Aspergers

StripedBoxers

Hi all,

I'm looking for websites, blogs etc with information on Aspergers as an adult.

I know of the Irish Autism Action, Shine, Aspire Ireland, Autism Ireland, Wheel, Cluas etc just wondering if there are any other good ones out there I may have missed.

Would appreciate any information at all

Thanks

Speedwell

Bump. Also an adult with Aspergers here, and married to one to boot. I see a lot of scams and for-profit sites but I'm just looking for good advice and support. I don't even know as much as the OP (I've only been living in Ireland for 2.5 years and have been diagnosed for less than that).

failinis

I don't mean to jump in on the thread but I am interested as well - for my adult brother who needs support.

My mother can't cope with him at home anymore, but the charity we were using is useless and just told them last week his is "off their books". My mother spoke to another parent with a young adult with Aspergers and that father has tried all of the ones (I can't name them) locally and said they are not worth it.
My bro is depressed but wont take any medication (of course his own body his own choice) but get violent and has been suicidual and yeah, I feel helpless being away from home.
He just needs some support on getting a flat maybe, getting a job and things. He has such potential and its locked away right now.

Speedwell

Failinis, this is a stopgap but a lot of people I know consider it good: http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~alistair/survival/index.html

Psychiatric medication tends to be a desperate last resort, necessary for people who literally can't function, I agree. In many people, it works fine and they depend on it. In people with Aspergers, the usual psych meds often have paradoxical effects and the doctors, not knowing any better, just insist that the person isn't feeling what they're feeling. It happened to me when I took one of the later SSRIs; it wiped out my brain for a few days until people at work noticed something was wrong with me... not only did I not care about my depression or anxiety, I didn't care if the phone rang, I didn't care if the cats got fed, I didn't care if I swept up a broken jar of spaghetti sauce and topped my pasta with it anyway. It was sad. Well, I was sad. I got better though.

Overwhelm is the main problem. Everything is so overwhelming. It's sort of like ADHD in that respect. There are a few gentle remedies that I and a few friends have found to be effective. I won't post them here because I'm not your doctor, I don't know your personal circumstances, these are not the only remedies that help, and it's against forum rules to "prescribe" so much as paracetamol for a headache, but they are safe, mild, readily available, inexpensive, and without significant side effects unless you have an allergy or think you are pregnant. If you want to know anyway I don't mind if you PM me.

There's a free technique that I was trained to use by a therapist in the US, called EFT tapping. It is very useful immediately as a coping technique to calm shattered nerves and overwhelm, and later to help process some of the bad habits and memories that make things difficult later in life. I've taught it to people in airports who were scared of flying. Google search on it to find an endless number of tutorial videos and websites, most of which are full of silly alt-med jargon, but ignore that... it works mostly by distracting the mind and body long enough to break a bad emotional state. Think of it as the same sort of thing as rocking a car back and forth when it's stuck and spinning its wheels.

StripedBoxers

I've found this website/blog which is good I think. Need to have a proper look at it though.

http://www.adultaspergerschat.com/

I found this one to have some great information as well.

http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/asperger.aspx

I haven't been assessed yet, hopefully within next two months, but I am 100% confident I have Aspergers, I fit a lot of the criteria for it and it makes sense to me that I have it.

I want a formal diagnoses, I'm not sure why, I just do, I just want to know for sure I suppose, but no one can seem to understand why I want it or want to know, but to me I just do. I find it very frustrating when people tell me that I don't need to know.

Shint0

StripedBoxers wrote: »

I want a formal diagnoses, I'm not sure why, I just do, I just want to know for sure I suppose, but no one can seem to understand why I want it or want to know, but to me I just do. I find it very frustrating when people tell me that I don't need to know.

That was very similar to me when I went looking for an adult assessment for ADHD. I was repeatedly asked by medical professionals why I would want a label like that as if I was just looking for a label, woke up one morning and thought 'Hey, why not get assessed for ADHD today, it sounds lovely and I really want a slice of that'. My standard response became 'Well obviously it's about trying to get an accurate diagnosis in order to receive appropriate treatment'. That line of questioning usually stopped after that.

failinis

Shint0 wrote: »

That was very similar to me when I went looking for an adult assessment for ADHD. I was repeatedly asked by medical professionals why I would want a label like that as if I was just looking for a label, woke up one morning and thought 'Hey, why not get assessed for ADHD today, it sounds lovely and I really want a slice of that'. My standard response became 'Well obviously it's about trying to get an accurate diagnosis in order to receive appropriate treatment'. That line of questioning usually stopped after that.

Exact same for my brother, he was suspected of having some type of ASD as a young child but the GPs all said "why do you want a label like that" - after a new GP joined the practice he went to him, who finally said yes, when he was 28, I bet under the same reasoning of "well you can get support once its identified".
Obtuse doctors. :rolleyes:

StripedBoxers

Shint0 wrote: »

That was very similar to me when I went looking for an adult assessment for ADHD. I was repeatedly asked by medical professionals why I would want a label like that as if I was just looking for a label, woke up one morning and thought 'Hey, why not get assessed for ADHD today, it sounds lovely and I really want a slice of that'. My standard response became 'Well obviously it's about trying to get an accurate diagnosis in order to receive appropriate treatment'. That line of questioning usually stopped after that.

failinis wrote: »

Exact same for my brother, he was suspected of having some type of ASD as a young child but the GPs all said "why do you want a label like that" - after a new GP joined the practice he went to him, who finally said yes, when he was 28, I bet under the same reasoning of "well you can get support once its identified".
Obtuse doctors. :rolleyes:

Yeah it's exactly the same for me. I have had my friends tell me they "don't understand" why I would "want" or "need" to know, but I always tell them that they don't need to understand because its not for them to understand at all. It for me, its me who has it, its me who will (hopefully) get the correct treatment for it, so I am the one who wants (and needs) to know, no one else.

I can only describe it as parent knowing there is something wrong with their child (and I don't mean Aspergers or anything, just a sick child) and that parent needing to know what the illness is so they can get the correct treatment for their child, well for me, its like that but with Aspergers and I want to get the correct treatment for myself, I have no one to fight for me to get the diagnosis, I have to do it.

My two half siblings have Aspergers so its not at all surprising that I have it myself, and I know I have it, from having done research and plenty of reading etc I fit the criteria more for Aspergers than social anxiety. I do have social anxiety but I am now thinking its more mild than I realised and most of my issues stem from Aspergers.

the_syco

StripedBoxers wrote: »

I do have social anxiety but I am now thinking its more mild than I realised and most of my issues stem from Aspergers.

Came across a post I identified with, and when I looked into it, I seemed to tick a lot of the boxes. But as with anything else, will it affect me in a negative way, such as car insurance, etc?

LegacyUser

There is a distinct lack of services for young adults/ adults on the spectrum in Ireland.
Here are some sites I have found useful as an autistic adult:

https://musingsofanaspie.com/
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/p/resources.html
http://autisticadvocacy.org/home/resource-library/
https://autisticality.com/2016/03/21/inclusive-autistic-traits/
https://anonymouslyautistic.net/autism-resources/
http://www.autism.org.uk/
http://wrongplanet.net/
http://asiam.ie/


this may also be of interest to someone:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1362361313501091

koumi

Shint0 wrote:

That was very similar to me when I went looking for an adult assessment for ADHD. I was repeatedly asked by medical professionals why I would want a label like that as if I was just looking for a label, woke up one morning and thought 'Hey, why not get assessed for ADHD today, it sounds lovely and I really want a slice of that'. My standard response became 'Well obviously it's about trying to get an accurate diagnosis in order to receive appropriate treatment'. That line of questioning usually stopped after that.

I have literally just had this experience. My doctor doesn't mind so much, in fact he seemed reasonably supportive of the fact that I went of my own accord in an attempt to find a solution to my own problems but this was despite never having received any kind of help from him for other related issues like anxiety or depression over the years but maybe he's still of the opinion that it will probably go away in it's own time
Just wondered if others might share their experience since being diagnosed. I'm hoping to return to full time education and going back into the system but I still find myself fearful and wondering if things will be different now.

Aspergers Support Group

There's a new Aspergers Support Group and Youth Club at Castleknock Community Centre. All people with AS and their families welcome!

Nay473

Facebook group-Irish Christian Aspergers group. We are looking for new members. Thanks