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starkid
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29 Apr 2015, 9:32 pm

It is also possible to get diagnosed for cheap or free at a graduate school of clinical psychology, if you are willing to undergo an assessment that is performed by graduate students.



BourbonGuy
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06 May 2015, 9:01 am

I'm new to the forum, and I'm unsure whether to pursue a diagnosis or not.

A little background:
Over Christmas, my wife tells me she thinks she's discovered an explanation for my quirks and asked me to consider taking one of the online AQ tests as a starting point. Being thorough, I took every online AQ test I could find...nearly all of them rate me squarely in the middle of the "Aspergers" range.

Next step for me was the start of my research...which quickly became what could be called one of my new special interests as I eagerly looked for all I could find on Aspergers...and public perceptions, coupled with uncertainty of the consequences, led me to delay all of this time...pondering...worrying...wondering. Eventually, I began to look into Aspie communities (locally as well as online forums like this one) to continue my research...which brings me to where I am today.

I'm a happily married man, 45 years old, working as an I.T. Professional for the past 20+ years. I've always hated crowds and refused to go into management because I see it as requiring innate social skills that I can't fake my way through....day in and day out...like I can (and do) by just being a worker-bee. I have figured out when to smile, what voice inflections to use, how much eye contact to force myself to make during a one-on-one conversation, and other learnable social skills needed to "get by" working in I.T. I can even drive a vehicle, but like anything else I have to do that requires a lot of mental gymnastics, I'm so exhausted afterwards. I've even been fortunate enough to avoid a meltdown while at work. When cognitive dissonance does occur while at work, I immediately start stimming....a lot....and I'm barely able to postpone the outrage until I get home that evening and vent in my garage, where I have my punching bag set up. Afterwards, I have my special interests to calm me back down.

I still don't know whether or not I should pursue a diagnosis. If I pursue (and obtain) a diagnosis of Asperger's at my age and at this point in my professional career, will I suddenly find myself losing my job and endangering future employment prospects?

I've not seen too many Aspie I.T. professionals so far....but perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place. Are there any here that can shed some insight?

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. :oops:



ASPartOfMe
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06 May 2015, 10:08 am

BourbonGuy wrote:
I'm new to the forum, and I'm unsure whether to pursue a diagnosis or not.

A little background:
Over Christmas, my wife tells me she thinks she's discovered an explanation for my quirks and asked me to consider taking one of the online AQ tests as a starting point. Being thorough, I took every online AQ test I could find...nearly all of them rate me squarely in the middle of the "Aspergers" range.

Next step for me was the start of my research...which quickly became what could be called one of my new special interests as I eagerly looked for all I could find on Aspergers...and public perceptions, coupled with uncertainty of the consequences, led me to delay all of this time...pondering...worrying...wondering. Eventually, I began to look into Aspie communities (locally as well as online forums like this one) to continue my research...which brings me to where I am today.

I'm a happily married man, 45 years old, working as an I.T. Professional for the past 20+ years. I've always hated crowds and refused to go into management because I see it as requiring innate social skills that I can't fake my way through....day in and day out...like I can (and do) by just being a worker-bee. I have figured out when to smile, what voice inflections to use, how much eye contact to force myself to make during a one-on-one conversation, and other learnable social skills needed to "get by" working in I.T. I can even drive a vehicle, but like anything else I have to do that requires a lot of mental gymnastics, I'm so exhausted afterwards. I've even been fortunate enough to avoid a meltdown while at work. When cognitive dissonance does occur while at work, I immediately start stimming....a lot....and I'm barely able to postpone the outrage until I get home that evening and vent in my garage, where I have my punching bag set up. Afterwards, I have my special interests to calm me back down.

I still don't know whether or not I should pursue a diagnosis. If I pursue (and obtain) a diagnosis of Asperger's at my age and at this point in my professional career, will I suddenly find myself losing my job and endangering future employment prospects?

I've not seen too many Aspie I.T. professionals so far....but perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place. Are there any here that can shed some insight?

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. :oops:


There is a lot of "Aspies" in the IT field.

Right now you seem to be coping with life well so I see no immediate need. A professional diagnosis could be useful for two reasons. 1. As an insurance policy - In case you have problems as you get older and need benefits you do not need to first begin the process. 2. For verification for what you are thinking.

I do not know where you live so what I write next might differ where you live. In most places you are not required to tell an employer. In the USA at least most insurance does not cover assessment/testing and while expensive it should be affordable for somebody with a solid IT career going on. If your career goes downhill, something to consider in rapidly changing a youth oriented profession it may not be so affordable later. Also specialists in how Autism Spectrum Disorders (Aspergers is not an official diagnosis in many locals anymore) present in older Adults maybe hard to find. You need to see an person who is competent in diagnosing older adults because there is widespread misunderstanding of how Autism presents in Adults even among psychologists.


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BourbonGuy
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06 May 2015, 10:32 am

Thank you for responding! :D

Here in Kentucky, all I've found for requirements is that if I do have an official diagnosis, I must disclose it....and unless it prevents me from being able to do any part of my job, I'm not required to seek a diagnosis...so it seems to be all subjective at this point. I strongly suspect I'm an Aspie, but now that the DSM-V is out, Asperger's is discouraged as a diagnosis in favor of "Autism Spectrum Disorder", which I've already heard some NT's shorted to "Autism" and immediately begins their show of ignorance about the differences.

Mainly, I'm seeking a community of like-minded people...without diminishing or taking away from those who have and need the official diagnosis...and without losing my career prospects.

Ugh, I had better stop here...I'm beginning to sense cognitive dissonance beginning to form.

Thank you so much, once again, for your helpful response! :D I appreciate it!



justkillingtime
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06 May 2015, 10:40 am

BourbonGuy wrote:
I'm new to the forum, and I'm unsure whether to pursue a diagnosis or not.

A little background:
Over Christmas, my wife tells me she thinks she's discovered an explanation for my quirks and asked me to consider taking one of the online AQ tests as a starting point. Being thorough, I took every online AQ test I could find...nearly all of them rate me squarely in the middle of the "Aspergers" range.

Next step for me was the start of my research...which quickly became what could be called one of my new special interests as I eagerly looked for all I could find on Aspergers...and public perceptions, coupled with uncertainty of the consequences, led me to delay all of this time...pondering...worrying...wondering. Eventually, I began to look into Aspie communities (locally as well as online forums like this one) to continue my research...which brings me to where I am today.

I'm a happily married man, 45 years old, working as an I.T. Professional for the past 20+ years. I've always hated crowds and refused to go into management because I see it as requiring innate social skills that I can't fake my way through....day in and day out...like I can (and do) by just being a worker-bee. I have figured out when to smile, what voice inflections to use, how much eye contact to force myself to make during a one-on-one conversation, and other learnable social skills needed to "get by" working in I.T. I can even drive a vehicle, but like anything else I have to do that requires a lot of mental gymnastics, I'm so exhausted afterwards. I've even been fortunate enough to avoid a meltdown while at work. When cognitive dissonance does occur while at work, I immediately start stimming....a lot....and I'm barely able to postpone the outrage until I get home that evening and vent in my garage, where I have my punching bag set up. Afterwards, I have my special interests to calm me back down.

I still don't know whether or not I should pursue a diagnosis. If I pursue (and obtain) a diagnosis of Asperger's at my age and at this point in my professional career, will I suddenly find myself losing my job and endangering future employment prospects?

I've not seen too many Aspie I.T. professionals so far....but perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place. Are there any here that can shed some insight?

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. :oops:


I like your avatar.


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ASPartOfMe
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06 May 2015, 10:50 am

BourbonGuy wrote:
Thank you for responding! :D

Here in Kentucky, all I've found for requirements is that if I do have an official diagnosis, I must disclose it....and unless it prevents me from being able to do any part of my job, I'm not required to seek a diagnosis...so it seems to be all subjective at this point. I strongly suspect I'm an Aspie, but now that the DSM-V is out, Asperger's is discouraged as a diagnosis in favor of "Autism Spectrum Disorder", which I've already heard some NT's shorted to "Autism" and immediately begins their show of ignorance about the differences.

Mainly, I'm seeking a community of like-minded people...without diminishing or taking away from those who have and need the official diagnosis...and without losing my career prospects.

Ugh, I had better stop here...I'm beginning to sense cognitive dissonance beginning to form.

Thank you so much, once again, for your helpful response! :D I appreciate it!


There might be an option of "unofficial diagnosis". You get a specialist to say in his professional opinion you have Aspergers/Autism but no official document is written.


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DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


BourbonGuy
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06 May 2015, 10:58 am

justkillingtime wrote:

I like your avatar.


Hehe...thank you :D

Backstory on the image:
During my first visit to Kentucky, my wife took me on the touristy "Bourbon Trail" to visit all the distilleries because at the time, I became fascinated in the whole process of the history of Bourbon and how it differs from other kinds of whiskey. The first one I went to was Heaven Hill distillery in Bardstown, KY....and after a brief introduction/lecture on its history, the tour took us inside one of the storage buildings where the bourbon is aged....and upon opening the door, a strong caramelized-vanilla smell hit my senses and I instantly became hooked...borderline addicted...to that bourbon...even before tasting it. Now I buy a bottle whenever I can...sometimes I just open it and enjoy that smell all over again...without drinking any.

Anyways...thank you! :D


ASPartOfMe wrote:

There might be an option of "unofficial diagnosis". You get a specialist to say in his professional opinion you have Aspergers/Autism but no official document is written.



That's a great idea! I think I'll look into that. I just need to find out how many visits I'll have to save up money for before I get that "unofficial diagnosis", but at least now I have something to work with.

Again, thank you! :D



ASPartOfMe
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06 May 2015, 11:06 am

There might be an option of "unofficial diagnosis". You get a specialist to say in his or her professional opinion you have Aspergers/Autism but no official document is written.

BourbonGuy wrote:
That's a great idea! I think I'll look into that. I just need to find out how many visits I'll have to save up money for before I get that "unofficial diagnosis", but at least now I have something to work with.

Again, thank you! :D


You are welcome.


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DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity

“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman


nyxjord
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06 May 2015, 11:10 am

BourbonGuy wrote:

ASPartOfMe wrote:

There might be an option of "unofficial diagnosis". You get a specialist to say in his professional opinion you have Aspergers/Autism but no official document is written.



That's a great idea! I think I'll look into that. I just need to find out how many visits I'll have to save up money for before I get that "unofficial diagnosis", but at least now I have something to work with.

Again, thank you! :D


Prices will vary, depending on where you live and the availability of doctors/ specialists etc. Where I went, they had a sliding scale for low-income individuals. My fiance provides for us and I just have my income a student so they went off of my income and it was maybe $240 total? Maybe check out what the options near you are and if they offer a sliding scale of any type.
Also, if you live near a UNI, many colleges will offer free diagnosis so that their psychology students can get more experience so that might be worth checking out.


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BourbonGuy
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06 May 2015, 11:21 am

nyxjord wrote:
Prices will vary, depending on where you live and the availability of doctors/ specialists etc. Where I went, they had a sliding scale for low-income individuals. My fiance provides for us and I just have my income a student so they went off of my income and it was maybe $240 total? Maybe check out what the options near you are and if they offer a sliding scale of any type.
Also, if you live near a UNI, many colleges will offer free diagnosis so that their psychology students can get more experience. I think AspieUtah might have experience with that type of thing? :?:


I'm just loving all of this great information! A sliding scale for low-income individuals is a great idea... I wish I'd heard of it sooner. With my current copay, visits are $20 each...so $240 would net me a dozen visits, and one visit per month stretches it out to a year. Okay, now I have an idea of what to look forward to as a "likely plan".

Thanks ! :D



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06 May 2015, 9:49 pm

BourbonGuy wrote:
...
I still don't know whether or not I should pursue a diagnosis. If I pursue (and obtain) a diagnosis of Asperger's at my age and at this point in my professional career, will I suddenly find myself losing my job and endangering future employment prospects?

I've not seen too many Aspie I.T. professionals so far....but perhaps I'm just not looking in the right place. Are there any here that can shed some insight?

I work in the software industry (aka IT). I imagine a lot of software people are on the spectrum, especially where I live (near Silicon Valley). By the way, I can't see how a diagnosis would endanger future employment prospects. The only thing that will endanger future employment prospects is simply growing older. As, unfortunately, ageism is a fact of life in this industry.



BourbonGuy
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08 May 2015, 9:00 am

Rocket123 wrote:
I work in the software industry (aka IT). I imagine a lot of software people are on the spectrum, especially where I live (near Silicon Valley). By the way, I can't see how a diagnosis would endanger future employment prospects. The only thing that will endanger future employment prospects is simply growing older. As, unfortunately, ageism is a fact of life in this industry.


I've seen it happen to another Aspie coworker where their promotion prospects were removed after the ASD diagnosis under the guise of "increased Security Clearance risk"...which seems to me just a case of "Ignorant NT" thinking.