Since my cerebral palsy diagnosis at the age of 46, it has taken me an additional ten years of research to understand my presenting neurological symptoms and to find out those were part of the autism spectrum. The answers I have from my diagnoses explain who I am, how I am and how I’ve been. They also explain my experiences to date. Those all fall into place now.
Autism is a co-occurring condition of Cerebral Palsy
Every question, every uncertainty, every mental struggle has now been ticked and crossed through autism, that I didn’t know I had as a child. Autism is a co-occurring condition of cerebral palsy. Even before a confirmed diagnosis, after coming into contact with someone who was dealing with symptoms similar to mine, I knew I was dealing with the disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Although autism and Asperger’s were seen as two different conditions, today Asperger’s syndrome is no longer a separate diagnosis. It is now a part of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In 2013, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) changed its classification.
Over the years, I have acquired knowledge of my experiences through my heightened senses, focusing on the things I needed to focus on, to bring me the answers I needed, to the exclusion of everything else. ASD (Asperger's) also explains my struggles with touch, loud noises, textures and smells.
Heightened Senses and Greater Clarity
I see things with greater clarity through my heightened senses, experiencing the world in a very visually focused way. I work with my intuition, which cannot always be explained by thought or fact, but rather through a deep inner feeling, without having to find or look for it.
Having ASD is the reason I think and write in the way I do. I know that without my website I would never have been able to work my symptoms out, in any great detail. It has become my lifeline to a better existence, enabling me to uncover the reasons behind my experiences.
Most of what I learned about autism and Asperger's came from dealing with my niece who has Asperger's, so I do know a bit about it.
You sound like you have many of the symptoms associated with ASD, so it makes a lot of sense as to why you've had the kind of issues you've had in your life.
It would have been great had you known when you were a child, as it would also have been for me, but unfortunately things didn't work out that way for either one of us; so we have to do the best we can now.
Hopefully at least knowing now, means you'll be better equipped to deal with these issues.
Thanks Randy. What you've said is very helpful. Yes, it would have been easier had I have known as a child. I know you feel that way too.
But as you say, we have to do the best we can now. My blog has become a lifeline for me, and a helpful platform for others looking for answers on what they deal with.
I will try and get an official diagnosis, but in the meantime I'm happy to own ASD. It's more than I've had my whole life around my disability.