Support thread for women who suspect or know they have ASD traits or are on the spectrum

[OxfordBags]

Hello, all! As the title says, I hope this can be a support thread for those of us who suspect or know we have some (or many) Aspergic traits; where we can share experiences, stories, problems, worries, knowledge and info, and hopefully benefit and help each other too.

I found a great link a while ago that is very comprehensive in its description of how Asperger's presents in women and how women experience it. Some of it is strikingly different from the male model and how most people perceive Asperger's. Here: ASD in women

I truly believe two things: 1) that ASD in females is woefully misunderstood and under-diagnosed and 2) that our current understanding and the definition of the AS Spectrum is, in itself, rather ASD in its rigidity, and that there is an actual spectrum of traits much broader and more nuanced than the current model, and that there are a hell of a lot of people struggling with some very typical ASD traits, who nevertheless do not have all the traits required to fulfil a formal diagnosis of having Asperger's or High-Functioning Autism.

So, with that rather typically ASD-style long-winded and unnecessarily detailed intro out of the way, let's chat!

What caused it Molly? I know that it's sports day season and I got through it via a combination of my DH, antidepressants and sunglasses!

Thanks for asking gerbil. I had an interview and I really want the job. It has triggered really high anxiety....it seems that I am more anxious when I really really want people to like me and for them to like what I say. I tried to "fix it with netflix!" Binge watching usually helps! Will try again tonight

Like the sunglasses idea too!

Good luck too Molly; usually when I feel that I've failed an interview I've got the job and conversely...well you know!

Good luck molly!

thank you all so much. I feel much better this lunchtime,after spending last night on netflix and this morning with pre-schooler..they are so lovely! For me it is a short hangover but it was rather intense!!! After a lot of processing [hmmm], I think the interview was positive so I will wait and let you know if I get it. Thanks again.

marking my place to catch up. My laptop and phone are getting a bit creaky so doing anything in depth or typing a long post on here is currently a matter of luck and patience!

Checking back in for a bit of moral support. Just had Spire on the phone booking in my appointment - for MONDAY! ARGH. And turns out my GP talks out his ass and it's actually £300...better be good!

But...I'm wavering. It's like I'm suddenly not sure, maybe I don't have Asperger's/ASD. Maybe it was all in my head. Did anyone else get like this in the run up, really doubting themselves?

I think part of it is that I've had a relatively good few days at work so I'm feeling a lot happier and my symptoms are much more obvious when I'm stressed!

I made a letter to take to the GP with me which he said he was going to pass on but I am going to spend some time expanding on it. I think I'm just having a wobble! Plus - the person I am working for is on holiday so I'm on my own to get on with things which means I'm not having to play the "guess what's expected of me" game on a daily basis which I guess is making things feel less obvious at the moment.

Good Luck Stats

Good luck too Stats x

Re-marking my place. I'm hopeless at keeping up at the moment. I'm off work next week so I can do some quality MN-ing then.

Thanks ladies. I'm hoping with the increased price this won't involve a tonne of appointments!

Can I just ask a quick question regarding friendships? This may seem like an odd question, but do people on this thread tend to get along better with men or women?

Tbh I've always struggled with friendships in general but I've always had problems when it comes to female friendships especially. I'm not one of those women who go around proudly exclaiming that "I don't get along with other women" and "I prefer having male friends" because I would love to have close female friends but it's never really happened.

No matter what I do all of my friends (and just people I get along well with) always end up being male. Again I don't do this deliberately because like I said I would love to have close female friends. It just tends to end up that way. At the moment I don't have a close girl friend and I would say I've only ever had one in the past.

I've read that it's actually quite common with women on the spectrum to find friendships with men easier and for them to have more male friends than female friends.

Obviously I don't know for sure whether I'm on the spectrum or not, I just thought it was fitting for me.

I just struggle with friendship full stop tbh. I only really have one friend who I've known since I was a kid.

Well, I'm out. Is 45 minutes for diagnosis some kind of record?

Anyone in Scotland I can thoroughly recommend the doctor I saw.

Not sure how to feel though!

It was fine actually -he read the referral my doctor had made which said that I was very organised and came with two pages of notes which were attached. Except they weren't, so I gave the doc my copy which I'd been adding to for my own reference so was four pages -typed!

He asked me lots of questions, drew a Venn diagram and a normal curve to explain asd, asked more questions which seemed quite focused. He then said that normally diagnosis is a long complicated process but in this case the notes etc -which included my test scores -meant he had enough information to take a short cut and that I have high functioning asd.

He was really nice, really seemed to get everything I was saying. He's writing up a formal diagnosis for my gp and a 'to whom it may concern ' letter that I can show work etc.

That is good news :-) Now you can get some work-related protection in place.