My diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome by Dr Tony Attwood

Few people seem to be aware when Dr Tony Attwood is mentioned in the non Autistic World but others may also be unaware that Tony is actually based here in Brisbane. I first heard about Tony when I was in my mid 20's and having contacted him in 1997, Tony had his clinic at Macgregor. At the time I was in my final year of a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of New England and I was confused about life and what was actually wrong with me. I was keen to obtain a diagnosis and I met with Tony for an hour in his clinic and discussed with him or more succinctly informed him of my life, the struggles I had and why I was different, feeling depressed and misunderstood in life. It was liberating to have spoken with Tony because talking to myself was not an act of madness, and being different was something not to be ashamed of and at last I knew what was wrong with me. For a lot of adults, diagnosis is something that is hard to come to terms with. The questions arise of "Where to now?", "Am I alone?", and "Am I the only one who finds it hard to make friends and suffer social isolation?". After meeting with Tony, I wanted to find out if I was alone in my diagnosis and I joined Asperger Services Support Network which is now Asperger Services Australia. I consulted a list which contained the contact details of its members and I narrow down the list to see if there were other adults on this list. When I found some of them mentioned and then their contact details, I decided to make contact to see if I could find out how or whether it was possible to form a support group. With some effort this was executed and the group later grew from 4 to over 40 members. Back then, I was unable to handle stress and cope with anxiety and I had to withdraw but since working in my current job and having contact with another adult in the United Kingdom, Chris Mitchell, I decided to get full swing into advocacy. I still keep in touch with Chris when I can, and try to touch base with Tony also. As Tony is busy it is not always possible to communicate with him but in my last phone call, I informed Tony about my own experiences and when I feel something is of importance to him, I email him or try and contact him by phone. Brisbane is indeed fortunate to have Tony Attwood here and I hope that Tony is able to visit the UQ Adult Group. What concerns me is that I believe Tony is equipped to diagnose adults but the more and more Psychologists that are about, are they properly diagnosing Asperger Syndrome? My appointment with Tony I felt was proper and professionally undertaken and having been diagnosed by Tony, I feel that I am hopefully a helpful contribution to him and the awareness of Asperger Syndrome that he carries out on a global scale. Unfortunately I struggle with academia and being able to obtain qualifications has meant that I cannot work closely with Tony but I feel that I can contribute to awareness in other ways. In Australia and more so Brisbane, Asperger Syndrome is in its infancy and taking time to reach the forefront of a parallel with the rest of the world. Very few male adults on the spectrum have written from what I can see information of their own situations and awareness of Asperger Syndrome in adults. I don't want to boast about myself but I hope that my own experiences can illustrate some of the difficulties adults on the spectrum have. I know a lot of adults and I am aware of the work Dr Tony Attwood undertakes. I think Minds and Hearts is a positive start but I do believe that Minds and Hearts needs to cater for adults separately than it does for children. Adults needs are different and compared to children where symptoms cannot always be verbalized adults are able to inform a counselor about the issues they confront which are depression, anxiety and frustrations. These can relate to relationship issues, being unemployed etc. I remember Tony running workshops which unfortunately are not always affordable for people on low incomes and him informing adults of what he termed and 'anxiety lever'. I am looking forward to talking with Tony tomorrow and some other adults and meeting other adults attending the employment seminar.