"Self diagnosis" trends...source of ridicule

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I was self diagnosed before my diagnosis. I will admit, after reading of several people who were wrong, I was concerned. However, my suspicions were reaffirmed by my daughter's neurologists. The first came right out and asked if I was Autistic. I do believe he was on the spectrum himself. The second suggested an evaluation. Also, my close friends had mentioned some things that were off, but seemed normal to me, as I had been that way my entire life.

The life I'm living now is making my symptoms more noticeable, as I have little reason to practice coping skills. While in school, or working, I had to at least try to fit in with NTs on nearly a daily basis. Now, because I'm home with my children, because my daughter has so many medical needs, I'm very isolated. I only speak to doctors, teachers, and a few other people. The former two are easy, as medicine is my area of interest, and I can go on and on with my focus, and not have to worry. I also have an easy time talking to teachers.

My eye contact went from fairly acceptable, to terrible, and I stim and show other outward symptoms more often. I also have a harder time in conversations.

I often wonder if this is good for me, as I have very little stress, or bad for me, because I regress. It has nothing to do with this thread, just a thought.

I do not believe those who self diagnose are inherently wrong, as I know I wasn't. I do, however, think that some mistake another disorder for AS. That being said, it doesn't hurt me if they do.

Bleah. I wish the mods would just make a rule banning these 'self-diagnosed = faking it' posts and can the trolls who make them.

Here I am in an academic library with access to massive databases of scientific and medical journals, which update faster than they can print the paper journals. They contain tens of thousands of nicely searchable articles and research papers about Asperger's and not one mentions this terrible problem of these millions of self-diagnosed fake autists running around screwing up the research. 'Google it' says troll. I just 'googled' it with five different monsters that flatten Google when accuracy is a matter of interest.

It might do well for the "diagnostic snobs" to remember they were once undiagnosed themselves. Presumably someone had suspicions beforehand.

I have a question for all the self-diagnosed who are going around screaming those who are a little hesitant on the whole self-diagnosing thing calling them snobs. Am I snob for merely believing that one should not say they have Asperger's or Autism without a diagnosis? Am I a snob for worrying that those who SD who seem more anept than I am then people expect me to be exactly just as functioning as one who is assuming or is quite certain they have an ASD even though they don't have it on paper? Am I snob because I don't think people who aren't diagnosed should go to a support group when they don't have a specific diagnosis and don't think they should get government help?

I have no problem with people who SD as long as they don't go around proclaiming they have it to the public, and by public I mean off the computer.. I have no problem with SD people here, I think some of them have tried to get a diagnosis but the psychologists or psychiatrists or whoever else is just not helping them correctly and making it more difficult for them. I'm starting to get a bit offended by people assuming I am a snob for having a belief such as what I stated in my first paragraph. I have stated i do not have problems with SD as long as they don't go around telling people they have it when they don't know if they do .. to other people. Like they can say "I suspect such and such", which is fine.

I am just irked by those who think just cause they have a slight stimming addiction that they are on the spectrum, when that's the only symptom.

I am not a snob, and I don't appreciate people stating those who believe that they should get a professional diagnosis before goign around proclaiming they have an ASD are diagnosis snobs. I just have a belief is all.

I'm self-diagnosed but like others do not "broadcast" -- there is no reason for it. I shared the information with my girlfriend and it comes up from time to time and can be helpful in dealing with "issues." I mentioned it also to my family and they shrugged a bit; I don't think it was going to inform them of anything they hadn't learned was odd about me already from knowing me for my whole life. I'm "on the spectrum" by any diagnostic test but haven't felt the need to see a professional. I read every book on Autism in my local library when I first heard of high functioning forms of Autism and Asperger's several months ago. The huge differences in opinions on AS in general are enough to make the notion of a so-called concrete partition between normal and spectrum absurd. I've seen and read all sorts of information and diagnostics that range from vague and psychologically poetic/riddling to "scientific" and characterized by jargon to the point of absurdity. Somewhere in the middle is a relatively definable condition that many relate to, yet still there is controversy, and the most autistic of all can't speak at all about the issue so there is great absurdity to that as well.