It's not who he is: Misdiagnosis of autism

Jeremy is a 20-year-old young man who lives in Columbia, Missouri, and works on the "Mizzou" college campus as a volunteer, cleaning classrooms.

From the looks of him, you can't tell Jeremy has autism. He has a high functioning form called Aspergers. Doctors didn't diagnose him until he was 16. Before then, Jeremy said he had complications stacked up against him from doctors not knowing much about autism.

"They put me on several drugs and misdiagnosed me several times," said Jeremy. "Those were probably the most catastrophic years of my life, being misdiagnosed, being on those drugs, being treated poorly by the school, of their ignorance of autism, of my condition."

Now "his autism does play a part in his life, plays a big part, but it is not who he is," said his mother, Robin. "He is someone who has dreams and aspirations, who has many skills, who has a kind heart, who likes to volunteer, likes to help people... that is who Jeremy is."

Despite the difficulties he faces, Jeremy has no tolerance for those who want to "cure" autism.

"It's insulting to me because it is saying, you know, when people say, 'I am not going to try to understand this, I just want to cure it.' When it is actually something neurological. It is hard-wired into your brain. There is nothing you can do about it. That is just the way it is. They just want a cure, they don't want to understand it. They don't need to treat it. They don't want to deal with it. It is a lifelong thing," said Jeremy.

Advice to people whose drugs aren't helping: Find other people in your situation; they might help you learn a more accurate diagnosis.

Browse for similar stories in our index at the very bottom of this page, or read another delayed diagnosis story.

Thanks to Ashley Reynolds for the source story.