school as my sister which was a strict catholic school,i was beaten by the teachers there with rulers and restrained very roughly by them,i was left either sat in the head masters office on the floor doing my thing or sat at a table at the back of a class with another girl who was classed as unteachable [she has borderline intellectual disability,was a kleptomaniac and a has host of mental problems now as a result from her family,i still keep in contact with her since school] we were frozen out of the rest of the class,ignored and resented.

i went to a special high school and still got expelled at 15 as they didnt understand the complex behaviors of my autism, and support from my parents? i was beaten by my dad for any behaviors or difficulties shown, his resentment and lack of care towards me caused a attachment disorder/RAD as a young child and im still dealing with it today.
i have no support from my sister,she caused a huge row on my facebook page recently when she 'hacked' my facebook and posed as me,saying 'my sister is more intelligent than me', you simply dont say that to someone who has intellectual disability, i got very upset and i was very anxious thinking i had been hacked by a cyber bully who had groomed and bullied me some years before,she didnt understand why i was upset and said you should have took it as a joke and my family and friends defended me which she didnt like.
she then got involved in a subject on my facebook,i was very angry and upset why i wasnt allowed to wear my sports bra and nappy in my own appartment,i avoid clothes because of severe sensory issues from my autism,all of my family and friends stuck up for me telling me my rights and how difficult it is for autistics to cope with but my sister just went crazy saying it was [censored] behavior from me,and i should think of how the support staff feel when they have to cope with me in that 'state', she even refused to call my nappy a nappy,she called it 'incontinence aid' showing she is one of those who believe in 'age apropriate' language and equipment,its difficult to apply age apropriate rules to us because our social age and sometimes our intelectual age is different to our physical age,lots of autistics love sensory toys meant for babies for example.
anyway,before i go off track,my sister ranted at my mates, saying she knows me more than they do which is total bull faeces,
she abused me more even though i hadnt got involved with that conversation and i decided to unfriend her as she was causing anxiety to my friends and making me feel like crap. she has mega fallen out with me because of unfriending her and being unable to carry on the argument with my friends and she isnt letting me see my nieces,and i was unable to go to one of their birthday parties.
that....is not autism support,that is a resentful,spiteful sister who hates her sister.

the only autism support ive had is since i was transfered to social services learning disability [term for intelectual disability in the UK] team,and i am supported by all of their specialists who are highly experieneced in autism, and a lot of my support staff over the years have been highly experienced.

 

[biblophile]

I was diagnosed and than put into special education in school along with others with various problems from autism, and learning disabilities, to erratic violent behavior. the teachers were over whelmed and did nothing to maintain order in the class room. We even had a security guard in the class to keep order, and a closet to lock kids in if they misbehaved. needless to say it was difficult to learn anything. the teacher would give us a packet of work to do at the beginning of the week. It was supposed to last the whole five days, but it was too easy and I would finish it in a day or two and just sit in the corner and wait for the day to end. I eventfully become fed up with it and dropped out as soon as I was able.

 

[Walsie]

Diagnosed but didn't know I was diagnosed, except 'something was wrong with me' at 12 months.

I had to do special exercises, both physical and mental, most of which I don't remember. My mother told me she had to tie me down facedown in the cot, so I'd go into the crawl position by default.

Stayed down a year, but mum insisted I go into a normal school because she cared what other people thought. She said she didn't think I was stupid (these days), but the first motive always came first.

Speech therapy a few times a year until end of Grade 6. I also took speech therepy in adulthood for ten sessions because I couldn't pronounce words with more than 3 syllables with vowels jammed together, eg :'variable'.

Mother would jab her fingers or yell at me because I didn't know how to eat, read, or do any normal physical function without being babied, since she has the patience and temperament of a bear with a headache. My father pretended I didn't exist. Henceforth, the few times we went to my father's parents' place, I was left in the cold lobby and starved while everyone else had a big delicious lunch in the warm kitchen.

Fortunately, after my mother's mum took me to her farm and was able to communicate what those squiggly black things on paper meant when I was seven, things got better.

 

[Kit]

I had an aide through middle and high school. I think it might have kept me from getting into trouble for my outbursts and my behavior in class. Instead I was moved to the resource room. In middle school I was kept in the resource room full time due to severe anxiety. But I still went to some regular classes like Spanish, art, PE.

The con part of the diagnoses is being excluded from activities by not being informed about them, having my career choices limited and and classes like driver's ed and Drama. I had to fight to take Drama.

The other help I had I was already getting before the diagnoses.