Laying here in bed, late on a Wednesday night - I've just posted the list of female Aspergers traits from Rudy Simone's "Aspergirls" on my FB wall - and the replies received made me wonder:
How often, if at all, do you think that Aspergers in women is actually misdiagnosed as PND?
Personally - I think AS is responsible for many of the issues I faced, which led to a PND diagnosis upon the birth of my girls.
Babies and children change our routine, they are demanding, noisy, require lots of touch and interaction. They often don't make sense and disturb thought processes or important things we are doing. They present us with many, many, many things that Aspies find challenging - yet we love them, so then comes the guilt.
Had I received my diagnosis pre-children, perhaps I'd have been a little kinder to myself when struggling immensely with all of the above. I know that already, a few months down the track, I'm beginning to change how I respond to my shortcomings - rather than wonder why I fail as a mother, I'm acknowledging that I can and will often respond differently to others, and that it's ok for things not to come naturally at times. I'm learning my limits and how to stay within them whilst meeting the needs of the girls.
Would be very interested to hear the opinions of others on this one!
Interesting. I was dx with PND after Heidi and Liam, but I didn't ever feel depressed. I just feel so weird and so different than anyone else and I tried to explain it to the GP but just got told it's PND. Who knows!
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