Adult Autism a Disappointing Answer

I've been reading about adult autism lately. More specifically, "high-functioning undiagnosed adult autism." I've compared my behaviors to those listed in the various lists and tests, and from my perspective there is a very good chance that I actually have this condition.

At first I thought it was great. Now I have an explanation as to why I have done and continue to do certain things that have often made my life the rickety shambles that it is today. (Using a phrase like "rickety shambles" is consistent with the area of the autism "spectrum" that I inhabit.) That could be a real help! I can't use it as an excuse, but as they always say, knowing you have a problem is the first step towards fixing it.

But after I researched and thought about it some more, I realized that just tying a set of behaviors up in a little bow and naming it something doesn't help at all. Perhaps a professional diagnosis and being classified as having a disease of some kind might help get me a little more money from some public service or insurance claim, but most of the autism money goes to kids. If you're an adult and have managed to cobble together a life for yourself, you're not considered all that impaired. Which is laughable.

And there is no real cure. Psychiatrists and other doctors can give you pills to help (marginally) with the individual symptoms, but they don't address the core problem, because nobody knows what causes it. Behavioral therapy can help a little, but just because you can get a dog to walk on its hind legs doesn't mean you've solved their quadripedal problem. Autism is just a definition. It would be as if the psychiatric community gathered together a lot of associated behaviors and determined that if a person manifests a certain percentage of these behaviors, they're an "a-hole." The "a-hole" diagnosis. And then that would be used to get money or excuse horrible behavior. "Well, of course I played my death metal all night at high volume and kept the neighbors awake. I've been clinically diagnosed as being an a-hole, and that's what we do! Pity me! Give me money!"

So great. Chances are very high that I'm an autistic adult. +shrug+

a reply to: Blue Shift

Get yourself tested....but beware the adderall.
Great at first...but addictive as hell.

a reply to: Blue Shift

Meh...a lot of what I see called autism nowadays used to be called poor social skills. I dunno...i've read through some of the adult autism spectrums. I act in many of the ways they describe but I recognize that and try to be concious of how I interact with other people and I find it made a huge difference.

A lot of people's problems could be solved if they choose to conciously identify there own thoughts or actions that lead to their mental States and made a concious effort to change them.

I've got a pretty good example. I've got a friend who's been diagnosed with having anxiety. He's on seroquil and something else, I can't remember for it. This happened sometime in the last few years. A few years before that I was used get really bad anxiety over stupid things...sometime when we'd hung out in the past I was panicking over the idea of nuclear war. Eventually I learned by being concious ofy thoughts I spent a lot of time worrying about things I had no control over. Eventually I learned to get over my feelings of dread and I don't really get anxiety attacks any more.

My friend went to counsellors and doctors because he was worried.about the idea of maybe one day thinking about walking into traffic. They gave him pills and diagnosed him with anxiety and depression. He's totally #ed now. Last time I seen him he warned me I needed to watch him and stop him from breaking his own neck. He spent two years in bed to the point where his body atrophied and still has anxiety and is depressed. Pills won't help you the only person that can change your.brain is your self. It's hard it requires constant effort and.mindfulness and not allowing yourself to slip into old patterns...because as much as people complain about their mental disorders...one thing i've noticed in myself and others, they'd prefer to continue along their.comfortable pattern of whatever it is they have rather than take responsibility for their own mind.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
Get yourself tested....but beware the adderall.
Great at first...but addictive as hell.

I don't see any advantage to getting tested. I'm no Scientologist, but my opinion of the psychiatric care community is pretty low. The individual human mind is a complex thing, and a little research shows these folks have a very slippery grasp of how it works. And the treatment is just throwing darts at a board. "Try this and see if it works. If it makes you kill yourself, come back and we'll try something else."

And, yeah, these days it's all about experimenting with drugs. I've been prescribed various synthetic drugs for anxiety and depression and they've worked to various degrees, although most with simply unworkable side effects. I fortunately live in California and can legally buy something herbal that works just as well.

Otherwise, having a professional diagnosis is just getting another label slapped on.

a reply to: Blue Shift

If you do want to get diagnosed, see a psychologist and not a psychiatrist--a psychologist can not prescribe medication and is more interested in helping figure out a way for you to deal with the effects on your life without medicating with potentially disastrous medications.

My son was diagnosed with ADHD and Asperger's between his 3rd and 4th grade--he's now entering high school next year. In between now and then, we started homeschooling him to help him with his issues and have done it since his diagnosis--he now wants to enter public high school to have an option to do sports.

But, we tried Adderall and Strattera, and the former just made my son just bitter and angry (and he was self-aware enough to tell us that he felt angry all of the time) and the latter made him lethargic and lose interest in activities and hobbies.

So, for probably 95% of his life post-diagnosis, he has been drug-free and doing well. It hasn't been without challenges, for sure, but he's a great kid and big brother, especially when it truly matters.

Just beware of the medications and don't see being a part of the ASD as some sort of bad thing--hell, looking back at how I felt and acted in my childhood and adolescence, I wouldn't doubt that he probably got the Asperger's from me if it's shown to be hereditary--he certainly got the ADD from me.

a reply to: Blue Shift

My wife swears up down left and right that i have Asperger... aka high function adult autism... for a variety of reasons, one of which being my lack of emotions and/or empathy towards others. i always thought i was just a selfish jerk but who knows

i told her that the worst part about being told you have autism is not caring... she wasn't amused.

honestly though, who gives a #. i'm a firm believer in the idea that their is no such thing as a mental disorder for the simple fact of: "who/what is the baseline we measure against?" his brain, her brain, einstiens? how do you know what was going on in there?...

don't use the fact the you think u might have autism (whatever that means) as an excuse to be an a-hole. we dont need any more of those. other people have feeling and normal people should care about them to some degree. you know this to be true, lodgically. then fake it till you make it. eventually it will just be a habit.

Stop trying to get funds or disability from it, that just makes you a dirtbag, not autistic.
you don't need meds, or treatment (aka a chemical lobotomy.) you just need to be aware its a thing and work against it, "fake it till u make it" is real

just don't be (try not to be) a selfish jerk which seems to be the only real "symptom". in my case anyway... oh and i get oddly hyper focused on things i enjoy. like once garden season starts that all i wanna do/think about. ever.

originally posted by: Blue Shift

Otherwise, having a professional diagnosis is just getting another label slapped on.

No, it allows you to understand what may be affecting your life.

Like I noted in my other response, there are ways to deal with it without chemical assistance, but knowing what the diagnosis may or may not be could help in dealing, no matter how you deal.

A lot of people probably have high level autism. I probably do myself. I used to be able to multiply numbers like 4953 times 837 in my head faster than someone could punch them into a calculator and I was right more often than my daughter was on her calculator. I lost the ability to do complex math in my head with a head injury, no big deal though, I can still do as much as most people can in my head.

High level autism seems to be different than the really probablematic autism kids get, that seems to have a common aluminum factor many times to it. We have aluminum added to some foods and it appears that kids with autism can't properly get rid of the metals very well, especially aluminum and mercury. The amount in aluminum in vaccines can trigger some problems, but the amount in commercial foods is the major problem. aluminum containing Baking powders and Alum in pickles and relish are two that cause some problems with kids with autism. Top it off with the vaccine and you get a noticable symptom. Aluminum does not actually cause autism, that has a genetic link, but it does make it much more noticable. Soft quick melting cheeses often contain aluminum compounds too. People with allergies and asthma should stay away from aluminum in foods, since aluminum is a neurostimulant, it makes those two problems worse too.

If you are older, I would not worry about the high level autism, it is your our stupidity that gets us into trouble with saying things. Mind the tongue. It is hard to keep quiet and watch your family members go down the wrong path, sometimes it leads to saying things they do not want to hear. Saying it over and over to warn them just makes them believe you have a problem, of course they know what they are doing. Then two years later, they say they discovered that you can't do that, things go wrong. They never say you are right, they never believed you so they avoided making a memory of their mistake. Oh well, what the hell, it would have been easier if they listened, but they wanted to learn it the hard way so I am just happy they learned instead of keeping up with their mistake. Gee, having new age liberal kids kind of sucks.

I got to add though, I was sort of the same way, I believed the generation gap was real till I hit forty, then I discovered there was nothing to that bunch of crap generation gap philosophy. I guess someone made up the generation gap to make it so upcoming generations would spend everything they learned buying new and better junk that is nothing but junk nowadays.

originally posted by: SlapMonkey
No, it allows you to understand what may be affecting your life.

I'm not buying it. It would be like somebody thinking they're right-handed their whole life, and they take some tests and a professional now tells them that the way their brain is wired, they're really left-handed. Hooray? Now they can start writing with their left hand and everything will be better? Or will it be more like, "That explains why my handwriting is so crappy!" But they're still going to have crappy handwriting.

a reply to: Blue Shift

Yeah, I will get pilloried for this by someone I am sure, but I think getting tested will just give you a label from which you can never be 'un-labeled'.

I have some friends (who are brothers), both with diagnoses on the autism spectrum. They are great, and fun, but mostly only when they are in familiar surroundings, and when they can decide the topic(s) of conversation or game play. That is the part of the spectrum that they exhibit.

They were both labeled in school, after seeing councilors, and people in the psych fields of healthcare, but the label didn't help them in any way. It only caused them some degree of stigmatization.

Neither of them takes any meds. The younger was on medication for a while, but then asked to stop it, because he wanted to 'please keep his autism'. They are satisfied with life much of the time, and sometimes I envy that of them....

Folks on 'The Spectrum' are here to assist those NOT on. I now 'some' will read this like it is a race but those folks with Autism, they are further evolved.

What is one of the BIGGEST problems in society today? Correct, "Political Correctness" but because We were playing ATS™ Jeopardy™ We were looking for "What is 'Political Correctness' so We can't give You the prize $$$


Person w/out Autism: "Boy, I spent half My check on these new sneakers, aren;t they cool?..."

Person w/Autism: "No, those suck and You blew Your $$$..."

a reply to: Blue Shift

I don't see any advantage to getting tested.

On this I agree. There aren't a lot of advantages in getting a diagnosis for ASD when you're well into adulthood. You sound fairly comfortable being you so why waste time and money on it?

On the other hand, SlapMonkey's point about self-awareness isn't a bad one. You could discover you aren't ASD. It's possible you're on the far edge of the spectrum and don't have enough traits to come close to being ASD. Lots of possibilities including really being ASD.

On the limited information of this thread, doing nothing looks like the best decision.

No, it allows you to understand what may be affecting your life.

Like I noted in my other response, there are ways to deal with it without chemical assistance, but knowing what the diagnosis may or may not be could help in dealing, no matter how you deal.

To many people, the diagnosis and the treatment stop with medications, but it's more than that. You also have to work on treatment beyond those things. Successful treatment of ADHD/ADD and autism also depends on behavioral therapy and good parenting practice. It's a complete package approach. The only thing the medications will do is give the brain the breathing space it needs to absorb the other approaches.

a reply to: Blue Shift


Basically, its the way your brain is wired.

The autism Spectrum now has become much broader through awareness.

In 1974 my oldest daughter was diagnosed with ADD. Autism (as we know it today) was not even heard of. Pretty sure my youngest daughter fits the Autism Spectrum, and her son has been officially diagnosed. But, there was not awareness in schools when she could have benefitted.

I, myself, am most likely part of the Spectrum too.

Organized society today is a "round hole" - - with the "square pegs" trying to find where they fit in.

Teaching yourself to Focus where required helps. Even if it is not natural to you.

originally posted by: ketsuko

No, it allows you to understand what may be affecting your life.

Like I noted in my other response, there are ways to deal with it without chemical assistance, but knowing what the diagnosis may or may not be could help in dealing, no matter how you deal.

To many people, the diagnosis and the treatment stop with medications, but it's more than that. You also have to work on treatment beyond those things. Successful treatment of ADHD/ADD and autism also depends on behavioral therapy and good parenting practice. It's a complete package approach. The only thing the medications will do is give the brain the breathing space it needs to absorb the other approaches.

My grandson was caught early at about 18 months.

People can complain about California all they want - - - but, their public schools are great for all areas of special education.

He is high functioning on the Spectrum - - - benefitting from 9 years of focus programming since age 3.

He currently was released from his ISP -- but, is monitored.

a reply to: Blue Shift

We all have sometismphrenia.

the Hu-Man race really has become a pile of genetic garbage.

originally posted by: Annee
Basically, its the way your brain is wired.

That's a possibility, but what does that even mean? Is the way my neurons are connected significantly different than those of most people? Is it an electrochemical problem -- a shortage or overabundance that can be corrected? Nobody knows.

Yes, it's easier with children. You can force them to go through therapy and teach the dog to walk on two legs. And from what I understand, a lot of autistic kids turn 18 and it just goes away. Lucky bastards. For an adult like myself, though, I've done my painful walking on two legs exercises for years, which is why I'm still alive. But it's easy for some to blame me for not trying hard enough. Because they don't know.

Desire is the root of unhappiness, I guess.

originally posted by: Jazzlotus
I know of something that has helped many people improve their health, including people with autism. It's a special kind of water made by a Japanese device that is certified for medical use there.

Forgive me, but it sounds like snake oil. Perhaps made of the finest available snakes, but snake oil nonetheless. I'm autistic, not gullible.

originally posted by: Blue Shift
I'm not buying it. It would be like somebody thinking they're right-handed their whole life, and they take some tests and a professional now tells them that the way their brain is wired, they're really left-handed. Hooray? Now they can start writing with their left hand and everything will be better? Or will it be more like, "That explains why my handwriting is so crappy!" But they're still going to have crappy handwriting.

Well, I'm not selling anything, so you don't have to buy it at all.

All I know is that I'm dealing with a 14-year-old son who is in denial about being on the Autism Spectrum because "autistic" is a current slang derogatory term, so he doesn't want to accept it and deal with it. The reality is, though, that he will never be able to recognize when the Asperger's has control over particular actions and approaches to situations if he doesn't want to see it.

My son is a very good person with a big heart, but who, because of being an "Aspy," can come across as rude and disrespectful when he is not intending his words or actions in that way. He has selective memory about situations and fails to realize that he's experiencing life slightly differently sometimes than it really is happening (generally in how he acts in social situations).

Like I said, get diagnosed or don't, it's no skin off of my back, but I just thought that I'd give you some anecdotal situations to show that I understand the struggle that you may be going through--disregard or appreciate as you deem fit. But in my life experience--and I'm only 39--knowledge is power, even if you don't realize how or why it's good to know something.

Best regards.