For those who self-diagnosed ...

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mosez: I was wondering where you were, and I´m sorry if you end up leaving...I hope you have 2nd thoughts about that! (I know others would be sorry too, in fact I think greentea was asking where you were lately...)

Anyway... that said...I am also "self diagnosed". When I was young, AS essentially didn´t exist, and no one was being diagnosed for it. Though many people noticed that I had learning disabilities, social problems and just generally did a lot of "odd" things that they couldn´t quite understand...

For me, it looks like a diagnosis is out of the question, as I just can´t afford it. I live in a foreign country, which also complicates matters- (though I can speak German, I don´t know if I have the subtleties of language that would enable me to be tested accurately for AS). Besides, as I am older now, I may only have residual AS (or PDD-NOS), so it may be hard to diagnose me. Well, hard to tell, as I have nothing to compare it to. It´s just that I hear horror stories about women and the difficulty of being diagnosed, which doesn´t inspire confidence. I think much more is known about males with AS, and from what I´ve heard, people are reluctant to diagnose women.

I first suspected myself of AS when I read in a book that most "normal" people can "pick up social situations intuitively". I had no idea what that entailed, and it had never occurred to me that people could do that- (I assumed that everybody was learning them intellectually, I just thought that I was worse at it than others). Since then, I´ve been trying to figure what that means exactly, to see if I could be doing it without realizing it? Well...in any case, the more I read about AS, the more I understand myself and the more it all "fits" together. Believing myself to have it has done me a world of good, as I have learned not only about myself, but also can finally understand exactly why and how the rest of the world is different. If I were to be told by a psychiatrist that I did not have it, nothing would change much, as I have received too much benefit already, and I would not want to stop studying it. It helps me to think in terms of this label, for whatever reason.

I also told my parents I thought I had it, and they acted quite upset by it. They don´t want to believe it, and also tried to "justify" but it was clear from the discussion that they didn´t really know much about it to begin with. I was surprised by their reaction. After years of telling me I was odd, they suddenly told me I was "normal". The only time my mother seemed to accept the possibility was when she brought up the fact that I stopped talking for a few months at age 2...there´s still no other "logical" explanation for that...

I took the AQ test and scored in the AS section. When I did the Aspie quiz, it was written "you are most likely an Aspie". At the moment, these things are good enough for me. I realize that the time I would most need a diagnosis would be if I were in a romantic relationship, as my relationships haven´t worked up until this point. But I´ll worry about that when (and if) the time comes.

hi Mosez,
i have also missed seeing your posts and hope you do not leave.

the threads and posts the past few days have been a bit polarised, but that happens.

i actually felt quite low a few weeks ago on WP because i really enjoy seeing a bunch of older AS people coming on and making posts. I have missed the likes of you, Nesh - who is busy with her blog and a number of others.


I really hope you stay around.

I had noticed that there are more and more people seek
for help here just like what I tried to do long time ago.
But it hard for anyone to tell ,including the patients
themselves.

Two weeks ago I visited an investigator who is doing research
in my university. She gave me a index to fill out and after I
finished it, they analyzed the index and it turn out that my
score is very high, even above average. It's seems that the
test they gave me is suit to adults. The kind lady told me that
she thinks I am probably an aspie. She also alerted me that
people of my age are rarely diagnosed and it must takes at
least two years to confirm it.

After I discovered my serious compulsive behavior, the
answer turned out very obvious. Now I have every symptoms,
I cannot figure out any reason to convince myself that I do
not have asperger.

The reason why I am so desire for the diagnosis is I want to
find out the truth, the key to connect my past and future.

I just want to encourage those who are self-diagnosed, but
no one believe in them. Good luck!

Welcome back, mosez!

I had to self-diagnose, as no one else seemed to know why I was the way that I am/was. My current psychiatrist thought I had Asperger's since seeing him, but he neglected to inform me for some reason or another (well, we were treating the OCD, but by that time the OCD was really starting to subside, and the symptoms of the ASD were the problem).

It led to an official few of ASDs, as when I said I had it, they all agreed.

I saw, 1, 2, 3, 4..., 5 psychos and psychics at a mental hostel for a month or so, plus the same number of nurses at the time; none of them brought it up to me. I got panic disorder and OCD out of that (was close to Schizophrenia, but I needed another "tick" for that from the trainee psychic...).

Perhaps I innately learnt to blend in due to going to mainstream school for so long. *Shrug* I display every symptom of Autistic Disorder as of the current DSM-IV-TR, so that's kinda an error of logic.

I think any intelligent person should be able to diagnose theirself. The information is out there for anyone to look all all the defining symptoms, and make that decision. Either you fit or not.

I don't believe in the hierachy which implies that autism/AS is superior to personality disorders, because the former are present from birth and cannot be cured, whereas personality disorders are acquired in childhood or later in life and can be treated. Autism/AS being regarded as a syndrome one cannot help having and personality disorders as something one should overcome and get treatment for.

ghostspawn wrote:

I am also one of those who has "self-diagnosed". I have given serious thought to obtaining a formal diagnosis, but have decided against it for now for one reason:

If I do receive an "official" DX for Asperger's, any and all treatment, counseling, therapy, et cetera that is related to it is not covered by health insurance in the state of Oklahoma. In fact, only eight states in the Union mandate health insurance providers to cover ASD-related items.

Yes, you read that right. They'll pay for items related to ED so some dirty old man can get his rocks off, but they won't cover things that really can make a difference in the life of autistics.

I self-diagnosed. Not because of a list, but because I fit into Aspies groups like I do. I find myself having a number of things in common. I have found common traits with plenty of online aspies diagnosed and not. I met diagnosed Aspergers people in person and my mother agreed that there were obvious similarities there to. I think I'm Aspergers, really. Thanks for the oppinions. I agrees with you.