People who discovered it later in life, how did you realize you had Autism / Asperger's?

I didn't know initially. Autism was a foreign concept to me.

My mother sensed there was something. I would hit myself as a young child, pull my hair, scratch my face, bang my head against a door/wall, etc. I had an explosive temper.

I developed peculiar interests as a child. My mother said I became obsessed with fire exit signs, going as far to ask for one at Christmas. There were others too, like a log - yes, a common log you'd find out in the woods. I developed an obsession with the "green man" who indicated when it was safe to cross the road. So much that I told a teacher in nursery that's what I wanted to be when I got older.

As a toddler, I wouldn't interact or engage with the other children. I would apparently seek out a reclusive corner and amuse myself. If/when another child approached me, intent on playing with me, I relinquished whatever toy I had, then identified another detached corner to dwell in. The nursery staff tried to integrate me and encouraged me to mingle, to no avail. They informed my mother.

I was taken to see a doctor who was of the abrupt opinion that I was an "attention seeker" who "craves the limelight," and the "best advice" he could offer my mother would be to "completely ignore him".

As a young child and teenager I was socially impotent. I couldn't grasp the subtleties, so I relied on literal meaning. I couldn't make eye contact; I wasn't sure how much was too much or too little; I had difficulty finding the balance. In short, it was like wandering through a minefield while blindfolded.

I had developed strict routines. I relied heavily on structure and order. I was seeing doctors regularly from the age of fourteen onwards. One doctor pondered whether I was bipolar; another contemplated if I had a personality disorder with underlying paranoia. Then one psychologist suspected autism - I was 19 at that point. He referred me to see a specialist he knew.

I was diagnosed with autism. Even during my assessment I did things which were considered outside of the norm.

But that's what led me to realising. My diagnosis :)

/r/aspergers Thread