Autism Support Community

Hello-Just stumbled upon this community while reading up on some stuff and I have a question-Psychiatric diagnoses are nothing new to me-but just recently my doctor brought up the possibility of an ASD, specifically aspergers. And the more I read about it, I am kind of surprised because a lot of the stuff I read does match the kind of child I was and the adult I am now. Just to have some background info, I'm 22 and currently on disability. At the moment I'm currently diagnosed with severe PTSD(from a lifelong of trauma), ADHD, Depression, and OCD. In the past I was diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder but once the PTSD was discovered they threw that one out and chocked my psychosis up to 'trauma-related stuff'. Another reason my doctor was suspicious of an ASD. She didn't explain it but from what I got from her it looked like there was some sort of connection between psychosis and having an ASD-? I don't really understand that but then again I could have misunderstood her. My childhood is best described as chaotic. I was born very premature to parents both over age 45 and a mother who spent her pregnancy with me inside of a psych hospital. I had Reactive Attachment Disorder as a very young toddler and developed failure-to-thrive. I guess I had pretty intensive therapy into my preschool years and somehow was able to function normally and no longer met the RAD criteria. I have memory problems(trauma-related)but from what I know and have heard, I was pretty much anti-social as a child. In preschool I refused to play with anyone and had plenty of meetings because I wouldn't look at the teachers when they talked to me or even respond to them. I would get in trouble because I refused to learn the teacher's names and instead would call them 'you'. Once I got into elementary school it didn't get any better. I was completely friendless but also wouldn't interact with the other children. My grandmother was ecstatic when one day I just stood near the other kids while they were playing because that was a big deal for me. I functioned relatively well in school except I had numerous hearing tests done, which all came back normal, because I never responded when people tried to talk to me. The only other quirk was my uneligible handwriting. Which I have to say hasn't gotten any better :)As a child I played alone all the time and actually quite preferred it that way. I did end up making some friends once I got into high school who also happened to be a part of the so-called 'weird kids'. So as far as I can tell besides those couple things the only other ASD-like symptoms I've shown, for one, is my extreme rigidness. Routine is especially important to me, right down to a 24/7 TV schedule that if my dad tries to change it will end with me in a hysterical fit. I like things the same, the same food, clothes, songs, books, and so on. I have many obsessive behaviors but that could also be my OCD-lining things up continuously, making patterns, etc. I do have one quirk that I was recently told had a name-I repeat things, such as when someones talking to me, I feel an incredible urge to parrot them. As a child I didn't even notice it, but now that I know whats socially acceptable and whats not, it is very frustrating to do this and not be able to stop. Echolalia I think is what its called. As a child I had repetitive movements, arm flapping, which have now turned into 'circling' with my fingers. And to this day I still cant look anyone in the eyes. Its just not a thing I can do. So yes, I do have a question after all of that babble-Is it possible that something as big as an ASD can be missed when one is a child? I havent, so far, read anything about being diagnosed as an adult, so I'm guessing that its not common. It just seemed unlikely to me so thats why Im asking. My doc says the wait for testing will take a year so I have plenty of time to ponder the possibility.

Any input would be great!