Hello Peeps Have I been misdiagnosed

[Daniel Dutton]

I'm the same way. Just let me focus on my work and leave me alone.

Hiya. Are you working at the moment then? If so, do you get a lot of grief in work or do people just let you get on with it? Have you told anyone at work about Asperger's. What kind of reception did you get if you did? Yeah I love programming. Could do it all day long. Actually finds it relaxes me nicely. I'v only about a year and a half experience wise doing it commercially though, and firms are wary to give you home work I have found. Here they expect you to come into the office for a good while, get established and familiar with the systems and then they will consider letting you work from home. It's so frustrating because my C.V is out there and I get offered interviews at good firms left right and centre but at the moment I just wont go for them until I'm sorted, if I ever will be.

 

[rollerskate]

Hiya. Are you working at the moment then? If so, do you get a lot of grief in work or do people just let you get on with it? Have you told anyone at work about Asperger's. What kind of reception did you get if you did? Yeah I love programming. Could do it all day long. Actually finds it relaxes me nicely. I'v only about a year and a half experience wise doing it commercially though, and firms are wary to give you home work I have found. Here they expect you to come into the office for a good while, get established and familiar with the systems and then they will consider letting you work from home. It's so frustrating because my C.V is out there and I get offered interviews at good firms left right and centre but at the moment I just wont go for them until I'm sorted, if I ever will be.

Not at the moment but I'm about to have a baby. Normally I work from home. I still have to deal with people face to face at times but at least I get to do my real work in peace. There are independent short term contracts you could do for companies that don't need a full time programmer. Might take some time to get a good client base and income established but the beautiful thing about it is you could get a start on that at home while keeping the desk job. It may even serve as a good escape for you to unwind from the people at work.

 

[Daniel Dutton]

Not at the moment but I'm about to have a baby. Normally I work from home. I still have to deal with people face to face at times but at least I get to do my real work in peace. There are independent short term contracts you could do for companies that don't need a full time programmer. Might take some time to get a good client base and income established but the beautiful thing about it is you could get a start on that at home while keeping the desk job. It may even serve as a good escape for you to unwind from the people at work.

Well congrats on the baby . I will get there. I make the most of my time working on an online portfolio so I'm always learning and have something to show for my time off. The response from potential employers has been good so fingers crossed I will sort something decent out soon. Just need to find the right work environment and things will be good I hope.

 

[rollerskate]

Well congrats on the baby . I will get there. I make the most of my time working on an online portfolio so I'm always learning and have something to show for my time off. The response from potential employers has been good so fingers crossed I will sort something decent out soon. Just need to find the right work environment and things will be good I hope.

That portfolio will come in handy for independent online work too if you decide to go that route. Good luck to you!

 

[Daniel Dutton]

I did not know the UK had free health care. I see I also am bored with life in a way and just do not enjoy it as I think I am supposed to. It could be the start of depression. I had a rough childhood so I always had these anxiety and depression issues.

Yeah we all pay something called National Insurance when we work and that pays for the nations healthcare. Doesn't matter if you have never contributed though. Everyone can access it if needed. They sometimes get a bad press but I think they are under-appreciated. A lot of people just take them for granted.

Well from what you describe, it sounds like there is no doubt at all that you have Asperger's. It must have been good to know when you finally received a diagnosis and got a name to go with the problem. I often wonder though if it might be over-diagnosed. I wonder how many shy and slightly akward people out there actually get given the label when they are actually just like that. Part of their personality etc.

I'm not sure I have any obsessions as such, just a very inquisitive mind. If I read an article I take to, I might pick out a few interesting points and then go on to research them further. From A BBC news article once, I went from reading about North Korea, to researching Communism, then oppressive regimes, which in turn led me to look at Nazi-ism and finally Hitler. It didn't go down to well in work when my boss saw my browsing history and I worked with a lot of ethic minorities. I think word got round I was a secret Nazi. I'm not racist at all though just inquisitive. I like to know how the world works and have a soft spot for history. I didn't last long in that job. Noooot good.

If I did things like tip-toe around, eat dried pasta and flap my hands (nothing wrong with that) then I would hold my hands up and come out of denial mode. I think my issues are a bit more subtle which is making it very hard for me to accept what my specialist says. Do your fellow workers know you have Asperger's. If so, how are you treated? Do you socialise with them?

 

[Daniel Dutton]

That portfolio will come in handy for independent online work too if you decide to go that route. Good luck to you!

Thank you very much rollerskate. Good luck to you too

 

[rollerskate]

Yeah we all pay something called National Insurance when we work and that pays for the nations healthcare. Doesn't matter if you have never contributed though. Everyone can access it if needed. They sometimes get a bad press but I think they are under-appreciated. A lot of people just take them for granted.

Well from what you describe, it sounds like there is no doubt at all that you have Asperger's. It must have been good to know when you finally received a diagnosis and got a name to go with the problem. I often wonder though if it might be over-diagnosed. I wonder how many shy and slightly akward people out there actually get given the label when they are actually just like that. Part of their personality etc.

I'm not sure I have any obsessions as such, just a very inquisitive mind. If I read an article I take to, I might pick out a few interesting points and then go on to research them further. From A BBC news article once, I went from reading about North Korea, to researching Communism, then oppressive regimes, which in turn led me to look at Nazi-ism and finally Hitler. It didn't go down to well in work when my boss saw my browsing history and I worked with a lot of ethic minorities. I think word got round I was a secret Nazi. I'm not racist at all though just inquisitive. I like to know how the world works and have a soft spot for history. I didn't last long in that job. Noooot good.

If I did things like tip-toe around, eat dried pasta and flap my hands (nothing wrong with that) then I would hold my hands up and come out of denial mode. I think my issues are a bit more subtle which is making it very hard for me to accept what my specialist says. Do your fellow workers know you have Asperger's. If so, how are you treated? Do you socialise with them?

LOL, that is so like me too with the research. I can start reading one thing and then hop from topic to topic to topic until an NT would wonder how I ever managed to get from point a to point b even though to me they seem logically connected to each other. I had to be really careful studying in college because of this... One chapter could turn into an all night Google thon. I'd be an expert on that one chapter by the next day but still have five more to finish over the next two days before an assignment was due so all that knowledge was really useless, LOL. I don't really like to leave any stones unturned on a subject. ;-)

Um I don't really look at it as a disease you necessarily need treatment for as an adult. It's completely up to you. The kind of treatment they do that I know about is stuff like teaching social skills, counseling with the possibility of medication for related mental health issues, school accommodations, speech therapy, etc. To my knowledge most of it is more for helping to ease the learning process with adaptation for kids, us adults have picked up most of those skills already the hard way.

 

[Daniel Dutton]

LOL, that is so like me too with the research. I can start reading one thing and then hop from topic to topic to topic until an NT would wonder how I ever managed to get from point a to point b even though to me they seem logically connected to each other. I had to be really careful studying in college because of this... One chapter could turn into an all night Google thon. I'd be an expert on that one chapter by the next day but still have five more to finish over the next two days before an assignment was due so all that knowledge was really useless, LOL. I don't really like to leave any stones unturned on a subject. ;-)

Yup. Absolutely crazy isn't it. If your told to learn about one thing, you just keep drilling further and further down to see how the little pieces make the whole part work. I quite like it. I enjoy learning but it can take over everything sometimes. It served me well at Uni though.

I'm not sure what they can do with me treatment wise. I think they have plans to send me for some high intensity Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Try and re-wire the brain and all that. I wonder if it's any good? I might be a socialite in a few months ha ha. Out every night and all that.

 

[rollerskate]

Yup. Absolutely crazy isn't it. If your told to learn about one thing, you just keep drilling further and further down to see how the little pieces make the whole part work. I quite like it. I enjoy learning but it can take over everything sometimes. It served me well at Uni though.

I'm not sure what they can do with me treatment wise. I think they have plans to send me for some high intensity Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Try and re-wire the brain and all that. I wonder if it's any good? I might be a socialite in a few months ha ha. Out every night and all that.

CBT empowers you to do your own rewiring so to speak. It won't make you a social butterfly but it will put you in the drivers seat.

 

[I am that which I am]

Hello again,

Sorry I disappeared it was getting late on my side of the globe.

Yes, I personally quite like that we have free health care in Canada as well. However, it is quite a mismanaged and short-stringed system here. If only we could follow the Swedes and Netherlanders more closely...

I actually never got a diagnosis, I faked to get out of a diagnosis as a child and I haven't found someone to diagnose adults. Some of my family members were diagnosed properly though. I also studied in psychology and have to be careful about that psychology student syndrome .

I see, did you ever watch Crash Course World History on youtube? I quite like that series. I am also like that with research, very inquisitive. I did not like university courses as much as they are usually structured into: memorize the textbook/class notes and regurgitate it on the exam. I sometimes went way further, only some profs appreciated the extra research. Later years were more fun some encouraged you to go further or had complicated assignments. But I am glad it did not go further in biochem, that was a tough course and the textbook was terrible.

I lead a double life so practically no one knows me or that I have aspergers. I will have to come out though, since my last screw up (at the lab at least) made certain things pretty obvious. I still socialize with them in an NT fashion. I learned a bit of the art of small talk, but still go of on tangents sometimes. I am a bit shy at first, but as I get to know someone I become less anxious and less shy with them. Some noticed I am a bit odd just because of the way I act or seem to enjoy my work (at the lab at least), such as how I talk to my mice or do not appear bothered when I operate on the mice. Key word is appear, inside my emotions are twisting and turning, but I do not demonstrate emotion as well.

It's true you do not necessarily need treatment, but some resources are useful to learn some skills, encourage you socialize and practice and lower anxiety (if there is any). CBT (according to research) is quite good as a therapy as long as it is tailored properly towards your specific needs. Yeah it won't make you a socialite lol. I am trying Dialectical behavioural therapy which is another good one, if tailored properly.