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Was afraid to jump in, but here I am...

A

AwkwardSilence

Well-Known Member
Hello, I've joined this community because I live in an adult Asperger's therapy desert (Vermont). Here there are no relevant support groups, and the few AS psychologists and programs focus on children. I see a generalist who is helpful but admits that AS hasn't been his thing.

I'm especially interested in finding here a few older members (say, 50+) who were diagnosed late in life. For me, this happened, about 5 years ago, in my early 60s, and ever since it's been both a relief ("so, all those crazy, lifelong phenomena form a known syndrome") and a cause for sadness ("so much for my life of mis-diagnoses and inappropriate, unsuccessful treatments") I admit to envying younger people who came of age in the era when Asperger's was a known thing.

I might mention that I did find one therapist (practicing in the same building as my current one!) but she's only in her 30s. I'm not inclined to visit her because I don't think she's old enough to understand, on a gut level, the mixed feelings of looking back on 6 decades with my current knowledge.
 
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Welcome, @AwkwardSilence. I love the name! Congrats for taking the plunge, joining this forum, and posting. I have found this forum to be very welcoming, positive, and helpful - I hope you do, too.

I am 50, diagnosed at 48. Being diagnosed wasn't a relief, but it did make a whole lot of things suddenly make sense. It has reframed my approach to a lot of my life.

I wouldn't worry too much about whether a therapist has walked a mile in your shoes. They're trained to help you deal with your stuff, not deal with it themselves. But if your gut says you don't click with them, then look for someone else. My 2¢ only.
 
Welcome to Autismforums.com, AwkwardSilence.

I am 49, diagnosed at 46.

You experienced relief and sadness. I did too along with many more people that you will read about here on Autismforums.com.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time considering my past and I’ve decided that if my Autistic traits were discovered as a child and given my personality, I might have used the knowledge as a crutch and would have never worked as hard to survive, be independent, and almost thrive. I get what you are saying.

Here in Northwest Arkansas we simply do not have support resources for adults that struggle to manage autistic personality traits. I understand your frustration there in Vermont.

I was fortunate to find a counselor whose son was diagnosed as having autistic personality traits. This coincidental trifecta has made for exceptional client / clinician dialogue sessions as the counselor is working hard to counsel me in hopes of better supporting his son both now and in the future.

Welcome to the forum and our group. This forum and its members have increased my quality of life and I’m grateful. I know you will be grateful as well.
 
Welcome! I'm in my mid-sixties and was diagnosed about five years ago. I find online forums and support groups pretty useful, and I hope you have a similar experience here.
 
Hi AwkwardSilence - People here have lots of ideas about coping strategies. I'm still undiagnosed, but have figured out a few coping mechanisms in response to my own difficulties with ADD and OCD behaviors. Periodic anxiety and depression still bother me from time to time. I might have ways to deal with them in the short term, but I don't have a grasp on the overall issues. I was given a book on Mindfulness, and I find it effective to thwart some anxiety triggers. It's a band-aid approach to a much larger concern, but sometimes a band-aid is better than nothing. It's a calming mechanism. I have learned a lot on this forum. I'm actually grateful for it. Welcome!
 
Hi, I hope you enjoy it here and find plenty of useful information and threads to read. I'm self diagnosed via working with people with autism in a training placement when I realised this also applies to me, about 10 years ago, I'm 61.

It's been good to know what this is and also reading more has helped me understand the challenges better and sometimes to gain strategies. People's ideas and inputs on this forum have been amazing and very helpful to me, hope you find that too.

:deciduous::evergreen::palmtree::leafwind::seedling::blossom:
 
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