People are discouraging me from getting a diagnosis

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Reinforcement that his suspicions are legitimate.


If you have a disability that you need support for, presumably you would be seeing a specialist about the problem. It makes more sense for the specialist to determine the patient's capabilities than the administrators of disability insurance. The two have to work together.


If you are suggesting that the only reason to get a diagnosis is to apply for disability, I disagree. I have found tremendous peace of mind from my diagnosis as well as appropriate medication.
Also who is the "us" you refer to?

You should probably get one if you feel that you have AS, but sometimes the diagnostic testing is not always accurate and you should be somewhat prepared for that, unfortunately.

The OP clearly has no disability which needs support - he/she is nearly 19, and is receiving no specialist help.

We all get peace of mind from our diagnosis - my message is that if someone has done enough work to satisfy themselves that autism is the reason for their difficulties, then there is little to be gained from agonising over the process of getting someone else to provide confirmation.

You say that your diagnosis has led you to some appropriate medication - that is a rare occurrence indeed - most adults on WP are agreed that there is nothing available to help them further, once the Eureka moment has faded.

The 'us' is exactly what it says - diagnosed or not, we all struggle through life - at least today's youngsters are able to find an explanation early in their lives.

I talked to my mom, a few siblings and my one friend that lives in a different state by text. So I only told family members that I thought would listen, and my friend. My mom is fairly certain I'm right as she knows how I was as a kid, and I fit the Asperger's symptoms quite clearly. Now it's less obvious.

Most of the others didn't directly try to dissuade me but they all seemed confused (they just don't know a lot about it if anything), and my friend and older brother both said even if it's true maybe I should just keep it to myself, they didn't say why though.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but to me it seems if that was the response of the people I thought would be most open to listening, I can't even imagine the reaction I'd get from my grandparents. I have already decided I definitely want a diagnosis, I just am afraid that if I bring it up to them (which I will very likely have to) it will end in an big argument. I will keep trying to explain myself because they will question it, and they have already threatened to kick me out for smaller things (almost losing the garage door opener which I said I'd pay for anyway, wearing a hat while eating etc.) because it always escalates no matter how hard I try. So I don't know what to do.

Why is that clear. To be honest I have no idea if the OP has autism or not, that's why consulting a specialist is a good idea.


Well, there is professional recognition. This has made a difference to me in they type and amount of care I have received specific to my diagnosis.


Really, most adults on WP agree to this. Damn, I missed that.


Thank goodness for that. But I think there is a lot we still don't know about autism.

And to elaborate, I want the diagnosis is for two main reasons.

1: I have been getting therapy and medication that hasn't helped me at all as I have been misdiagnosed with ADD, and I really want a treatment that will actually help me, or at the very least help me get a better understanding of my problems.

2: I really just want some more understanding, especially from my family. My whole life my parents especially (dad, step dad, step mom) have made me feel like a delinquent and a nuisance, when I really do want to be a good person. They would say they love me but yell at me for things I felt I couldn't help. I tried telling them but they said it's an excuse. And what they always failed to see was that from how I started out I really came a long way. But I got a 1.8 at college first semester, and totally failed second semester. halfway through I got so overwhelmed with everything I had to keep track of that I just shut down and hardly left my room for two months. So they are all disappointed and don't know why I didn't try harder. I just for once want to be acceptable and not feel like I'm having to hide from them.

So you can determine from like 2 posts whether or not someone has a disability needing support or not? You must be one of the best neurologists in the entire world to pull that one off..

Also for the adults on the spectrum who are unable to hold a job, or have significant difficulties there are accomodations, programs to help them find/keep employment(not that all these are effective programs) as well as being able to apply for SSI if needed. So yeah not always a lot a available and what is, isn't always efficient or effective.

To be eligible for many of these things the OP is better off getting a diagnosis while still 18. I was told not to bother trying for any of this sort of help since I did not get found out until well after 18.

One more thing to explain as I didn't say this before. My parents view about me was that I needed to fix myself and not that they wanted to help me. In the end I just would hide from them as often as possible so they would not see my problems anymore. And I got through school almost entirely on my high test scores, and into college on my high ACT score, and for this reason everyone assumed I was smart enough to "figure it out" on my own. This proved to be false when I left to be at college, I got severely overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed the whole time I was there, and well after I left too. All the jobs I have had almost fired me at one point. My whole entire life has been made up of just barely scraping by on intelligence and sheer luck. So yes, I am pretty convinced I have something that would warrant help.

Been there. Yep. You have valid reasons to seek a diagnosis. Good luck.

um... yeah?
in indiana it is called bdds autism wavier, also traditional medicaid pays for it as well.

Interesting. Just out of curiosity where did you get this idea from? Is there a poll or post which has given you this impression or is this just an assumption based on the posts you have chosen to read?

Personally I get a great deal of assistance and it is very much needed. There is plenty of assistance available... Depending on where you live and what your genuine needs are. The only people I have heard of not getting services are those who don't actually need them anyway. I'd be curious indeed to see where people are having different experiences and how they are slipping though the cracks. It seems to me that the better course of action would not to eschew diagnosis but instead to advocate for an improvement of services and supports and access to them for those with a confirmed diagnosis.

meds make me able to live halfway independantly.. they enable me to verbally speak, and also enable me be more on the aspergers area on the spectrum, instead of full coursed classic autism.
and if there is nothing avalible to help "most adults on WP" why exactly are you here? if this isnt helping.. ?

Last edited by Saphie on 22 Jul 2014, 7:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nothing drastic; you can still get a diagnosis without hinderance (though it is more difficult to find a doctor who can diagnose adults, but that would still be problematic right now), but it just means you don't have access to the sorts of services they offer children to help with their diagnoses (I don't know what those are as I was diagnosed a few months ago at 21). You can still get help via social skills groups, OT, therapy, government assistance, etc., it will just be rather more difficult as an "adult". Frankly I don't think it makes much of a difference, seeing as, the way I understand it, you lose access to childhood services once you grow out of them no matter what age you were diagnosed at.

So does that mean there aren't actually any services that carry over into adulthood? Do you know this for sure or is it speculation? Because in that case I don't need to frantically try to find a specialist, which would indeed be less stressful. But then again, I think I could benefit from getting help as soon as possible anyway. My real question to everyone is how do I find someone who is thoroughly qualified to diagnose Asperger's in an adult? I can't find anything online, and I tried contacting autism groups and they didn't have a lot of information. I am talking to my therapist about it tomorrow but I don't really know that she would have that information considering the ASA didn't.