For those who self-diagnosed ...

Post Reply New Topic

I didnt specifically self-diagnose. Actually two of my Aunts went to a seminar on aspergers and they both looked at each other and went "thats Jeff!". They gave me some books and links to research it and Im absolutely certain its what I have. I even fit the more specific symptoms, like talking too loud and not realizing it or not knowing when someone isnt paying attention to my conversation.
But I havent been officially diagnosed with anything so I suppose its possible that I have osmething other, but its very unlikely. I just fit the aspergers mode so perfectly its scary.

Jeff - may be useful to look up the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria too, will give you an idea of what the doctors are going to be looking for.

I self-diagnosed before I got a formal diagnosis. Everything my doctor thought I would go through after my so-called formal diagnosis, I already went through several months before (during my exams, unfortunately), identity crisis and everything.

I do not consider my formal diagnosis useful for anything other than convincing people who don't believe me.

I dont really care if I get diagnosed or not, so certain am I of having it. Mainly because I wasnt the one who came up with it so much as it was my Aunts who made an unbiased analysis of my behavior and compared it. I literally fit every single description of aspergers. So much it was scary at first. I really feel like Im on a different planet, as this site title entails. I talk about subjects that my peers cannot begin to understand or dont want to, and even things they are interested in that I am, I have some comp[letely different insight into it that they never considered in detail. Its just so many htings that added up through the years that led me to be confident that its exactly my problem. I think it may also be why Im so accepting of other people with social problems and anxiety. And socially, its not that Im anti-social. I love people. I have a ton of friends, real supportive ones, but even they cannot actually understand how I think. Except for one. a girl who has diagnosed aspergers. I think that said a lot right there.

I'm pretty sure I have Aspergers, but I'd like to know for sure. My whole life I've been told by my mom that I make weird faces, have one sided conversations, get very obsessed with certain things. I feel like everytime I felt like an alien, everytime I felt like the only person who felt the way I was feeling, everytime I was made fun of or looked at strangely would be justified if I could just get a diagnoses and know there was a reason for it. It's horrible knowing there is something wrong with you, knowing you're different but not being able to do anything about it.

I've known that I have Autism for awhile now and even my therapist recognizes that I probably do too. I'm going through a full evaluation in May. You must understand that some people search for what may be wrong with themselves and some things are a maybe, others are a definite no, and yet Aspergers fits perfectly. There is no doubt in my mind that I have it.

Nicely said, wrongchild... over the years of depression and challenges, what progress I made was through my own research - when I was first reading, when I came across ASDs I discarded the possibility as too unlikely despite the correlation. The last psychiatrist I saw simply agreed with me when I suggested that after reading for a year that I didn't have any idea what was wrong, that I might be atypical bipolar ii (a poor fit, but the best I could find that had I thought was likely) - he did no testing, asked no questions, and the medication he suggested did nothing positive for me. It was not until my son's diagnosis as HFA that I came to revisit the spectrum disorders, and upon speaking with my doctor over a couple months he agreed that it was most likely but did not feel qualified to make an official diagnosis in my chart with the potential ramifications that could have... which I understand and respect. It is a process, and for those in their 30s and older, it seems that the best route to discovery is that self-examination. The suggestion of a desire to belong would be more likely to express as one is younger, though it doesn't exclude the possibility in later years as well. My feeling is that if someone benefits from the experience of those on the spectrum, they belong here.


M.

I know more about autism than the neurologist who diagnosed me with it. If you can say something like that, then go ahead and diagnose yourself, but it won't get you anywhere. Things like therapy, meds, and special consideration in the workplace require a professional diagnosis.

Don't see a neurologist, though, until you've read some of his publications. If you wouldn't know how to find them and critically analyze them, then I suggest you learn how.

However, I would be willing to research the matter for you if you aren't picky about affordability: I don't think much about the bills when I'm trying to pick someone to tinker with my brain. Or anyone else's, for that matter.

I have had a feeling for a long time that you can only be comfortable with identifying yourself as an Aspie if you ARE one.