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Originally Posted by IRememberMyFirstBee
Did the issue of higher functioning ASD or pragmatic/social language skills ever come up during your school years? Would there be any documentation somewhere with an old school social worker?
I hope it is okay to ask that, I don’t want to pry! It’s just something I’ve seen quite a bit of — kids that are clearly somewhere on the spectrum, but they are quiet, get their work done, don’t cause any problems, so no one sees a need to investigate further, bc they deem there is no educational impact. But what I’ve found is that, at least for adolescents, the social impacts can be more damning than the academic ones.
Anyway, I look forward to hearing how your conversation with her goes.
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No worries. You're not prying.
But yes, I've always had social issues. However, I never saw a social worker during my elementary through high school years. My parents didn't--and still don't--treat people with mental illness with respect, so I never got the help I needed for any of my symptoms. They're also deniers. Plus, there was a stigma in getting help from a school counselor from my elementary years through my high school years. Everyone would accuse you of being "mentally retarded" or, at the very least, "stupid and socially inept." So while it was true that I guess I was "socially inept," I didn't want to give kids an excuse to further bully me, as kids can be downright cruel.
I didn't seek help for my mental health until May 2013, after I graduated with my bachelor's degree in engineering, but right before I started my Master's program in CS (technically "computer engineering"). The counseling center they had had diagnosed me with Depression, GAD, and OCD, as well as noted my social problems. However, I couldn't afford that evaluation OR therapy. The only reason I got the evaluation free was that the center was looking for running a study on patients with OCD, and they wanted to give an incentive for minorities like myself to participate in the OCD study. (I'm hispanic.) So they said, "Well, let's try evaluating you first because it's possible you could have OCD."
I'll keep everyone updated with what my therapist says.