Would An Earlier Autism Diagnosis Have Helped? (Diagnosed In Middle Age)
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- Опубликовано: 15 окт 2024
- Join me for a quick chat where I discuss whether or not I think an earlier autism diagnosis would have helped me. If you're also a late diagnosed autistic person, I'd love to know your thoughts on this question as I'm sure everyone has a different answer on this.
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Asperger's wasn't a diagnosis until 1992 in the UK. Before that only people who had language delays or intellectual difficulties were diagnosed (with autism). And autism was called infantile autism and classified under schizophrenia in the late 60's and the 70's. Knowledge of autism has changed a lot.
I said some of this elsewhere but I wanted to mention it on the main thread.
So diagnosis would not have been possible for me as a child in the USA because I didn't have a speech delay and my IQ was high. In the USA Asperger's was added in 1994. I turned 19 that year.
I wish I would have known sooner as an adult. I was assessed for general mental health and Asperger's in 2006. But Asperger's was diagnosed much more in men even than autism. At that time they had to pick ADHD or Asperger's/autism. You could not diagnose both at the same time. So I was told that I could have had Asperger's as a child (I showed signs) but as an adult I had ADHD. Despite the fact that I have more autism symptoms than ADHD symptoms. But I was a woman so it must be ADHD and mental health problems. I do have some mental health problems but the autism was missed.
So I wasn't diagnosed with autism until 2023 at age 47.
But what is done is done. There is no way of knowing what would have happened. I may not have met my partner either.
@@Catlily5 Thank you for sharing your knowledge, its very intereting🙋♂️
@@jamesnock5572 I think it helps to understand why we weren't diagnosed.
Yes it makes sense now. Thank you🙋♂️@@Catlily5
@@jamesnock5572 You're welcome!
👋 Hello! I created this video before I had an uptick in views over the last few days but I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your subs and lovely comments. I'm blown away tbh as I wasn't really expecting many people to watch these videos 🧡
I'll be 83 in a couple weeks. I received my assessment a couple of months ago. So I lived my entire life thinking I was "normal". Thinking that I could do things that neurotypical people do. Assuming that I should be able to engage with people like "normal" people do. But all that was never true. So it was failure after failure after failure. I can't help but think that a diagnosis early in my life would have made my life easier and more successful.
Oh crikey, I'm so sorry you had to wait this long and I completely understand why you feel this way. So many autistic people have been let down. 🧡
@@CreativeAutistic 😵💫
Very relatable! I grew up in Scandinavia in the 80's, where I had a very similar experience to the one you're describing (having to tone down my interest, mask hard etc). At the age of 12 I developed really bad OCD as a response to all the anxiety and spent all my energy trying to hide the OCD symptoms both at school and at home, as any behaviour deviating from the strict norm were immediately pounced on by both peers and adults, and I was desperate to have no other image than the hard-working, bright, "good" kid. After countless burn-outs and years of poor mental health, I was finally diagnosed with ASD in my early forties, but know that an early diagnosis would have been just another reason to be bullied. I have struggled these past years to accept my autism diagnosis, but after additionally receiving an ADHD diagnosis a few months ago, I'm starting to see where the different bits fit.
I'm so sorry to hear what you've been through and can certainly relate to your experience of desperately trying to be a 'good' and clever child. It can be just SO tough for neurodivergent kids but I'm glad you're finding your way forward now. 🧡
Extremely relatable, and I agree that early diagnosis during that era ultimately would have been more (or more blatantly) stigmatizing rather than supportive. Even though I was one of those high-functioning kids classified as "gifted", at that time (and I'm sure little has changed now, given how regressive corporate capitalist culture has been for the past half century) ANY behavioural difference was sufficient grounds for ostracism and mistreatment. Consequently CPTSD seems to be quite common among the late-diagnosed but I'd go a step further and say it wasn't (and still isn't!) just pervasively traumatizing but overtly mutilating. Diagnosis may have proven insightful in terms of self-understanding but it would not have changed the overarching culture of ableism we all endured. (That said, my experience as a male was more confrontational: I defied everything in order to defend and protect myself (also left home quite early, at 16); so, I did at least get to enjoy "underground" music and subcultures although even in those milieus neurotypical expectations were a constant challenge.)
So much to agree with here! 🧡
I'm actually happy that I didn't get a diagnosis in the 70's as I would have ended up in a school for kids with learning disabilities (even as a so-called gifted kid) and I would never have gotten my masters' degree.
I think this is such a great way to frame things 🧡
Hello, my name is Frank, German, 59 years old and self-diagnosed last year. A friend noticed that I was mostly attracted to educated women.
I could be demisexual and should take an autism test! I started taking the first online test the next day and: "Oh God, that's me!"
A diagnosis in childhood would have only done me harm, because at that time autism was considered a form of schizophrenia, and if there were psychological disorders, doctors had no problems putting a child in a closed psychiatric ward. A diagnosis would certainly have helped me later, because all of my relationships had broken down. Ultimately, I'm very happy that all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and that I found such a wonderful community. I can understand your experiences very well. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, Frank! It really is an amazing community 🧡
What you've said completely makes sense and resonates with me so much. Growing up in the 70s and 80s also I don't think a diagnosis would have been helpful even if it had existed then. The cultural environment as you say was so different and school was not geared up to individual pupil needs. So like you I adopted the survival mechanism and masked my way through education. The real struggles were when I went out into big wide world and that's where the detrimental health impact began. At that point a diagnosis would have been literally everything and saved me decades of struggling, 'failures' , anxiety and depression. So like yourself it's a complex question to answer.
I'm really glad you can relate - I thought I might be on my own on this one! 🧡
Agree too. It was a different time then. Would have meant more bullying/predatory behavior and less opportunities instead of actual information and support. Avoiding other misdiagnoses would’ve been nice and having explanations for things too but, that didn’t exist then. And really, is pretty limited even now (for adult women late diagnosed) in the medical community, I’ve found. YT autism creators have been so beneficial and a relief really. I just feel bad about everything we have gone through up to this point. But, more and more awareness every day.
This is such a great question for our age group. I could add it to my pig pile of regrets and things to feel bad about, but in reading these responses plus your own conclusion, I have to agree. Whether I'd have been diagnosed in the 70's or 80's, I probably would have been even more of a target as it would probably have been made known in a variety of ways. Being a loner, awkward, yet near the top of my class academically was probably better than also having a misunderstood label to carry around during these socially (what?) formative years.
Spot on regarding the workplace. I went to college and got my BA in French, Art History, with a minor focus in Russian. I knew I'd never be able to "use" a foreign language in real life work....I could hardly communicate in English!! What was I thinking. But I had the knowledge, I excelled in class and nowadays a degree is just a degree. Languages are still one of my top interests (if not, my primary).
I found myself in a mélange of jobs such as those you mentioned. Call center, customer service, then happenstanced to an opportunity to coordinate at a staffing agency. That became a stepping stone to 2 subsequent HR positions and now I'm a global recruiter. It's so NOT what I'm wired for and I have to force myself to perform my "people tasks" and exhibit my "people skills" every second. It's exhausting and polar opposite any field of work I'd ever choose! I'm supposedly a professional in dealing with people in the workplace. How absurd when I can't even help myself. In non ND groups, one would simply tell me, "then get another job". It's not that easy! I feel so lucky to have ANY work, I took what I could get. Whatever my work is, wearing a big ol' mask, I usually scrape by. Needless to say, sustaining work has always been most distressing. Recently it's gotten the best of me and I'm currently on a short term leave because I am burned out. I've got another week of rest before having to return.
If I were to have gotten my diagnosis sooner, it would have been helpful in the early 90's as I entered adult life and the workforce. If I remember right (my memory stinks) diversity was starting to become embraced at that time. I don't think the earlier stigma would have been as much of a factor. Certainly, armed with the knowledge itself of autism along with any available assistance, guidance, support, would have helped my marriage, my work life, and maybe could have opened doors to furthering my education in languages. Who knows, but that would have probably been a beneficial time for a diagnosis.
Oh man, there's SO much I can relate to here, Heidi! Sorry to hear about your current burnout and your return to work isn't too stressful. 🧡
(I would love to be skilled in languages but my memory is *really* terrible and every time I open Duolingo I can't frickin' remember what on earth I've 'learned' previously 😆)
@@CreativeAutistic That's the conundrum of loving foreign languages. Even if you love them, and it becomes one of your special interests, when it comes to opening the mouth to use and communicate in the language ad hoc, it's impossible! Still, I use both Babbel and Duolingo hoping to regain what I haven't studied or have been around native speakers in 29 yrs. I was h*LL bent on not letting my studies and love for them go to waste. Getting back into them was refreshing because it did all come back, just not the conversational part. I'm more like a human French grammar book and dictionary 😂. Yes I was/am obsessed! It's good to have things you enjoy, even if your involvement or performance are not perfect. Have you done a video on special interests? I think we adults are unique in that we've had SO many more years to build our lists of interests....and of collections...oy vey!!!
I feel so seen and heard. I too clung to alcohol to get through social situations and to mask not having shared interests with others. I also struggled in jobs that demanded I be the polar opposite of my autistic self. Thank you so much for sharing this ❤
You're welcome, Megan - it's so good to know others can relate! 🧡
I'm nearly 62, a woman, and just realized over the past year that I have many, many autistic traits. I was a weird little kid and I've been a weird lonely adult, wondering if I'd ever meet other people like me, even one person. Online, I'm starting to see the spectrum of weird and wonderful people I fit into. : )
More to the point for me isn't so much what if I was diagnosed earlier in life... I still wonder if a diagnosis would benefit me, and in what ways? I own my own small business and work from home. At my age, I am not likely to re-enter the workforce. I have no one to ask accommodations of. I don't need government financial assistance. I'm in the US, so a diagnosis would be an expensive undertaking.
I was pointed to your videos recently (and I enjoy them very much, thank you!). I watch other autistic content providers as well, and I read about autism. I listen to a couple of podcasts. These things are helpful to me, I've had many revelations, made many connections and interesting discoveries about why I am the way I am. It's fascinating and it feels like enough. I'm just not sure how an actual diagnosis would change anything for me?
I don't think there's any real need to seek a formal diagnosis, and particularly as you run your own business. It's SUCH an expensive process (I'm fortunate as I was able to access this for free in England). I think self diagnosis is 'enough' as it's really all about trying to understand yourself better 🧡
"I own my (...) re-enter the workforce."
How, exactly, are you *not* currently in the workforce?
I found your channel earlier today when your video was flagged up on my recommended feed (and subscribed of course!) - I'm always on the look out for "older" autistics (as most of the late diagnosed autistics seem to be in their 20s and 30s) I was diagnosed last year aged 62 - and know I would been oblivious if my daughter hadn't been going on her own autistic discovery journey and kept pointing things out to me that flagged up possible autism in myself!
Although it's been a relief to finally understand why I've always felt different I've also spent quite a lot of time since my diagnosis mourning who I feel I could and should have been had I known earlier so your thoughts on would you have liked to know sooner are really interesting to me.
Since my diagnosis I've thought that I absolutely would have wanted to know sooner. Perhaps being identified in childhood would have made the world of difference to me. But as a child growing up in the 60s and 70s I can now see that there wouldn't have been any support at all for me and I would have been made to feel even more of an outsider. Time to stop mourning and be thankful that I've carved a life out for myself that's allowed me to survive in this NT world!
I can completely relate, and this sounds like a great philosophy to me 🧡
I think when I was in infant's and Junior School the way my life was did actually help me. There is a lot of routine when you are younger and school was fun when younger, less pressure, you knew what to expect, there was lots of playing time so I didn't have too many problems apart from keeping friendships going. The problems for me were when I went to senior school, an all girls school, and the time of puberty was awful. I struggled big time and was bullied a lot, beaten up. I was a redhead so had the normal insults around being ginger. It was so hard. I still don't think a diagnosis would have helped at that time but I think it would have been great when I went to college. It definitely would have made my life so different if I had known. I would have understood so much more! Given myself grace and not forced myself into uncomfortable situations for sure. Thanks for the video Lizzy, I am just catching up on ones I have missed.😊
Thanks for sharing, Sarah. I'm so sorry to hear about your high school experience. Children can be so cruel and the effects of their bullying can last a lifetime 🧡
@@CreativeAutistic Yes they can. I am actually thinking about doing EDMR therapy to help with past trauma. They do say autistics are more prone to CPTSD due to our problems with processing, and EDMR seems to be a helpful way to help.
This is a great topic. Thank you for talking about this. My mom would say that I was her first child and had nothing to compare me with (in the 70's). I had bullies too. No fun at all...but perhaps it made us stronger? I like to hope so. So happy to be in the adult years now. The teens were the hardest I went through.
Yes, I used alcohol to cope with socializing with friends.
Sadly it seems a lot of us did 🧡
Yep, my teens were really awful too 🧡
I just realised this week at age 30 I like have non ADHD high functioning Autism. I am going to seek guidance from a psychologist. I had all the classic signs as a child, refused to talk to people, refused to make eye contact, was taken to the zoo and had a blank look when all the other kids were having fun. I was "toe walking" until the age of 7, when I was forced to stop. Ive never fit in, Im always the odd one out in conversations and unable to connect to peers or provide input. As I child I would spend 90% of my existence in my room playing with toys or marbles by myself. I have a strange accent, most people cant recognise im Australian. As an adult I've done well, ive become a very successful investor and have been able to retire at an early age (investing is my hyperfixation).
thanks for sharing your story. more people need to do this, im convinced there are alot of people out there undiagnosed. Like you, I do wonder if being diagnosed would have affected our ability to mask.. I have become very proficient at masking
Yep, I'm still trying to figure out how to unmask - or whether I've done so already as I've been home based for a number of years now. Much to think through still! 🧡
Great video! Very relatable, especially to those in the same age bracket. They were different times (70s, 80s, and even the 90s). A diagnosis then would have meant a whole different judgement by society. (And not necessarily the appropriate accomodation or understanding either.) We as westerners at least, were not at all aware of all the facets of autism yet back then. And to be honest and clear, we are still very much in the process of discovering what is neurodiversity (and neurodivergence and within that, autism and adhd) these days. The numbers of neurodivergently diagnosed folk are growing and my money is that this is not due to misdiagnosis but rather to a better understanding of the spectrum of these diagnoses. One critical comment though, as much as there is more respect of an autism diagnosis nowadays within various communities, this is still often not the case on school playgrounds, in certain social settings and many families. Bullying, misunderstanding and more, still often prevail. We have much work to do as a society to make more room for understanding and accommodations of those who need them.
Thanks! And I absolutely agree - sadly, I think autistic kids will always be at risk of bullying from other children when not supervised by an appropriate adult.
@@CreativeAutistic Yes, we're still lacking in appropriate adult supervision and help. We need to translate between neurotypicals and neurodivergents and teach children (and adults) the value of all brain types and the value of working together.
Hello!
Thank you for your excellent and very authentic video!
I too am autistic and not much younger than you. I was diagnosed at age 32 in 2010. Before then I really didn't know or understand myself and life was extremely difficult for me. Since then I've really got to know and understand myself well and life is now thankfully much better.
I've often thought about how my life might have gone if I was diagnosed much earlier than I was. Like you, I think I probably would've experienced even more bullying and problems throughout my school years had I of been diagnosed as a young child. I was considered weird, lacking in intelligence, unsocial, and problematic by my parents, teachers, and peers whereas in reality I was and am just different neurologically.
I think that things happen when they happen for a reason. I wouldn't change the timing of my diagnosis even if I could because, despite how difficult it was for me not knowing and understanding myself for basically the first 32 years of my life, I now have that lived experience plus the 14 years of coming to know and understand myself that I can now share with other autistic people as part of my coaching work which helps them to relate to me and vice-versa. I believe this is one of the reasons - maybe even the main reason - why people in the UK and other countries are having to wait for a very long time to be assessed for autism - because there's now more people than ever before who think they might be autistic and they're therefore seeking an assessment to find out for sure and the health systems are struggling to cope with the demand. I feel grateful that I'm not in this situation and am doing my best to help people who are.
You seem like a very good-hearted and intelligent person and I'm sure your viewers will only benefit from your videos.
😊
This is lovely feedback - thank you so much! And yes, I think because there is so much better understanding of autism these days, it's led to unprecedented numbers of people seeking a diagnosis 🧡
@@CreativeAutistic you're very welcome! I just wish that all autistics would be positive and supportive towards fellow autistics because life in this world can be and often is very difficult for us and sadly some fellow autistics add to that by being negative and critical.
I hope you and your husband are happy and well.
Lewis
😊
@@BoldWarrior78 I very much agree. I'm determined for this channel to be a positive place for fellow autistics. I've seen a lot of in-fighting within the online community, admittedly on other platforms, but it makes me really sad. I think it discourages a lot of autistic people from engaging and talking to others out there, which can be so helpful in terms of not feeling alone, etc.
You are amazing Lizzie for telling your story ❤ perfect video 👍🏼🤓❤️
Aww, thank you so much Sally! Hope all's good with you, lovely! 🧡 🤓 🧡
@@CreativeAutistic yes I'm good Lizzie, I've just not been on RUclips a lot lately, trying to get out more ❤️ and listen to music x
Hope you and Ian are well 🤓😀x
That sounds good to me - particularly during the summer (that's if we *ever* get any summer weather! 🙄) All's good with us, thank you lovely 🧡 🤓 xx
I'm much younger than you (born in the 90s) but honestly I'm thankful I wasn't diagnosed as a child. Might I have had an easier time emotionally, maybe, but unless you have really great teachers who are willing to advocate for you, they just don't have the same expectations for kids who are diagnosed with any sort of intellectual/psychological difference. They get away with not doing things because the teachers expect they can't and just get shuffled off to the next grade even if they're not ready. I've seen this nowadays with my foster brother who isn't autistic but just has learning disabilities. I don't think I would have achieved as much as I have if I'd had a diagnosis back then.
Thank you for sharing - it's interesting to hear younger folks' thoughts and experiences on this too 🧡
I have a cousin whose young child is obviously neurodivergent, as the child reminds me of me at their age and I got my diagnosis at age 35.
However, since it hasn’t turned into a “problem” yet, my cousin is holding off on furthering this increasingly important matter until it *becomes* a problem.
By which point the child will be behind on any potential coping and learning strategies and will be hurt terribly by the family’s lack of action. I had one of my worst panic/angry shutdowns at a family gathering when I realized that yet again, no one will listen to me on obvious things, because they don’t want to see it.
I'm really sorry to hear this, it seems like such a stressful situation 🧡
I would have been very self conscious about my autism if I’d been told early on. It’s only through knowledge gained later in life that I have been able to have enough insight to benefit from knowing at all.
It seems a fair few of us feel this way 🧡
Over the past couple of years it has been dawning on me that I’m autistic and I think I might go for a diagnosis. Also having growing up in the 70 and 80s, I agree that a diagnosis whilst at school would have not helped. Maybe being diagnosed in my 20s might have helped but even then the understanding of Autism was not good. Being diagnosed now is probably more beneficial as the understanding is better.
I'm glad to hear you've had this realisation too - I think there are a fair few of us out there! 🧡
Yep, I also did school in the 70's and 80's and a diagnosis back then would have had to have been a nightmare really. Even today I find there's this liberal idea of just being who you are, yet people who like to put that out there don't really understand that people with genuine differences also need to protect themselves from prejudice.
I've found one of the greatest dangers of being on the spectrum is the tendency of people to choose me when looking for a scapegoat. And really, that's just standard, people, usually in positions of power, chose to blame things going wrong in a club, school, workplace, etc on the person who is most different, preferably the one who doesn't spend their time clicking with everyone else. Someone easily isolated.
Telling people your autistic around groups that play power games is basically announcing that you're the no.1 scapegoat candidate. And then there is just outright bullying.
Though, as you say, after leaving school, I feel it would have been very good to know, on the quiet, that I'm autistic. As then I would have understood what I need to work on. I would have understood that people judge you by your social skills rather than your honesty.
And most of all, I would have understood that the kind of partners I should have been looking for were among the quirkier ones. And in hindsight, I liked them better anyways. Of course we can't go back in time, but if we could, with what we know now, we'd could probably do and have anything we wanted. Knowledge is power, the good kind of power.
So, I'm going to say 20 years old, was probably the right time for me. Though, like yourself, I found out about 30 years later. Though, at least now I can help my young nieces and nephews, since they're also on the spectrum and openly diagnosed.
Yep, so much to relate to here! 👍
That is a really big question that you have brought up here Lizzie and I have played over a number of " what if ? " scenarios in my mind over the last couple of years since I first became aware that I am autistic and that I have been my entire life which goes back over seven decades. I grew up in the USA back in the 1960s and my school experience was very much like yours was. I also had to endure bullying with my junior high school years being especially bad. I actually had such a hard time at school that I ended up being put through an intense psychiatric evaluation at the state mental hospital when I was 16 years old. I have been able to obtain the results of that evaluation and the results of it are to me very eye opening. First they found several characteristics that would today meet some of the criteria for an autism diagnosis : "he finds it very difficult to converse or communicate ", " he has shown considerable social withdrawal ", along with " a moderately flattened affect ", " intense fantasy life " and " thinking disorder ". I was given the diagnosis that just about everyone who was like me would have been given in that day had they been evaluated like I was and that diagnosis was "schizophrenia ". I don't remember hearing that word but I do remember my mother yelling at me afterwards: " he said you are crazy "! I ended up running away from home and I came back when I was given the promise that I wouldn't have to go back to school and I wouldn't have to see any more psychiatrists as they wanted to put me in the state mental hospital. To answer your question would I have wanted to know about my autism back then ? No, not the way things were defined back then. Autism was just a rare and very serious form of childhood schizophrenia. But would I have wanted to have grown up knowing that I was autistic if they would have had the current understanding of autism back then? Good question. Answer - probably not as I wouldn't have ended up where I am today and I like where I am at even though there have been some big bumps in the road since I was young. What I can say is that I am very happy knowing now that I am autistic because it explains so much from my past. I liked your video.
I'm sorry to hear you had such a tough time too 🧡
I was put in the state hospital at age 15 in 1990. It was still too early to be diagnosed with autism if you didn't have a speech delay or intellectual disability. Asperger's wasn't put into the DSM until 1994.
They did note that I had a flat affect but it was attributed to depression. The psychiatrist said I needed more mental space than most people. I attribute that to autism.
@@Catlily5 Yes, when you were put in the state hospital in 1990 the understanding of autism was still somewhat in the dark ages but it was starting to fight its way out of that darkness. Progress has been slow or it seems that way to me. I was evaluated in January of 1970, almost on my 17th birthday. After much investigation into the history of autism diagnosis I've concluded that my schizophrenia diagnosis at that time was in actuality my early autism diagnosis since all of the puzzle pieces fit together so perfectly. It seems to me to be just a matter of semantics. By the way I had an uncle who spent 30 years of his life ( from age 15 to age 45 ) in the same state hospital where my evaluation was done. I was determined not to repeat his history. I strongly suspect that he was also autistic. I would be really interested to learn what your experience in the state hospital was like and how much time you spent there. What did your psychiatrist mean by " mental space "?
@@JAYSCHULBERG-b9u I was sent to a short term unit in the city that I grew up in first because I harmed myself on purpose (which was rare in those days) and reported abuse. They said that I needed long term treatment. So I was sent to the state hospital because my parents didn't have insurance.
I got very lucky because the state hospital had a decent problem for teenagers when I was there. It was actually better than the fancy private adolescent unit I was in later. I was there 8.5 months the first time. And 5 months the second time.
This was after deinstitutionalization. So even adults rarely stayed for many many years. I was actually kept for longer as an adolescent than as an adult the way the mental health system works now in my state and I believe most of the USA.
@@JAYSCHULBERG-b9u Yes, in 1970 they called autism "infantile autism" and it was thought to be childhood schizophrenia.
Since recently getting my autism diagnosis at age 60, I have had a lot of sadness that I wasn't diagnosed way sooner in my life. In my imagination, I think that maybe things could have been easier for me if I would have had an understanding of what was going on with me, and gotten some accomodations at school and in the workplace. But then logic steps in, and I realize this probably wouldn't have been the case.
Growing up in the 60's/70's, autism was hardly ever spoken of, and no one really even knew what it was. Whenever it was mentioned, it was always as if it was a horrible thing. So even if I had been diagnosed as a child, or even a young adult, it probably wouldn't have been a good thing. I likely would have ended up in "special ed" classes, or even a special school, and the stigma at that time would probably have been even worse than trying to fit into a NT world.
Hopefully, things will be better for today's generation of children and young adults. With all the current awareness of autism, there is more of a chance that a diagnosis today would be a plus, rather than a minus.
I'm sorry to hear of your experiences - and I very much hope the same for autistic children today 🧡
I know that my suffering has drastically reduced since I've understood that I'm autistic (I first tried to take my own life aged 14, and have been regularly struggling with self harm and suicidal ideation for most of my life). That makes me feel as though being diagnosed sooner would have been helpful. But I also know that any differences were picked on at school, and being "the autistic kid" would have isolated me further. At one point my parents told me that the school had flagged me up for an autism assessment, my response was "I'm not crazy!" And both the school and my parents dropped it because they understood I didn't want stigma attached to me. I do wonder what would have happened if it had been pursued, or at least put in my medical records so I didn't have to deal with being misdiagnosed.
I can certainly relate to some of this. I'm so sorry you had to go through these experiences 🧡
I have struggled with those things as well. But the earliest I could have been diagnosed was at age 19 (in the USA). By then I already was diagnosed with mental illnesses. So they looked at me through a mental health lens until age 47. Then I was diagnosed with autism.
I was not diagnosed as autistic until I was 42 (in 2010.)
I think it would have benefited me to have been diagnosed in childhood. Even if it wouldn't have made much difference, I still think they owed it to me.
Children have a *right* to be told; children have a *right* to know.
It's certainly a valid point.
Unless you had a speech delay or intellectual difficulties you would not have been diagnosed until 1992 in countries that use the ICD and 1994 in countries that use the DSM. I was 35 in 2010. I was an adult before I could have been diagnosed.
I was diagnosed with as high functioning Asperger or autism at 22
I used to drink on the way to school and at lunch time and then use mints chewing gum to mask the smell. And then drinking and taking various things to try and cope in college where i was asked to leave the course for not making eye contact, well that was the reason they gave for wanting me out,, in and out of a lot of hideous jobs before a breakdown. Yes i left home very early too it wasn't a pleasant enviroment the old evil stepmother story and an angry emotionally redundant father. Thank you for your video. Ive subscribed🙋♂️
I relate to a lot of this for sure!
I left home early too.
It probably made us stronger people🙋♂️ @@Catlily5
I'm 71 and I hate to think what would have happened if I had been diagnosed in the 50s or 60s. I had a narcissistic mother who was already setting me up to be a scapegoat so my negative experiences would have been magnified. When I had to get glasses at age 10 she was upset that I'd now be a 4-eyes for the rest of my life, so she wouldn't have handled it well if it turned out that I was autistic too. In school I'd likely be put in a slow learning class (not my issue) or even to a school for the retarded.
I'm so sorry to hear about your experiences 🧡
i left home at 17 also!
I'm sorry to hear that - it's so tough out there on your own as a young autistic person 🧡