AdamDZ wrote:
That's exactly what she said: you diagnose AS based on the symptoms the patient has, not based on the symptoms the patient doesn't have. There are some things that are more or less common to all Aspies, but there are many symptoms that are, like "optional", but they are misunderstood as required for diagnosis, mainly face blindness and lack of empathy, imagination and feelings. Many psychiatrists will not diagnose a person with AS if they don't have the above symptoms despite a gazillion of other typical symptoms the patient might have.
There are a couple of problems with diagnosing AS:
1) Many health professionals don't really know enough about it to make a clear diagnosis. This would seem to be the case with your psychiatrist.
2) There is no
one size fits all Aspergers diagnosis. Not everyone exhibits every trait. Most people seem to exhibit a few traits very strongly, while other traits are mild or non-existent. But then there are those who exhibit most/all traits very strongly, and others who are moderate/mild in everything. This adds to the difficulty of diagnosing AS.
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?No great art has ever been made without the artist having known danger? ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
01 Nov 2011, 9:08 am
