No one said anything to me until I mentioned the possibility that I may have this cognitive style. The reactions of people really surprised me.
A social worker at a community health centre admitted that she noticed the traits in me when she was seeing a family who had a child with Asperger's. She told me she saw similarities but never mentioned it feeling it wasn't her place. I remember how surprised she was when I told her.
My mother told me I had Aspergers when I asked her about it. She said she realized it after learning about it through her job in education. She admitted that she discussed it with my older sister and stated my childhood development supported it.
This was enough for me to contact my old psychiatrist via email. She replied. From there I was able to get an assessment. I don't doubt the diagnosis now. It fits and describes me, my entire life. I really wish it was diagnosed a lot earlier.
I always felt different and never understood why I couldn't relate to people and make friends. It's a theme in my psych records. Unfortunately Aspergers/ASD wasn't recognized in the mid to late 1990s when I was using the General Hosptial's psych service. I got misdiagnosed with BPD, a diagnosis that nearly killed me.
Getting diagnosed with this changed my life and put me on the path to recovery.