Asperger's syndrome self-diagnosis

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No one has to visit these threads if it bothers them so much.

Another thing I wanted to add to the OP is how do you know they didn't struggle getting a job? How do you know they didn't get help to be where they are at? How do you know they didn't struggle with relationships? How do you know they don't have emotional problems? And how do you even know they didn't work at their issues to get better?


Just because someone has a job doesn't mean they struggled getting one or just because someone is married or in a relationship doesn't mean they struggled with them or don't struggle with them and just because someone doesn't talk about their issues their AS causes them doesn't mean they don't exist. Some people don't feel comfortable whining about their issues so they rather talk about positive stuff and may occasionally rant about an issue they have/had or talk about an issue they used to have.

Not all aspies have sensory issues but many of them do. I do have an aspie friend who struggles but yet has no sensory issues. My ex who was aspie also never struggled with getting jobs. I thought he was so lucky for that. I also have another aspie friend who got better after his AS diagnoses and now he has friends and hangs out with people and goes to bars but he had help to get there. Plus he drinks beer to cope. He says he is more NT when he does it. I have heard aspies saying how them drinking helps them in social situations when they hang out with people. I can say he is doing better than me and he can say the same about me because I am married and he is still single. He lives in a studio, I live in a two bedroom apartment. He also has a job but he had help getting it. Plus he has a good boss and he also helped him. To this day he still thanks me sometimes. But he says people can still tell he has it.

Last edited by League_Girl on 11 Jul 2010, 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Agreed, and what if you suffer less because you choose to no longer try to do what you can't. Is that person still impaired?

yes it annoys me too,

I am trying not to self-diagnose even though I can see a number of things in myself that seem like they could be close. As far as my profile goes, I felt "don't know" was the fairest response. The ADHD has been confirmed, though, and I have no problem stating that since I know that part of it to be true.

I know sometimes I've used terms like "mutt" or "halfling" to describe myself...that's basically my way of saying it's probably too close to call without a professional determination. I can acknowledge that (which I think is the concern some of you are expressing about self-diagnosis, that some may not be comfortable with that grey area, and want to call it one way or the other). I hope it hasn't offended anyone--but I think it's more truthful than actually trying to call it one way or the other. I don't feel NT...but, I also recognize that there are things about me that I do share with NTs, and I don't think I can ignore that.

So, halfling it is. Maybe my next avatar should be Frodo or something.

I don't like self-diagnosis for anything. With that said, it is possible to know you have something without an official diagnosis.

Still, I will never claim to have AS without an official diagnosis because I do not feel I am an impartial observer. Hell, some days I've got myself nearly convinced I don't have it because I avoid the things that I can't do. Like driving, keeping a job, handling the finances... the list goes on.

[double post]

Last edited by SoSayWeAll on 11 Jul 2010, 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sometimes I can be right. I had the acid reflux pinned well before it got me sick enough to go to the doctor, and I also identified the root cause of a "rash" I was getting (turned out to be autoimmune as suspected, but thank God, confined to the skin of my fingers and toes and not symptomatic of anything else). Still, even with those correct identifications, trying to do any kind of self-treatment tends to be a REALLY bad idea. With the reflux I should've seen a doctor a lot sooner than I did--living on Tums as long as I did was not that smart in retrospect. That's where a professional makes a BIG difference. But to just confirm something without a professional...not comfortable with that.

Exactly. I knew I had Dyslexia but got it confirmed before I ever said I had it. Same with my OCD.

Exactly. The ADHD in my signature was confirmed when I was very little, by a professional.

As to the synesthesia, as well as knowing my own experiences--the particular site where I tested for it was actually run by a professionals studying in the field (and therefore had scientific rigor unlike a lot of web quizzes--to include the Aspie Quiz in my signature), and we corresponded at the time--online, but with professionals and with some statistically damn-near ironclad results in hand. The test was of a nature where in terms of the statistics I could not have done the kind of color-to-grapheme matching that I did as quickly as I did it (and done it with randomized letters, with two or three repeats of each character) without being a synesthete. I was WAAAAY off the far end of the bell curve when compared to the normal population. So that one, I am willing to call it, and have every confidence that if I were to get a brain scan that it would be proven from that end as well.

But anything spectrum-related, as well as auditory processing disorder (which I'm getting more and more sure of every day--having a lot of episodes at work, in my new job, of being almost "deaf" on the phone even though I hear the sounds being said just fine), not going to call it without a diagnosis.

I do intend to be seen for the auditory processing soon, though, at which time I will bring up some of the other stuff--so I intend to find someone who is well versed in all types of learning differences, running from ADHD to APD to ASDs. But the auditory business is getting in my way at work now, whereas in my previous job, where most of what I did was in person or I could pass off the call to a co-worker if I couldn't understand them, it wasn't having the impact it is now, where I have to understand conference calls, and calls on cell phones, and a lot of people who call me insist on using the damn speakerphone, which makes it go from bad to worse.

Some can self diagnose and know exactly what is wrong with them. Ive always been that way with any illness Ive had, Ive always known before my doctors did, Ive actually never been wrong. (It does help that I have a medical obsession!!).
It certainly wasnt a want to be Aspie thou.. I didnt want to be Aspie but knew it was what was wrong with me. I wish I didnt have Asperger's as it's made things hard.

Anyway.. I did get a offical diagnoses recently.

I think that's the mature thing to do. I 'knew' I almost certainly had AS for several years before seeking the formal diagnosis, but I would never have opened my mouth to claim that without professional confirmation. No matter how much obsessive interest research one does, that's not impartial and its not a substitute for qualitative testing.

But OP, you're never going to get much support for your position in an open forum dominated by self-diagnosed 'ultra mild' cases, not serious enough to 'feel the need' to seek formal diagnosis. WP has been overrun with 'disorder of the month club' validation seekers who don't have a real disability but want to feel special. Anytime you call them on it, they're going to crucify you and shout you down.

What I cannot fathom is why anyone whose day-to-day life is not adversely affected by their condition to the point of severely hindering their ability to function feels the need for a label? If it isn't totally screwing up your existence, then why lay claim to a disability? Thank your lucky stars and get on with your life.

This expresses my feelings on the subject as well.
I had always wished there was a "I believe I have AS (or better yet, an ASD)" option (or something like that), rather than "Have Asperger's - Undiagnosed", which I have some trouble with. The next one is "I'm not sure if I have it or not" doesn't work for me even more.



Autism has been my main obsession for the past four years. Psychology has always been a special interest for me, since around age 17. I'd been searching for an answer for a long time.


If I could go for a DX at this time, I most assuredly would. I have many issues (sensory, employment, relationship issues, to name a few) that have been with me all of my life, some have improved, and others have been amplified.

Last edited by MechAnime on 11 Jul 2010, 4:11 pm, edited 3 times in total.

I am not annoyed by mild Aspies or incorrectly self-diagnosed Aspies associating with more severe autistics. Rather, I am annoyed when I see these people on the milder end of the spectrum claim how oh so wonderful Aspies are, orhow we can all live independently/have jobs/etc. One of the reasons I refer to myself as autistic even though my diagnosis is Asperger's, is to avoid the "Aspie supermacist" subculture that claims mild Aspies are somehow better than those more severely affected.

As for my severity credentials, I am institutionalized because of something related to autism. I can't work. I do have a romantic relationship. I do consider my autism a disability, but, like someone already said, disability isn't inherently negative.

While that may be true of some, the kind of attitude you're suggesting (and I have a relative like that, that I believe has Muenchausen's Syndrome on top of a mood disorder), I think that some people may have milder effects and want to know how to work around those in a way that fits them. Others may foresee a problem getting worse and want to nip it in the bud. Case in point: as mentioned, a change in jobs has started to bring out auditory processing problems in a way that it never had before, because I have to spend a lot more time on the phone. I have reason to believe I am missing critical information on conference calls, and I KNOW I am having episodes when I'm using my cell phone (and I have to be on call on my job) and even when it's not loud around me, not being able to hear words even when the connection is good and the volume is up, and having to spend a good minute or two with someone talking at me, and me trying to figure out what "stupid question" I can ask that won't sound SO stupid, that will help me understand what they're saying. I hear the voice at normal volume, but sometimes I do not hear it as language.

I believe this may be related to other stuff, but I am concluding that I need to be proactive on dealing with at least the auditory problems BEFORE I have a critical misstep, because with the nature of my job (the rest of which I am pretty well suited for), I am not going to be able to do without the phone.

I don't think it's my place to judge whether or not someone has the disorder.

Well, I could easily be one of these people but I was diagnosed wiht ADHD at a very young age as well. what makes you think someone with ADHD couldn't have a decent social life along with the other issues you described, and if this is true, that a very mild Aspie couldn't do it either? I did at one point, it wasn't easy, but I did it. Mind you I was medicated. Now I'm struggling more than ever but it's always been an uphill battle. I guess my point is that you just don't really know how much someone's struggling because they seem normal and have most of the things that "successful" people are supposed to have.

I don't think I've ever passed myself off as 100% normal but I have come close in the past. It didn't make me happy because I just knew that I was missing something, knew that I didn't "get" it like everyone else did, but does that mean that I shouldn't have tried at all? I see nothing wrong with a suspected Aspie still trying to do what they consider to be the "right" things to do in life, if it makes them feel like they are worth something.

If they seem to be doing it completely effortlessly I suppose that is another story, but again, you just never what people are really going through. People have many reasons to use facades. mask certain behaviors, and not discuss the way they actually feel.

Last edited by MotownDangerPants on 11 Jul 2010, 4:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.