And the diagnosis is...

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Asperger's. I'm so relieved, and finally feel validated. I'm definitely glad that all the nervousness/worry about possibly being wrong is over. Now I just have to figure out how to tell my family...

Just by telling them. And anyway, it's not compulsory to do so. Do whatever you think is right, as long as you feel comfortable with yourself. You're the aspie, after all. If you don't see it as a gift, neither will the rest of the world. Enjoy your condition. Feel free to be you and just you.

It's a relief when you finally get diagnosed. I felt the same way very relived when I was officially diagnosed with Asperger's. As far as telling your family, just tell them straight out. There is no special way to do it.

I think I would like to give them a good article about Asperger's when I tell them so i don't have to do so much explaining -something fairly concise and straight-forward. Does anyone have any suggestions?

If they love you and are supportive, then it shouldn't matter. They will just accept you for you. What kinds of tests did you have to take and what types of questions did they ask? How long did the overall process take? Sorry for all of the questions, as they don't really relate to your inquiry of how to tell your family, but I'm awaiting official diagnosis and I'm really anxious.

I know that my family will love and support me no matter what, but it still makes me really nervous to tell them. I've never felt comfortable being very open with anyone, particularly when it comes to something like this. I definitely want to tell them, though.

As far as getting the diagnosis goes, this was the second place I went to. The first time I went to a psychologist for three sessions in which she asked lots and lots of questions. I also did one personality inventory. She decided that I had generalized anxiety disorder. While some parts of that diagnosis fit, it definitely didn't cover everything. Also, her explanation for why she didn't think I had Asperger's seemed to be based on the fact that my symptoms were milder than she had seen in her other patients (mostly children). So I felt like I needed to get a second opinion.

I found a great psychiatrist (recommended to me by a member here) to see. They did more testing than talking; an arrangement that I was much more comfortable with! The first time I went took about three hours. First I filled out a questionnaire asking many of the things that I had talked about with the psychologist. Then I talked to one of the psychiatrist's assistants for about an hour. After that I took about ten tests (two of which were on a computer). I think most of them were to rule out other things; some of them said at the top "Test for OCD/Bi-Polar Disorder/etc". Today I took one more test for social anxiety disorder and then talked to the psychiatrist for about half an hour. He had also wanted my husband to come this time, and he talked to both of us together after that. Then he briefly discussed the results of the tests and said that he thought Asperger's Syndrome would be a much more consistent diagnosis than Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I go back to see him again after Christmas.

I hope that helps! When I was going through this I was really anxious too and wanted to know about everyone else's experiences. Good luck with your diagnosis!

I'm glad that you have your diagnosis now. Just tell it to your parents! Begin telling them you went through an evaluation that you think will help you with your issues with this and that (work, friends, education, etc.) and say that they concluded you have Asperger's, which in itself explains a lot about yourself. Assure them that you won't use it as an excuse (never meant actually) and that you want to benefit from it.

(I'm a bit envy you that you have a diagnosis that is 1) acknowledged 2) will definitely remain on the spectrum after the changes in the diagnostic system (DSM-V), unlike PDD-NOS, that they gave to me recently).

Thanks OJani. I was wondering if you had found out about your diagnosis yet. Did you post somewhere and I missed it?

I posted this thread about my diagnosis: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt182997.html
I'm not entirely accepting a PDD-NOS diagnosis due to several reasons. Look at the bottom of the first page. Plus, here's an interesting reading about the possible fate of PDD-NOS and its residents with a little philosophical insight (under What is autism?):
http://crackingtheenigma.blogspot.com/2 ... d-nos.html

I'd stress the point that "high levels of repetitive and stereotyped behaviours" as an important part of the criteria is somewhat arbitrary, or so it seems. It's well known that a lot of types of stimming that autistic people exhibit actually don't fit in this (relatively) narrow category by the current "golden" standards (ADOS, ADI-R).

So, that's why I have bad feelings about all this. Things seem to be going against the righteous interest of a significant group of autistic people with the changes in DSM-V. Nevertheless, I've sent a letter to the psychs who evaluated me explaining this and asking for additional clarification in my official diagnosis that I actually have "HFA" (they haven't prepared it yet). They've said they would find a solution.

Besides, it seems that there are a significant number of people who were DX'd with Asperger's who should have been DX'd with PDD-NOS strictly taking into account diagnostic criteria. Probably, Asperger's and its supposed association in peoples' mind with high functioning autism have something to do with it. PDD-NOS itself is a cumbersome, vague category that no one likes and is less acknowledged.

Sorry for the long post, I'm rambling.

Blech, that sounds frustrating. I hope they will be able to give you some more clarity for such an ambiguous diagnosis.

Thanks, I hope so.