Asperger's syndrome self-diagnosis

Post Reply New Topic

I don't see how this is a personal attack. A personal attack, also known as an ad hominem, is when you attack a quality of another person (intelligence, looks, etc.) that is completely unrelated to the topic at hand. A typical personal attack would be something along the lines of "I don't care what you say, because you're ugly and you're never going to get laid." Pointing out that someone's argument is invalid, no matter how condescending the tone, is not an ad hominem. On the other hand, saying that someone is "intellectually unarmed" (i.e. stupid) is an ad hominem.

An ad hominem doesn't have to be an attack on the person's looks or intelligence or whatever. It is a personal attack to make fun of someone like he did and dismiss their argument based on that. He had no reason to dismiss my argument, especially since my diagnosis has since been confirmed by a second opinion. He dismissed what I said SOLELY on the basis that I had been self-diagnosed for several years and I felt qualified to do so. THAT, my friend, is calling my argument invalid based on something about ME rather than the content itself, aka, an ad hominem. He further screwed up by erroneously assuming that health care professionals are not allowed to self-diagnose or self-prescribe, which is a verifiable heap of hooey.

This crap has been ticking me off since I started reading/posting here. Many people my age have not been ABLE to get a diagnosis because of the fact that AS had not really been diagnosed until 1994 (hello, I was ALREADY an adult then), and many professionals erroneously believe it is a "children's diagnosis". What, you turn 18 and it 'magically' disappears???? Y'all are on the INTERNET, guys. I won't diagnose ANYONE with ANYTHING over the Internet, yet y'all see fit to tell others they're FAKES? Get real. Grow a little humility and support others rather than bashing them.

~Kate

It is advice (the UK GMC and everywhere else has similar) and not law:

Opinion 8.19 - Self-Treatment or Treatment of Immediate Family Members
Physicians generally should not treat themselves or members of their immediate families. Professional objectivity may be compromised when an immediate family member or the physician is the patient; the physician’s personal feelings may unduly influence his or her professional medical judgment, thereby interfering with the care being delivered. ...
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physici ... n819.shtml

A formal, professional diagnosis is required to obtain treatment and services where people have any condition (whether actually confirming suspected ASD, or some alternative) affecting their lives. A formal, professional diagnosis obtains legal protections, employment accommodations, educational accommodations and welfare where it is available and appropriate.

There are many reasons not to seek a diagnosis.

A self-diagnosis is a bit of personal opinion.

That is different from what you said in the beginning. Physicians and other health care professionals CAN indeed self-diagnose and self-prescribe. And, they do. And, it doesn't of necessity make them wrong, unqualified, or "fake". If there is question, they can *always* get a second opinion. As I said in my first post on this topic, I am not looking for any kind of accomodations, legal protections, or welfare. I just want explanations, and maybe a little bit of understanding from those who matter to me....and for ppl to stop bashing self-diagnosed folks who come here for support.

~Kate

I have no official diagnosis. I've read a lot of books by autistic writers, their families and their professionals. I've seen videos. I've spent my life dealing with social trouble from trying to fit in. My research answered every question I ever had about what was wrong with my life. Nothing else has ever come close to doing that. I asked my doctor for a referral to get some screening on this to try and refine the general picture to a more specific one. He told me that these instruments are geared to dealing with children and have to be modified for use with adults. He said someone would call me in a day or two about this. That was two weeks ago. I'm not a child, and I'm not helpless, I am very happy with my ability to cope. Sometimes I just get tired of teasing meaning out of the chaos. I'd like to trip over a big fat box full of meaning every now and then, it would take years off the process of coming to an understanding about this. I think I'll save a lot of money and just keep teasing. I don't have to prove to anyone that I do/do not have some kind of autism. I just need to keep finding ways to work around it. Ain't life grand?

Yep. It does seem that many of the people who post these threads: were in school when the diagnosis existed, were diagnosed as children, and received some kind of extra assistance as a child.

For thoes of you that fit my gross generalization above: What would you have done if no explanation, help, or understanding was available? What if people blamed all of your issues on YOU? Would you learn to compensate and and cover-up? How would you feel if after going through that; someone with little to no life experience passed school (where others are responsible for you) told you that you're a fake because you had to come up with ways to survive?

I am diagnosed. Neurological differences WERE noticed at an early age (special ED from 2nd through grad). I am also able to have a job. Is it harder for me that an NT? I think so, but I'm not sure since I don't know what it's like to be them.

In my opinion, you should be asking the people you often bash "HOW THE HECK DID YOU DO IT? HOW DID YOU LEARN TO GET BY" instead of bashing them for learning to compensate with NO HELP.

When I was in school the special education teachers did their best with me. They worked on me to try to act as normal as possible so I could pass for a NT. The more I pretended the more I seem to give myself away. The teachers broke me of my rocking and made sure I was staring at their foreheads and mouths when I talked to them. I was diagnosed with ADHD they did not have Aspergers as diagnosis when I was little so the special education teachers did the best they could with me they never met a kid like me before. I refused to be touched, I could not look people in the eyes, I stammered when I talked, I could not walk in a strait line, the firealarms sent me into a panic, one moment they could not get me to talk then the next I go off talking non-stop about any given subject.

Threads like this make me want to hurry up to get diagnosed to shut up those who believe people who are self-diagnosed are lying for attention or whatever reason. I have been living with this my whole life not knowing what was wrong with me. I was afraid to go see a psychologist out of fear that I was crazy and could possibly be put away against my will so I suffered in silence doing jobs where the people hated me. I was stuck at those places no other place would hire me. Then one day while laid off from a job I had for 9 years I accidently came across a tv show that discussed the autism spectrum when they came to Aspergers they talked about the traits and how to determine if you should get checked out and everything they mentioned I was experiencing, Long story short I contacted a friend with HFA to ask how he got tested he gave some numbers to call and they helped me find a place to get evaluated. So August 6th I will be checked out and hopefully put a label on whats wrong with me.

Last edited by Todesking on 12 Jul 2010, 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It sure looks like quite a few replying to this thread have either missed the OP's qualification of exactly who he's actually talking about, or aren't getting that he's pretty much describing people who either really do not have AS, or complain too much about how much hell their life is, but are only borderline.

What he's really saying is "What I wouldn't give to be in your shoes! You think YOU'RE life it hell! Try living my life for a while!"

He was also VERY specific, excluding those who really DO have AS, but simply cannot afford a diagnosis.

It sure looks like an awful lot of you might have seen the topic, glanced at the post, and assumed it was just another one of those typical Self "DX equals Fake Aspie" posts.

That isn't what his post is at all.

That's what I got from the OP, as well. I can certainly understand why others have viewed it differently, though. It's a sore subject for those of us that don't have an official diagnosis.

I simply don't think ppl should be judging others unless they've walked a mile in their shoes. And that's what the OP was doing, and complaining about his lot in life at the same time as disparaging others for complaining about theirs, when he doesn't know what theirs is like because he hasn't lived it. People are supposed to be supporting each other, not passing judgement on whether the other person is bad-off enough to warrant support.

~Kate

It is a sore subject for some of us. I'm self diagnosed, and have actually been told here on the forums that if I get a diagnosis in the near future, I am now not an Aspie, but will be once I get the diagnosis. A ridiculous assessment that reveals a lack of knowledge of AS. Pretty much everyone here knows you either have it, or you don't, and that it can't be developed. The OP was making no such claim, or claiming that ALL self DX'd people are fakes. He wasn't even making the claim that any are fakes.




I'm not seeing that was judging anyone or saying that anybody doesn't deserve support. He's simply voicing his feelings. And he went to great lengths to qualify exactly who he meant, yet most of the comments come across as if the posters didn't even read that part of what he said. Most answers here are as if he said things he did not say.

All I'm seeing is how he feels about something. Isn't that what we're ALL supposed to be able to do here? Who is really judging whom here?

His point was NOT to disparage those of you who HAVE AS and self diagnosed, or those who have MILD AS. His point was about how it makes him feel when those who either DO have it, but it's mild, OR who don't really have it, and say things like, "Quit using your AS as an excuse."

Think of it this way:

(By the way, I HATE this analogy, but it's the quickest one I can come up with right now. I do NOT mean to equate cancer with Autism. That said, here goes.)

Suppose you have been fighting cancer for years, but now you are losing the battle. You're dying. Most of your energy is sapped from you, and you don't want to live the rest of your days out in a hospital, so you go back home.

You're next door neighbor shows up the next day, bouncing and smiling, and asks if you want to come out and play some volleyball. You explain that you can't, and why, and he says, "OH! Cancer? I've got cancer too! I've had it for years, been through chemotherapy and all that, but it didn't do any good. Then I went to this great alternative hospital that taught me positive thinking, gave me herbal therapy on top of the chemo, and now I'm in remission!"

"All you need is to get off your but and fight it man! Quit using it as an excuse."

Now, if you're laying in that bed, and KNOW you've already been through everything there is to try, and KNOW all you have left it to squeeze what little enjoyment you can out of life before you die in a few months, and KNOW that playing volley ball at this moment would leave you in excruciating pain, what would you say to that neighbor?

What would you say to the thirtieth person that came and told you the same thing? What would you say to people that blame YOU for problems you have that are beyond your control?

That is all the OP was trying to explain. How it makes him feel. Should any of us be telling anyone here they shouldn't express their feelings?

He's not calling anyone a fake! He's asking those of us who are self DX'd to consider how some of the things WE say, make HIM feel. That's all it is!

Some of the replies may not be direct responses to the OP? I know mine wasn't.

True, but many that I saw were, and were answers not to his point, but to points that are often made in other threads. Those are the replies I was addressing.

That's an awful long list of things for you to make a judgment about whether someone else has issues in those areas or not. And, of course, you would have to make a judgment about those things before getting pissed off that someone with none of those issues claims to have A.S. And I seriously doubt you can do so accurately, except maybe for a close friend or such.

OK, I copied his post so that I wouldn't be accused of not answering to his point.

"I am a bona fide aspie;"

Implies that others here are not.

"I was diagnosed at age 7, and I get annoyed at all these people who diagnose themselves with AS."

Who are "all these people who diagnose themselves with AS" if not those here who for whatever reason have not got a professional diagnosis from someone other than him/herself???

" I'm not talking about those who have the symptoms but just can't afford to see a psychiatrist. I'm talking about people who don't actually suffer from it, meaning they have pretty good social lives, no emotional issues, no sensory problems, no trouble with organizational skills, no OCD or ADHD, have no trouble getting jobs, establishing relationships, etc., but just happen to be slightly more shy and introverted than most people."

ARE there any such people here, other than perhaps friends and family members of ppl with AS and autism? And those folks aren't self-diagnosed.

"The thought that someone who has very little trouble in life and has none of the issues I have should be diagnosed with the same disorder as me, someone who has suffered throughout life and continues to struggle to this day, just pi$$es me off to no end. These people get to feel "unique" and "special" without having to deal with all the agony that comes with the disorder."

Again, WHO here has "none of the issues" he talks about? WHO here feels "unique" and "special"? I sure as Hades don't, and I haven't seen a lot of ppl here going around saying how wonderful it is to have AS. Granted, I haven't read every single post, but shoot, I just don't see it.

~Kate

Somehow, it seems interesting to me to look at myself, past and present, in terms of the above list.

pretty good social life: I do now. For a long long time, I didn't. Didn't have any social life beyond family.

no emotional issues: I had plenty, though I've dealt with most of those.

no sensory problems: Hm... okay, myopia and astigmatism don't count. Actually, I think bad eyesight as a young child, before I got glasses, may have contributed to my autisticness. Couldn't see those non-verbals, harder time connecting with others. (Note use of word -- autisticness -- that doesn't make a diagnostic claim.) I do think I have some sensory issues, but nothing major enough for me to think of it as a problem. I don't really know if I did as a kid. My childhood memories are week. I do know I used to be scared of the noise of fireworks.

no trouble with organizational skills: Some trouble, some of the time.

no OCD: I can be obsessive, but not in an OCD way.

No ADHD: I don't think I qualify for a diagnosis, but I do have ADHD traits.

have no trouble getting jobs: Haven't looked all that much. Really just after college, and it did take me quite a while after college before I got my current 30 hr per week job.

establishing relationships: When I decided I wanted to get married, it actually went quite well. Surprisingly so, given my relationship and social skills at the time. I met the right person, and it worked. But, as far as other friends, I really didn't have any at all from after college (age 21) till age 33 or so. And in college, no close friends, just, more, people in the same clubs. High school a small circle of friends. I've had issues in this area. Close friendships, feeling connected to someone else, that has been hard for me.

Not sure where that puts on the whether or not I would have the right to self-diagnose if I wanted to. I don't want to. I don't think I have enough insight into my past to be that definitive, and I can't claim it based solely on the present.