The big 'grey area'

Post Reply New Topic

I've only really learnt about Asperger's recently & realised that a lot of the stuff feels like it applies to me! However, I haven't had a diagnosis yet & I'm wondering if this is partly due to my early childhood (From when I was about 4 until I was about 8, I had Selective Mutism, so I get the idea that my parents had 'bigger fish to fry', so to speak. I'm also wondering if possible Asperger's made me have Selective Mutism, or Selective Mutism gave me Asperger's-like symptoms in terms of socialising? ). I'm also concerned about 'self-diagnosing' myself because I'm not completely Asperger's-like & I worry if it turns out I haven't got Asperger's, it'd feel like I was being deceitful if I said I did. That being said, I feel totally comfortable in this forum, as if I have found a group of people that're just like me, & that's kind of why I don't want to feel like I'm 'pretending' to have Asperger's.

I haven't discussed any of this with my parents yet, but I was wondering if a diagnosis would be worth it right now? I don't particularly think I need counselling or anything like that (maybe help for university & job interviews), but I'd like to know for peace of mind, most of all. I'm so confused...

I suppose i should preface by explaining the "sophomore syndrome" typically if you are psych major you take abnormal psych in your sophomore year, and yes there is a tendency to discover that you have everything. Mind you this is in a population that is more or less average (well you know they do say that psych majors are like a magazine stand because they have so many issues)

in anycase, selective mutism, while not an exclusivly AS trait certainly makes you stand out from the crowd.

Yes there is a lot of grey area in the diagnostic criteria, (remember that Dr's practice medicine, this is because they haven't gotten it down yet, and need more practice). Find someone who is up on the current research, and tell them why you think it is a good explanation, what about you makes you say "hey this sounds like me" when you look at info about AS, make the argument, the worst that can happen is that the guy disagrees, maybe they can point you in a more accurate direction. But don't buy it just because some guy in a suit with some fancy degrees on the wall tells you that you are not who you are. I am 34 and have only had a formal diagnosis since this past April. I was miss diagnosed with ADHD several times until I started to challenge it.
to go back to the grey area, bear in mind that psych diagnosies are not solid science, if you display more of charictoristic X than the general population by 2 standard deviations (its statistics, think the dif between a C and an A ) then you have a diagnosis, does this mean that if you are in the B+ range statistacally speaking you don't have essentially the same experince, a lower score may be an indicator that you have developed coping skills to deal with aspects of AS, Truth be told scores may fluctuate based on who administers a given scale.

Short version : even if you come in just under the bar (in the diagnostic sence) if this site is where you feel like you are at home then you are at home here the professionals can catch up later.

Hardly anyone who has AS is completely Asperger-like. As in, most of us are missing certain aspects of it. All one needs is "enough" of the right symptoms to qualify. It doesn't matter if some of them are not there.

I wouldn't worry too much about "self-diagnosis." You could always take the stance, like I did when first came here, of being open about the fact that you are. I've since been diagnosed, and it never would have happened if I hadn't self-diagnosed to begin with.

If ur new here, welcome.
I self-diagnosed myself back in September 2010 and then a psychiatrist told me I have it and that I was very smart for self-diagnosing myself!

AS and selective mutism are often found together. Autism can make it harder to get words out, and that makes you more generally vulnerable to selective mutism. So, sure, there could be a connection.

Welcome! Hope you enjoy this website as much as I do.

Selective mutism? I think I might actually have that, to some extent or another. This is definitely interesting, that's for sure.

The only difference between selective mutism and the AS traits is people with SM have a high level of empathy...which is often low for aspies (according the critera anyway)

I think SM might really be on the spectrum but they havent gotten around to realizing that yet