How important do you consider diagnosis?

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by getting it or not... i can see both equally...

thing is... it has to do with maturity. generally, when ppl find out on their own, they're a lil older (i was 24)... but when you're told really young... it can easily become a crutch

(yes there is some generalization in this post)

there is a lot in common... but there are some differences too (say verbal:math ratio... there's more association with issues in math/diagram reading vs social stuff). but yes, for the most part, NVLD is umbrellaed under AS it's supposedly all gonna get cleared up whehter it's all the same or not. there's been lots of threads on the debate

but i am a weird case and i just have a weird combination of traits. i think they are diff. cause i sense some kind of partion even though i can't quite pin down the line

I was diagnosed at 15 unofficially by a psychiatrist...Me nor the psychiatrist didn't want myself to have this "label". I was glad that it was not official diagnosis.
Then when I needed support, turns out that I needed an official diagnosis!
So back I went to the psychiatrist and asked if she could put it on my medical records to be official.

I don't consider official diagnosis important, if you seem to be doing fine and don't really need any "help" then it wouldn't bother me.
Since I needed some "help" though, making the diagnosis official was important, to me.

Have to agree that it's really up to your own needs.

I was 36 when I first read something about AS, I was absolutely not searching for something to diagnose myself - at that point I already had made myself quite comfortable in my life, a good and well paid job, my own place to live, just a few more or less severe "quirks" about myself I knew of but which I really had learned to live and be happy with.

As it happend with many I read an article about AS and realized that they had pretty well described all of my life - since then I did and still do a lot of research on my own, reading books, articles, websites, spoke to my parents about details of my childhood I could not remember too well and found that if anything describes me perfectly, AS does. So after a bit less than a year I consider myself as "self diagnosed".

So what would be the advantages of an official diagnosis ? Some state the need "to be sure" - well, we are not talking about a blood test or something to diagnose with some kind of "autism antibodies" - "sir, we have found autism antibodies in your blood, you have autism"! It's still human beings judging on what you tell them - and their diagnosis depends on you, their knowledge and for a big part their believings. You can't be 100% sure about any diagnosis, if it's not a kind of chemical or genetical test.
I agree, though, if somebody seeks for official aid an official diagnosis will be inevitable.

For somebody like me who is a little bit older and manages to live a "normal" life without any help and without any need to find excuses or the likes I absolutely do not see any need to go for an official diagnosis.

A diagnosis may be very useful in determining strategies for handling AS related problems, it can help in acquiring support and it may assist in choosing a fitting job and place to work. I think it might also be useful to know when engaging in a romantic relation ...