I'll never have a *completely* official diagnosis, but...

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...I've now got as close as I'm going to get.

Yesterday I had a scheduled appointment with my psychiatrist, mostly about other things. Since we last talked, I have had numerous people tell me they think I have Asperger's (some rudely, some not), have studied it, found it very familiar, talked to numerous Aspies, and recognized aspects of myself in all of them -- but I had no official diagnosis.

My psychiatrist has known me for over 20 years. He knows I am not like other people. When I asked him if he thought I had Asperger's, I made it quite plain that I did not want to be treated, nor "cured," for I like being the way I am, and do not with to be a neurotypical. "It's entirely possible" was as far as he would go.

Further discussion revealed why: he also doesn't see Asperger's as a disease, or a condition to be treated, but merely a different way some people think -- the same view I have. He diagnoses and treats illnesses, such as my panic disorder, but, since he doesn't view Asperger's as a disease, the term "diagnosis" doesn't really apply, and so he would not use it.

This is good enough for me. All I wanted was to satisfy my own curiosity about myself, and why the rest of the world has always seemed so very . . . odd.

After this, I'm quite convinced I am an Aspie, changed my description on this site to "diagnosed," for this interaction is as close as I'm going to be able to get, combined with my own research. I certainly don't want to interact with any medical professionals who view Asperger's as a disease -- they'd just piss me off.

Before it was simply strongly suspected. Now I am convinced. I am an Aspie, and I'm also delighted to be one.

I'll keep trying to figure out how to deal with those NTs out there. That is a big challenge. On the other hand, I do LOVE puzzles.

If you can keep that perspective, you will go far.

I like to keep puzzle books around. There's one on cryptographs in the bathroom, one on math puzzles on the kitchen table, a variety puzzle book in the car in case I have to wait somewhere for a little while, and more here and there.

(quote)After this, I'm quite convinced I am an Aspie, changed my description on this site to "diagnosed(quote)

I have to be blunt here and say that you cant just think you are an aspie if you havent been officially diagnosed, i had to go in and get diagnosed as a personal experience for myself , but i dont always agree when someone just says they have aspergers without an official diagnosis from a professional.

I think you are fine. Just a question: if you so love puzzles, how come you are not pursuing an official diagnosis? I couldn't rest until I got an official answer!

Anyway, good luck.

I see your point but 'experts' can not only be dead wrong in my experience they are usually extremely dogmatic and refuse to admit their errors. The easiest such example was a new pediatrician who at age 10 told me and my mother I was a 'class clown' who couldn't follow directions. To give you a bit of background I was practically a mute, was heavily teased (but not yet bullied), never misbehaved (and have the reports to prove it) and was OBSESSED with following rules to the point where everyone no doubt saw me as the Teacher's Pet. This guy was a well respected older doctor too!

Besides, the word 'self-diagnosis' can be thrown around like I spent 5 minutes on Wikipedia. I actually spent months painfully and rationally researching it and other conditions and even asked co-workers who have extensive backgrounds in mental health who basically told me it's laughably obvious I have it. It's literally like telling someone missing an arm they are an amputee at this point.

I personally am not trying to avoid a diagnosis (would prefer it for piece of mind) but it is exceptionally hard to get, especially when they require parental interviews and my folks would NEVER admit they have a son with a 'disorder'. Seems I've adjusted too well to the NT world (at least on the surface) to be taken seriously.

I’m 47 and have never had a proper diagnosis of my condition, other than Doctors listening to me talk, and then telling me I have mild form of autism, aspergers.
I knew I was different growing up, in fact way different. This was at a time when the so called professionals were calling savants idiots.
The autistic spectrum is huge, it’s possible to live your life and never even know you had mild autism, Aspergers.

I can think of about 25 traits of autism I live with. My mind goes from mild to severe autism, it speeds up so I can’t stop expressing myself. Then it goes to the other end of the spectrum and slows down altogether, I couldn’t even tell you my name. Unfortunately nobody can explain why my mind does this. These are the same people who don’t know if autism is a disease, a condition, or neurons firing in the wrong direction.

If you can put enough of the pieces together yourself, you see enough of the picture to know what’s going on.

It makes me wonder when I think of someone calling themselves a professional in autism diagnoses. Yes you can spot the obvious candidates, but even the professionals sometimes have a hard time working out all the spectrums.
I suppose if you delve hard enough, you can work out just about anything, especially with all the information available today.

"Nobody knows us better than ourselves...

yeah i basically got it for peice of mind, i never had to do the parents thing though.

What about cases in which the person cannot afford to get an official diagnoses? should they just avoid even considering they have AS? That is kind of the position I am in, closest thing I have to a diagnoses at this point was my last therapist also thought it was very possible and well from what I've read about it, it fits.

I certainly am not saying an official diagnoses is a bad thing, but there are a lot of obstacles to getting one.

oh in australia its free my bad

Oh that makes sense, lol we still have a primitive healthcare system here in the states.

oh in australia its free my bad[/quote]


Oh that makes sense, lol we still have a primitive healthcare system here in the states.[/quote]

lol yeah i heard that it really bad there and it doesnt matter if its life threatening if you dont have insurance the hospital wont fix you?

In the states, they will "fix" you even if you don't have insurance (as long as you go to an emergency room) but because there are so many people here who don't have insurance (mainly because they can't afford it), it's unfortunately not as uncommon of an occurrence as it should be for people to die while waiting for treatment. We are in dire need of a health care reform.

wow that sounds rough.

Well its not quite that clear cut for instance they have to treat you if its an emergency as in an ambulance took you to the ER and you're pretty much dying...and then of course if the insurance does not cover it the individual gets a nasty bill they have to find some way of paying off. Or if one needs a certain treatment but its not exactly an emergency situation they might not be able to get it if the insurance does not cover it.

The bad thing is that if you have no insurance and want to pay cash (and can pay cash) for the treatment, the price you pay will likely be more than double the price in insurance company would have paid for the same treatment if you had insurance. The doctors and hospitals give the insurance companies enormous discounts, but that discount is not normally offered to someone paying cash. For example, if you were paying cash for a $25,000 hospital bill, you would have to pay the whole thing while an insurance company might only be charged $10,000 to $15,000 for the exact same hospital stay.

And if you don't pay, they can file a lawsuit to take your house or other property and seize bank accounts.