Newbie asking for advice

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Hi all, I'm Alison, from Glasgow.

I don't know if I have Aspergers. I think I have. I first heard about Aspergers when a psychologist I was seeing, for depression, recommended I get a diagnosis - that was about two years ago. But my parents have always been dead set against me getting a diagnosis. They've known I might have Aspergers since I was six, but they never told me before I brought it up. My mum doesn't think there's any point in getting a diagnosis, and that if I did no one would give me a job - or that if I did get a job, they would fire me as soon as they found out. She says I'm just shy and quiet, not 'like that', as she puts it.

So...I suppose I wanted to ask...what should I do? I don't really have anyone to talk to about this. Have people found it helped, getting a diagnosis? I think I would like to know, and I am tempted to go ahead and try to get a diagnosis - but has anyone had problems caused by getting an official diagnosis?

Thank you in advance for any answers - I'm really glad I found WrongPlanet!

Welcome to WP!

Hi, and welcome.

I guess the value in getting a diagnosis depends on what you want the diagnosis to do for you. If your degree of impairment / dysfunctionality / whatever is severe enough that there would be help available for you if you were officially diagnosed, then there might be some worth to it. But if you function decently, an "official" diagnosis might actually be detrimental, as in the USA at least it could keep you from getting future health insurance and potentially be a huge "black mark" against you when it came time for employment.

Another reason TO get officially diagnosed is for validation. I know that my whole life (I'm 40) has been one big neuropsychiatric weirdness. A diagnosis of AS makes my life make some sense; all these seemingly-disconnected things about blastoff now are connected under one umbrella, something with a name and something that I can get my hands around. I like that. But is this something I reeeeeaalllly want my insurance company to know about ? I dunno that I do.

I guess my advice to you is to be cautious about an "official" diagnosis. Make sure it's going to be a positive thing, not a negative one.

"Hello," Alison, and welcome aboard the WP community.

Hi Alison,
I was just diagnosed this year and it has been fairly stressful. I had just found Asperger info on-line and knew that it described me. I went out and got diagnosed thinking that I really wanted to finally officially belong to the group that I fit into. I was very excited and flying high when I got the diagnosis as I really had wanted to know this truth. But, I have not had anyone to talk with about all the stuff I am feeling and thinking. My family does not seem interested or concerned. My psychologist knows very little about Autistic spectrum disorders and gives advice that is just not helpful. Other doctors in my area admit to only know how to treat male children as females and adults have very different issues. I feel more alone than ever. If I had been diagnosed as a child I think I would have had more support and would have adjusted more quickly. As it is I am constantly thinking about it and feel as if I can't just forget about it for a few minutes and relax. I imagine that I will adjust eventually but it has been much harder than anticipated.
So, I guess I would say that getting a diagnosis can cause some inner turmoil. But, It can also give you the truth if that is what you search for.

Welcome home.

I'd say the most important thing is to figure out how your brain works. The Aspie Quiz can give some direction. Once you know your wiring differences, you can develop 'cognitive adaptations'. Denial, and trying to be normal, aren't useful. You need to learn techniques and skills specific to your neurology.

There seems to be a lot of ignorance among the professionals assigned to deal with AS. You may want to read some books, and explore the forums here, and do your own 'experiments'.

Some people get a lot from social skills classes and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), others don't. You may need some sort of diagnosis to get into programs that help. Things like depression are different with AS than other causes.

To WrongPlanet!! !