09 Feb 2010, 3:33 am
bdhkhsfgk wrote:
Don't come and say you have Aspergers unless you have been diagnosed.
...
Also Broox, it sounds to me like you do not have AS. The opinion of 3 professionals is unlikely to be incorrect. Nevertheless, welcome to WP.
09 Feb 2010, 3:43 am
Prosser wrote:
bdhkhsfgk wrote:
Don't come and say you have Aspergers unless you have been diagnosed.
...
Also Broox, it sounds to me like you do not have AS. The opinion of 3 professionals is unlikely to be incorrect. Nevertheless, welcome to WP.
Wait, three professionals? My reading skills seem to tank late at night; I thought it was just one.
Disregard my advice of going to a testing center, then.
09 Feb 2010, 3:53 am
pat2rome wrote:
Wait, three professionals? My reading skills seem to tank late at night; I thought it was just one.
Disregard my advice of going to a testing center, then.
Disregard my advice of going to a testing center, then.
BrooxBroox wrote:
Finally, after constantly being told by parents of ASD kids and Aspies themselves that I should have an official diagnosis, I went for one to a psychologist who worked with "kids" with AS. She said "kids", so I don't know if she meant children, adolescents, or adults, or what. But anyway, she completely ruled out AS and said I most certainly did not have it. She said I read body language, made eye contact too well, and communicated what I was feeling too well to even be on the high end of the autism spectrum. Instead of AS, I was just diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and put on Lexapro, and the medicine REALLY did help me function better.
I was not satisfied with my psychologists' opinion, however, and went to another. It was a male this time. He also evaluated me and said he did not think I had AS, and that if I did have it, it was too mild and high functioning to be considered on the spectrum. I argued that I met more than enough diagnostic criteria for it, but he refuted that if you bring out the DSM and just go through it, you will find you fit the diagnostic "criteria" for MANY disorders, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have them and that if all one had to do to "have a disorder" was "meet criteria" every single person in the world would have multiple mental disorders.
I was not satisfied with my psychologists' opinion, however, and went to another. It was a male this time. He also evaluated me and said he did not think I had AS, and that if I did have it, it was too mild and high functioning to be considered on the spectrum. I argued that I met more than enough diagnostic criteria for it, but he refuted that if you bring out the DSM and just go through it, you will find you fit the diagnostic "criteria" for MANY disorders, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have them and that if all one had to do to "have a disorder" was "meet criteria" every single person in the world would have multiple mental disorders.
BrooxBroox wrote:
Also... I had a special ed teacher (who deals with both AS and Classic Autism) say that I would be one of the last people she would think would have AS.
09 Feb 2010, 4:29 am
09 Feb 2010, 4:57 am
09 Feb 2010, 5:42 am
09 Feb 2010, 5:46 am
BrooxBroox wrote:
Hi,
I just joined yesterday, so many of you may not be familiar with me.
I'm an 18-yr-old pre-med college student and plan on being a neurologist or neuropsychiatrist as a career and I want to specialize in autism as well as seizure disorders.
Anyway, I had always felt a bit different my entire life, like I didn't belong. I was always described as quiet and shy, never had many friends growing up, felt anxious a lot, was very strict and routine about everything, slightly self-injurious, and was "particular" about everything.
Well, when I was 14, I came across Asperger's on the internet and was like "Wow! This really sounds like me!" I began reading about it, buying books, watching documentaries, videos, researching it, etc and I was convinced that I had it. It sounded a lot like me in many ways. I became convinced that I had AS, especially since I read some autobiographies and could relate to the people with it in many ways. I was so sure I had it that I even began declaring that I had AS to teachers, friends, and family members. I even joined many myspace groups for Aspies and such. I even joined the "anti-cure movement" so to speak. Finally, after constantly being told by parents of ASD kids and Aspies themselves that I should have an official diagnosis, I went for one to a psychologist who worked with "kids" with AS. She said "kids", so I don't know if she meant children, adolescents, or adults, or what. But anyway, she completely ruled out AS and said I most certainly did not have it. She said I read body language, made eye contact too well, and communicated what I was feeling too well to even be on the high end of the autism spectrum. Instead of AS, I was just diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and put on Lexapro, and the medicine REALLY did help me function better.
I have to admit, I was literally crushed that she told me I did NOT have Asperger's. Because I was so certain I had it that I had told others and become active in and accepted by the AS community quite well. It was so embarrassing to have to go back to my Aspie myspace groups, admit that it turns out I did not have the disorder. And they weren't supportive of that. Some of those groups have several hundred or even a few thousand members, and I was getting criticised so badly that I had to delete my myspace account and start a new one. Aspies were calling me "fake" and parents of ASD kids were saying that I needed to take back all of my "anti-The Cure" mess since I was not autistic.
I was not satisfied with my psychologists' opinion, however, and went to another. It was a male this time. He also evaluated me and said he did not think I had AS, and that if I did have it, it was too mild and high functioning to be considered on the spectrum. I argued that I met more than enough diagnostic criteria for it, but he refuted that if you bring out the DSM and just go through it, you will find you fit the diagnostic "criteria" for MANY disorders, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have them and that if all one had to do to "have a disorder" was "meet criteria" every single person in the world would have multiple mental disorders.
So my story got me to thinking, is self-diagnosis really that accurate?
From what I have researched, lots of Aspies say you know yourself best, so only you can know if you have AS/autism, but at the same time, what if you feel with every drop of your being that you have it, but get evaluated by professionals, who both say there's no way you have it?
Anyway, the reason I am here is not necessarily because I am an Aspie/Aspergerian (not sure of the preferred term) but because I do have *some" AS characteristics, (but apparently not enough for a DX) and I am an autism researcher/ student looking to interact with people from the spectrum and see how HFA and AS have affected your life.
I just joined yesterday, so many of you may not be familiar with me.
I'm an 18-yr-old pre-med college student and plan on being a neurologist or neuropsychiatrist as a career and I want to specialize in autism as well as seizure disorders.
Anyway, I had always felt a bit different my entire life, like I didn't belong. I was always described as quiet and shy, never had many friends growing up, felt anxious a lot, was very strict and routine about everything, slightly self-injurious, and was "particular" about everything.
Well, when I was 14, I came across Asperger's on the internet and was like "Wow! This really sounds like me!" I began reading about it, buying books, watching documentaries, videos, researching it, etc and I was convinced that I had it. It sounded a lot like me in many ways. I became convinced that I had AS, especially since I read some autobiographies and could relate to the people with it in many ways. I was so sure I had it that I even began declaring that I had AS to teachers, friends, and family members. I even joined many myspace groups for Aspies and such. I even joined the "anti-cure movement" so to speak. Finally, after constantly being told by parents of ASD kids and Aspies themselves that I should have an official diagnosis, I went for one to a psychologist who worked with "kids" with AS. She said "kids", so I don't know if she meant children, adolescents, or adults, or what. But anyway, she completely ruled out AS and said I most certainly did not have it. She said I read body language, made eye contact too well, and communicated what I was feeling too well to even be on the high end of the autism spectrum. Instead of AS, I was just diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and put on Lexapro, and the medicine REALLY did help me function better.
I have to admit, I was literally crushed that she told me I did NOT have Asperger's. Because I was so certain I had it that I had told others and become active in and accepted by the AS community quite well. It was so embarrassing to have to go back to my Aspie myspace groups, admit that it turns out I did not have the disorder. And they weren't supportive of that. Some of those groups have several hundred or even a few thousand members, and I was getting criticised so badly that I had to delete my myspace account and start a new one. Aspies were calling me "fake" and parents of ASD kids were saying that I needed to take back all of my "anti-The Cure" mess since I was not autistic.
I was not satisfied with my psychologists' opinion, however, and went to another. It was a male this time. He also evaluated me and said he did not think I had AS, and that if I did have it, it was too mild and high functioning to be considered on the spectrum. I argued that I met more than enough diagnostic criteria for it, but he refuted that if you bring out the DSM and just go through it, you will find you fit the diagnostic "criteria" for MANY disorders, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you have them and that if all one had to do to "have a disorder" was "meet criteria" every single person in the world would have multiple mental disorders.
So my story got me to thinking, is self-diagnosis really that accurate?
From what I have researched, lots of Aspies say you know yourself best, so only you can know if you have AS/autism, but at the same time, what if you feel with every drop of your being that you have it, but get evaluated by professionals, who both say there's no way you have it?
Anyway, the reason I am here is not necessarily because I am an Aspie/Aspergerian (not sure of the preferred term) but because I do have *some" AS characteristics, (but apparently not enough for a DX) and I am an autism researcher/ student looking to interact with people from the spectrum and see how HFA and AS have affected your life.
It's certainly possible, I'm self-diagnosed actually. But nowhere near as invovled with the Autism community as you were. I can accept that I might not have it. The medicine making you feel better is probably the medicine, not anything to do with a disorder. But yes, diagnostic criteria is generally applicable to many, many things.
I think that I have Aspergers, though to be honest, I would rather not have it. It would be embarassing to come here and say that I was wrong, but I would prefer it to a lifetime of social issues, oversensitivity and stimming. When I first heard of AS I loved it, I thought "I found me, and I love being this way!" I think most people think AS is some really cool thing to have when they first notice it.
No. AS is a disability, and while I don't think a cure is always the best solution, I wouldn't mind one. How nice it would be to look someone straight in the eye and shake their hand the way most people do everyday.
When it comes down to it, I suffer from symptoms, these symptoms match up with As, so I stay here because I can get help from people who suffer from similar problems. I don't give a s*** about official diagnosis anymore. Just the problems that I have and that others have. Not labels, not debates. Not arguments. Just problems. Whether I have As is irrelevant.
09 Feb 2010, 7:18 am
09 Feb 2010, 7:20 am
09 Feb 2010, 7:25 am
09 Feb 2010, 9:42 am
Thanks for all the responses. It's good to see what kind of feedback I can get.
And just to clarify for everyone, I am a female. 
I noticed that I was being referred to as "he" a lot and just wanted to make it clear, not that it really matters, though.
bdhkhsfgk wrote:
I didn't mean to offend; I would never tell all my friends, family and teachers that I have AS unless I've really been diagnosed with it, it's not something you can guess.
Actually you would not believe how many self-diagnosed people are in those groups. There were literally hundreds of people who would be like "I read about this and it sounds just like me. I have AS." There were also lots of psychology students who would study autism, find out about AS, and deem themselves as being on the spectrum. Whether or not these people told their friends, teachers, etc, I have no idea. But I guess I felt that since I was so sure about having it, I felt like I could definitely be "officially" diagnosed. On top of that, there were so many people in those communities being accepted so well by Aspies and HFA by claiming self-dx that I didn't see anything wrong with it.
BTW, no offense taken at all.
Last edited by BrooxBroox on 09 Feb 2010, 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
09 Feb 2010, 9:51 am
09 Feb 2010, 11:35 am
09 Feb 2010, 12:17 pm
09 Feb 2010, 12:29 pm
09 Feb 2010, 12:31 pm
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