Question for the self-diagnosed.

Post Reply New Topic

How do you know you've got an ASD? I'm not doubting your self-diagnosis, not at all, I'm merely wondering since so many symptoms/traits of different disorders overlap.

I can take myself as an example. I have no idea what I've got. I just know I've got something. Sometimes I'm sure I've got Asperger's and sometimes I think it's utterly ridiculous that I even suspect it. Been reading up on a lot of disorders and from what I've read I could have Asperger's but I could also have Social Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression or Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Or all of them. Or some of them. Or none of them. Or something else.

I'm queueing to get assessed. It'll take up to two years to get assessed for ASD and four months or so for something else. So in the meantime; how do you know?

I think the only people who have an excuse to self-diagnose is the people who live in countries where you have to pay high prices to go and see someone about it to get diagnosed, otherwise there's no excuse, even if it means waiting a year, go ask a professional, like I'll be doing.

(I already see psychiatrists, but I'll be asking at my next appointment about mild AS)

I don't think I'll ever be 100% certain, even if I had an official Dx. After all, it's just a flawed person sitting on the other side of the desk, and not only that, but they've got quota's to stay under. Ultimately I'm looking for some perspective and solutions to my issues, and after the research, online tests, reflection, and application of coping skills, I'm comfortable enough with where I'm at.

In reality, an official Dx would probably not benefit me very much. It's expensive, support for generally self sufficient adults living in the mid west is practically non existent, and I'd be afraid of how might affect my insurance and future job prospects.

I am now 100% sure I have Aspergers and while I will seek a formal diagnosis I have never been so sure of anything like this before. I hate to use the term 'self-diagnosed' because many people who are experienced with Autism tell me it's very likely I have it and pointed out things I had no idea I did as their evidence. Essentially, it becomes obvious once known like the Moon's orbit.

I have been suspected of ADD and OCD for a long time and it seems obvious why Aspergers was never diagnosed since it 'didn't exist' when I stopped going to a paediatrician in 1993 (told me at 10 I was a class clown when I was practically mute: what a quack!) I had been told I had signs of Aspergers many times but told really paid much attention since my brother is the 'computer geek', not me. Only when I stumbled upon this http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_sign ... s_Syndrome did my jaw literally drop. It literally described me perfectly, right down to the 'refuses to eat foods touching each other'. I have never met anyone in my life who shared that trait, for example. I obviously didn't instantly say "I'm an Aspie" just from that but a very strange thing happened. I went to the library on a unrelated note and Tony Attwood's book on Aspergers literally fell into my hands. I swear I'm not making that up! The more I researched it the more doubts evaporated. My complete lack of success with dating and women recently only further cements that proof in my eyes.

Bottom line is I still may or may not be OCD, ADD, etc but I am without a doubt an Aspie, formal diagnosis or not. I score off the charts on Aspie tests, which is why I included one in my signature.

I read the descriptions, took the online tests, and read accounts from those who are officially diagnosed -- it all fits better than anything else I've yet seen. The acid test for me, is the remedies and work-arounds suggested for Aspies/Auties are either things I've already found help me, or help me better than anything I've yet tried.

_________________
If it don't come easy . . . .
. . . .hack it until it works right

Aspie score: 142/200 NT score: 64/200
AQ Score: 42
BAP: 109 aloof, 94 rigid and 85 pragmatic

Well at first I was thinking I might have had schizotypal PD, but then from what I looked up that disorder more starts in adolescence or adulthood not really childhood. Hell for all I know I could be diagnosed with both.....but yeah I could relate to a lot I found out about AS and of course I have some family who thinks I have it and my last therapist thought so to.

But it does not matter to me so much anymore.......it may partially be because my mom seems to want me to define myself by it or something, and well I don't really feel like it, maybe it explains some things but that doesn't mean I want the t-shirt to if you get my meaning.

It makes too much sense in my case not to have any validity. I am not just going by online assessments but rather have been doing what I think a good professional would do in assessing me. Namely, this is trying to determine how I was in early childhood. The answers actually surprised me as my memory was a bit different than my parent's. Likewise, I asked friends who have known me for a long time and several say that they are certain I have it due to how I am or was. What adds credibility to their assessments are that they know other people with an official Dx and so have experience with the disorder. This does not mean I am 100% certain that I would easily get such a diagnosis were I to see a professional. However, I am about 85% certain I would if it was done by the right person. The only area I am uncertain of is systemizing. I do it, and some of it is disruptive to my life, but it is very limited in scope and not as extreme as I think it would have to be for diagnosis. Most of the time, I systemize as a coping mechanism for my executive functioning issues as I would normally forget to do certain things if I didn't. Then again, maybe I am reading into the diagnostic criteria too literally or am blind to it because I can't see it in myself.

In the end do I think I have it? Yes. There are two reasons I have not been assessed for it yet. The first is cost. In the US, it can cost as much as 10% of my yearly income to get assessed, and it is not practical for me to spend that much to find out I have something for which there is no real treatment. That money can be spent elsewhere in tangible ways that I know will make my life better, like fixing the small leak in the roof of my house. Second would be the way I am. I am sort of scared to deal with people I don't know in a new situation and so it would be hard for me to call someone to try and get the process started. I also have executive functioning issues which means that I am a big procrastinator. I can put things off for years some times (like getting a blood test for diabetes that I have needed for 2 years, or wisdom tooth extraction that I put off for 15 years), especially if they seem like they might be unpleasant.

I'd always known I was different and weird, possibly crazy. I read up on lots of different conditions, but nothing tied everything together. To account for all my quirks, I'd have to have this bizarre tapestry of conditions.

Then I found AS and everything clicked. It was a single condition that explained all my quirks, instead of a combined mess of conditions. Occam's Razor. I had an ASD of some kind.

I got my diagnosis later. I was right. That's how it was for me.

I think a better question to ask is, "Why does that other person think I have Asperger's?"

Psychology is, at best, nothing more than a pseudo-science; and as such, it often draws in people who do not have the intellectual ability to recognize anything beyond their tiny, pitiful conceptualization of the human mind.

I question those who are so fervent in the validity of their "official" diagnosis...

To me an official diagnosis could affect my career plans (I think people are stupid to be predudice but there's a whole lot of idiots out there) and my medical history can be looked at. Plus it may be free in the UK but getting a GP referral for depression (recurrance) is hard enough, not sure she believes AS exists.

AS fits most of my traits (depression the others) don't really fit into the other groups from the info I can find so logic dictates AS.

Diagnosis: $150
Peace of mind: Priceless.

You can see a clinical or behavioural psychologist in the U.S. for about $100 - $300. They're listed in the magazine Psychology Today. It's where I found mine.

ASD certainly explains a lot about me. I took an assortment of online tests and they came up positive. Reading Tony Attwood's book was like reading a history of my life. My nephew was recently diagnosed and when the psychologist asked my sister if she thought anyone else in the family showed symptoms, I was the first person she thought of. The evidence does seem to be pretty strong. I'm just trying to build up the courage to see my doctor to get a referral.