How many self diagnosed turned out to be correct?

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After reading up on it for awhile i was pretty sure that i had AS, and i ended up getting diagnosed.

I discovered Aspergers about a year ago, when my sons Dr. diagnosed him with Aspergers. I read up on Aspergers, and the more i read, the more I saw me and my lifes issues. My son would fit the HFA, concidering that he regressed at about 15 months old. I was just diagnosed last May at 34.

I'm kind of confused as to how so many people can self-diagnose. I guess when you're an adult it's different. I've read about autism/AS before and during diagnosing process. I didn't relate to it at all. I wasn't aware there was body language to follow in the first place, so how could I identify with it?

It's less a case of identifying with it and more one of finally seeing why certain things kept happening no matter how hard I tried.

Wait, how is that different from identifying with it? I'd say that I identified with it because it explained why certain things kept happening no matter what I did. It was like "Woah, so all those things about me that I were told meant that I wasn't trying or was doing something wrong were actually part of what's wrong with me?!" I can't really separate, in my mind, the "identifying" with the "finally seeing."
Or am I defining them differently than you do?

I mostly did my self-diagnosis by matching the criteria with things people had told me. That's how I learned I usually have no facial expression, that I do a lot of weird hand "gestures", and that I have a monotone voice.

There were a few other things I noticed too, like the clumsiness and the spacial difficulties.

Yeah that's what I meant thanks

I knew I had it years before a diagnosis. It was very easy to figure out to be perfectly honest. I read the symptoms and facts about it and it was pretty much a match.

I diagnosed myself back in January, and it became an official diagnosis about 3 weeks ago.

Discovered Asperger's syndrom in 2007 when read an online article about Asperger's syndrom. Identified with it because was bullied and criticized my entire childhood for taking things to literal, having weird posture, wrong facial expressions etc. Almost seemed like my bullies had read a list of Asperger's symptoms.

Didn't really see myself in the diagnosis at first but asked my doctor about it just to be sure. Was diagnosed with schizophrenia among other things at the time and knew that wasn't right. My doctor agreed that Asperger's syndrom could be the correct diagnosis and gave me a referral to an assessment. Was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrom and ADHD in 2008, and all my other diagnosis were removed.

Last edited by Vimse on 12 Sep 2009, 12:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'll be finding out soon!

Woohoo, I get to be one of those spiffy people who translates something somebody said into what they meant! Usually it's me being translated, not me translating! *dances*

Another factor is that someone who wants to be diagnosed with something psychiatric will probably get that diagnosis if they try hard enough. Professionals misdiagnose all the time, so if someone goes to a private diagnostician for the express purpose of getting an AS diagnosis, it's going to happen eventually. You see enough psychiatrists/psychologists/neuropsychologists, eventually you'll find one that'll diagnose you with whatever you want. That's how the clueless ones stay in business.. by telling people what they want to hear.

I've noticed a few people on this site who are diagnosed and questioning the accuracy of their diagnosis.

I self diagnosed a couple of years ago. Getting officially diagnosed is a personal decision. After my diagnosis was confirmed I confided in one of my friends. His reply was "So what? I've always known you were autistic."

Autistic Disorder was the only thing in the book that fitted me (Schizoid PD in addition to the OCD was one thought, but my social deficits are and were too severe for Schizoid PD, plus childhood onset of Schizoid PD with Semantic Pragmatic Disorder is pretty much AD). I may have looked at Simple Schizophrenia if that was there still, as I noted my problems started around adolescence (in reality, it was just everyone else growing up around me, with me staying delayed).

I've never fitted the manifestation of AS, the active and odd presentation that is. I have the all absorbing and narrow interest [plus many other things to a clinical amount that aren't in the description of AS], but not the social behaviour of such.

I don't know where I fit exactly-I only know that I am not neurotypical and I think I knew that when I was 5. If I choose to go for a professional diagnosis-(which I can't afford anyway) I would want to make sure it was by someone who knew how differently the diagnostic criteria can manifest. Like someone mentioned earlier I have always been fascinated with the subject of autism. I just always related to it on some level. It felt normal to me to feel apart and detached.