Is it necessary to have a SI in order to be diagnosed?

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Hi, I'm new here. I'm self-diagnosed as having AS, or at least I thought I was...I seem to fit nearly all of the criteria, with the exception of a particular special interest. So, my question is, is it necessary to have a certain special interest that you devote all of your time and energy to in order to gain a diagnosis? Or can you just have general hobbies?

Meow.

I can be wrong, but I think it's not necessary.

sMeow.

Okay, thank you.

I received a diagnosis of AS without mention of a special interest. I fulfilled the other criteria in the category of repetitive behaviours which was fine with the paediatric psychiatry.

There may be psychiatrists and neurologists that consider a special interest more relevant to the diagnosis of Asperger's perhaps. Sometimes, the requirements for an official diagnosis of AS are almost unusually subjective to the point of that a person receives a diagnosis of AS from one professional and a diagnosis of PDD-NOS or classical autism from another.

It's best to ask a mental health professional about questions like these early in the process of diagnosing just to be sure they know enough of ASDs to diagnose them somewhat accurately.

No, but you do need other aspects of routines.

The DSM-IV diagnostic criteria is
http://www.autreat.com/dsm4-aspergers.html

The DSM-5's current proposal is
http://www.dsm5.org/ProposedRevisions/P ... spx?rid=94

No.

Missing ANY ONE trait, does not mean anything at all. All that matters is whether or not you have enough traits that fit into a number of different possible traits.

No one trait determines whether Autism is present. Google DSM Autism and read. Any single trait can be missing. As long as there are ENOUGH traits out of all the POSSIBLE traits, then it is Autism, but you have to read the categories and subcategories. There aren't that many of them.

Incidentally, "Special Interests" are linked to the following criteria:

"encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus"

Notice the words, "Special Interest" don't appear there, or anywhere else in the criteria. "Special Interests" are nothing more than a "common observation" that falls under the above subcategory of traits. If you have one, and you talk about it all the time, that would fall under that trait. If you don't, that doesn't necessarily mean you DON'T have the above trait either.

Notice is says, "ONE OR MORE" not just "one."

I have MANY special interests, but the intensity and focus with which I pursue each of them, while I am pursuing them, is not normal.

You do not have to have just ONE special interest. You don't even have to have ANY.

Okay. Would stimming fall under the routine category? I have OCD, so it's a little hard for me to differentiate with the other parts of criteria.

Yeah, I seem to fit the rest of the criteria pretty well.

Okay, that makes sense. Thank you

Like others have said you don't need to fit into every criteria to potentially be a person with asperger's or autism...

...I'd also add that I've found during my time within the AS/ASD community, reading what others write on blogs etc. that a lot of the characteristics I thought I didn't have, I actually do have. There is a lot of variation in how characteristics present themselves, most of us won't fit the classic definition of certain criteria - for example with 'special interests' we will not all be train-spotters or obsessed with Pokémon, and we may not all be totally submerged in a specific interest, for many of us it's a hell of a lot more subtle.

No, I just meant a lack of a special interest. I wasn't intending to imply that hobbies on their own provide sufficient evidence for a diagnosis. Sorry for the confusion. I tend to have trouble saying what I mean or what I want to say without careful planning ahead of time. I guess I just rushed into it.

Thanks Blood Heart! I know what you mean. The more posts I read, the more I feel like this is where I belong. There are so many characteristics that people have that I share that I had never even thought about before.