But even though I had this CPD diagnosis, it gnawed at me. It was such an empty diagnosis, and it didn't really explain why I'd had all the problems that I'd had at school and with Australia Post - especially the latter. It was too vague. It was something, and something is better than nothing but it just didn't answer all the questions I still had about myself.

I knew from my parents that when I was a toddler they thought I might have been Autistic. That was eliminated, even though I did have one of the more important symptoms - the need for autonomy. That however was the limit of my knowledge of Autism.

Until I saw a commercial or something on Canberra television.

It mentioned that for an Autistic person, "routine was vital".

Something clicked inside my head. Routine also suited me. I never liked change - I always wanted things just so. This was probably what my parents were thinking back when I was a toddler.

So I decided to get in telephone contact with Dr. Swift. I told him about my feelings, and wondered if there was anything that resembled Autism. I knew I wasn't classically Autistic, and Dr. Swift agreed. He then mentioned Asperger's Syndrome to me and it's relationship with Autism. Everything he said sounded just like me, so I asked him the crucial question - "Do you believe I have Asperger's Syndrome?"

"Yes."

I finally had the answers to all my questions. Everything FINALLY fell into place. It was like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I wasted no time asking him to put that in writing, and dated February 4, 1997 I had my formal diagnosis as an Aspie. After 32 years of not knowing what was going on in my head and why I was the way that I was, I had a lot of catching up to do. Heaps of research and so on so I knew what I was dealing with. Even though the Internet was in it's infancy, there was enough around to help.

If only DX's like this can be made retrospective!!