Does it matter if I have Asperger's?

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Hello... first post here, feeling awkward. I'm not really sure if this is the right forum to post in. There are a lot and it's confusing.

First off, I'm not diagnosed and I don't know if I have Asperger's or not. I know I show a lot of the associated traits, but whether I actually have it... I do not know.

What I want to know is does it make any difference? I've spoken to my mum about the possibility of me having it, and while she's not sure if I do or not she doesn't seem to think it would matter in dealing with the issues I have. My biggest issues are anxiety and getting overloaded. I am seeing a psychiatrist and he said he did see some of the autistic traits in me and he did mention with the medication he prescribed to me that they use it with people with autism, but he didn't really seem to think it was an issue worth exploring either. Does it matter, though? Are the same strategies that work for other people with these issues likely to work well enough for someone with Asperger's?

I feel like the advice is always to work on things and get better and change thought patterns, but it doesn't really seem to cut it for me, and then I feel like it's my own fault for not trying hard enough. I feel like every time I try to explain why something is more difficult for me than it might be for most people, whether it's Asperger's or just other psychological differentness, it gets dismissed as making excuses. Like instead of this being a reason I find things difficult, having reasons is meaningless.

I don't know. I feel I have major obstacles that are being dismissed as easily combated ones. I feel like there are some things I may never truly master, but that I will be expected to. I feel like I have limitations and I'm not allowed to have limitations.

So, the question again: Does it matter if I have Asperger's?

I have no expertise what so ever, so all I can say is it could matter or not, and to find people who can relate to in helping out during this whole time (though to be honest, i recommend finding some forums besides this one, since I've found if you stay too long in one internet forum or another, it gets on the nerves).

Normal people believe those who aren't can usually be "fixed" into being normal by treatment, therapy, or being forced into it. Some things just can't be fixed that way. Autism spectrum disorders are a neurological condition present from birth. There is no cure for it. There are treatments, therapies, and coping methods that help some of us deal with life, but we will never be "normal." Forcing methods never work with neurological conditions, and can actually make things worse by adding to our stress.

The psych doc you have been going to is obviously not experienced with treating people on the autism spectrum. His brushing you off is proof of that. You need to be seeing a psych doc with experience treating people on the Autism spectrum.

As for wanting more insight into your own condition, go into the General Autism forum here. There is at least one post article there with links to online tests you can take. They will give you a better idea of whether you may be on the Autism spectrum or not. Save the results and print out at least two copies. One for your records, and one to show a psych doc,--but not the one you are seeing now.

As for whether it will make a difference if you are on the spectrum, and if you have an official diagnosis, that depends. If you want to participate in any treatments or therapies that will be funded by insurance moneys, or be paid for by the gov--Medicaid or some other gov plan, then you will need an official diagnosis, or they won't pay for the treatments and therapies.

Hope this helps!

If you are doing therapy, it can be useful to get a diagnosis.

Some forms of therapy - like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - are handled differently with people on the spectrum than they are for non-autistic people.

One of the reasons why I got an AS diagnosis in my 50s was because I wanted CBT for my sound sensitivity problems, and I knew that CBT has to be altered to work with us Aspies. So I got the psychologist to diagnose me first, and then - having established that I have AS - he was able to do CBT with me in the appropriate way for an Aspie. Fortunately he specialises in people on the spectrum, so he was good at both diagnosis and at adjusting the CBT to meet my Aspie needs.

One big issue for Aspies is "alexithymia": we have difficulty identifying our feelings, working out what caused them, and understanding how to manage them. If you do therapy that assumes you don't have alexithymia, you will be floundering because you won't understand or be able to do the emotional things they expect from you.

So THAT'S what's been going on with my therapists over the years. Alexithymia. Every time they asked me how something made me feel, I'd tell them and they'd say, "No, how did you feel?" I had no idea what to tell them other than what I'd already said. That always puzzled me.