By discounting the self-diagnosed, you play their game

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Seconded. I also believe that we put too much stock in dividing lines in general. To a certain degree, classification is human nature. It helps us simplify and wrap our heads and make sense of the world.

Autism does mean different things to different people. To some it is simply traits. To others it implies significant impairment. Does autism always equal ASD, or is ASD a subset of autism?

I strongly suspect that there are people shy of the DSM line that really would benefit from accommodations, and that there are plenty within the line that don't really need them. So what good is the line, really?

once again your logic educates and convinces, glider18.

We can't see the forest for the trees.

Merle

A fair and True enough statement in that some(2) have found out differently about their Dx (that i'm aware of).

However, I would find it hard to believe , and most improbable , that any who are old enough to have made it on their own in this world to make a mistake and grasp at this straw if the shoe doesn't fit.

To me ,at my age , it's almost risible to believe that anyone could self- delude like this and join this board and tie up bandwidth , and waste their time/everyones time and live in this castle on a cloud in the sky.

Thanks FiddlerPianist and MaggieDoll. I think I did get a bit caught up in debating for the sake of debating there. anyway that is the beauty of debating, sometimes realising there was nothing to argue about in the first place.

And I agree that there are people who dont fit the DSM who may need accomodations. Because there are AS traits that are not covered by the DSM, a person could have one of those traits and really need help with it. I am in a bit of a strange situation myself, I went through the DSM with a psychologist, and while I meet the "significant impairments" one I dont meet the "Routines" one at all and I not sure about the "Stimming" one so I am in a grey area possibly.

Perhaps your psychologist should meander a few pages over to the PDD NOS entry.

With the hostility that is displayed to self-diagnosed Asperger's in WP forums it seems ludricous to actually advertise oneself and being self DX.



If the self DX weren't most likely true [, by that I mean people who fit in with the disposition of being on the Spectrum ( which the DSM V could alter when it is released in 2012, and then where are the DX's ASDs ....do they need to be reDX'd....)]

By TRUTHFULLY ADMITTING SELF -DIAGNOSIS in the light of such hostility I would say that ,that fact in itself ,almost VERIFIES their claim to being on the Spectrum.


I would venture to say that in light of such hostility any NT would in fact claim to have official diagnosis. I AM NOT SAYING THAT THOSE STATING OFFICIAL DX are telling lies. I'm pointing out that the Self Dx are not telling lies, despite facing hostility.

Apologies for the clumsy manner of explaining.... not a great day for me.

BTW HAVE an appointment in MID January to get an official DX....... must travel nearly 1000kms to do so.

She is no longer my psychologist. I only saw her once. She said "I think you are on the spectrum but you have about a 50% chance of getting As and a 50% chance of PDD-NOS, depending on what was discovered from the assessment.

But I have this weird problem with my eyes and I think she found me very uncomfortable to be with in a room, because when I tried to make another appointment she never emailed me back.

I might actually get a diagnosis of AS if the professional considered my pacing, picking, fidgeting, spinning and rocking on chairs (in childhood) and strange visual movements as stims, but because I dont have the classical rocking or hand flapping I am not sure if they will count or not. I am the missing link between AS and NT.

Also, people with PDD-NOS tend to function ok. I function quite poorly. Even when I did work I was always a step away from losing my job and now i cannot work without a lot of stress. Also I have no friends. I always lost the friends I made as I didnt have the whatever-it-was to understand them and get along with them and I would sometimes offend them.

Having said that I wouldnt mind if the diagnosis did turn out to be PDD-NOs. I am more interested in working with my counselor and GP than the opinions of people on the spectrum who think my life must be really easy.

The often cited examples are just that ,examples from within the genre, they are not cited for the purpose of restricting the category only to such examples.

That might be the case, but it is not true that PDD NOS implies anything about functioning level, nor that someone ought to be excluded from the PDD NOS category because of functioning level. PDD NOS includes a wide range of functioning levels and impairment types, and simply means a pervasive developmental disorder (aka an Autism) not described by the specific categories the DSM has individual entries for.

Ease of life has nothing to do with the PDD NOS category. Having a PDD NOS diagnosis does not imply that one’s life is any easier or more difficult than someone with an Asperger or Kanner diagnosis, it does not imply anything about relative functioning levels or otherwise indicate anything to do with functioning level, challenges experienced, severity of Autistic traits or difficulty in coping with Autistic traits.

I see what you are saying...so I might end up getting the AS diagnosis... anyway Im not too bothered anymore, I think its my life which is the most important issue..

I get your point about PDD-NOS not being about functioning level. I guess it can encompass many levels, but the AS diagnosis seems to require a minimal level of functioning to fulfil that "Significant impairments" thing. Its all very confusing anyway.

I really don't think stimming is needed to get an AS diagnosis.

True, but I need to fulfil a certain amount of the DSM and it turned out that stimming was the grey area which would either give me AS or PDD NOS. Anyway doesnt matter. I will write a thread on the results... if I can actually get someone to diagnose me that is...

Quite possibly. The larger concern is that it appears you meet the criteria for something in the PDD range, and a psychologist believes this to be the case, but you still do not have any diagnosis that confirms you as such. So if you need to seek services where your PDD status is relevant (for instance general mental health services) you should be able to ensure your needs are accommodated but it’s just as likely you will not be believed because you cannot produce any diagnosis. Perhaps a PDD NYS (Not Yet Specified) category should have been included in DSM IV. That way at least you’d have confirmed diagnostic status so you would not be at risk of misdiagnosis when seeking other services, but it would still be clear that it has not yet been determined which diagnostic category best fits.

At any rate it will probably all become irrelevant in 2012 if APA decide to merge the PDDs together into one diagnostic criteria/designation.


Yes, I do believe the current divisions can be as confusing as they might be clarifying, so hopefully the next edition of the DSM will improve on this.

Laney2005, thank you for saying this. I was feeling something of the same. I am not adopted, but people have frequently asked my parents or friends of my parents if I am. I simply do not look like my parents or younger brother. My mom and dad are clearly white, so as their biological daughter I must be white, too...but people often think I am asian or biracial. (Just a few months ago, I found out one of my good friends thought I was half-Filipino.) Therefore, I think that one cannot always judge another's race by his or her appearance.

That relates more clearly to self-diagnoses than the basketball story. Because my parents are NT, my family always assumed I was NT. I had a friend who had HFA in high school, but we still didn't realize I fell into the autism spectrum. It took people outside the family to make me realize I was different -- from my family, and from society at large. You can't assume my race or my diagnoses from looking at me. I know I'm white and AS, but lots of people don't see that; I do because I have gotten to know myself. I did have it officially diagnosed, but I was pretty certain of the results of the diagnosis beforehand. I don't dismiss self-diagnosed people, because again, who knows you better than you know yourself? When you have AS, I doubt it's anyone other than you!

Yeah, thats one reason why I am seeking the diagnosis, I want it on my medical records as I have a long history of anxiety symptoms on it but I think it is unhelpful to me that the cause of the anxiety isnt on it.

Not sure about what that new version in 2012 will say, but hopefully I will have sorted myself out by then and no longer be concerned about the DSM.