Lake of formal diagnosis is driving me crazy

Post Reply New Topic

I know I have Aspergers 200% but this limbo of having worked it out but waiting of an official diagnosis is driving me crazy.

Any others gone through this stage?

not really man.

I hated it
Hated the process

Things I always knew.

I did not like making eye contact.

I never hugged kissed or talked about love.

I was always shy about putting on a pair of shorts.

I could never maintain friendships.

I never had a relationship.

Noises got to me like car horns and alarms.

I always got flustered in stressful situations in busy environments.

I always found it hard to start tasks.

I was always obsessed with science and politics even as a young child.

I was always bullied.

My handwriting was always bad and never improved.

Things like tying knots that require fine motor control have always left me wanting.

There is more but a search of some of thees things lead me to Aspergers.

My postings skills are not great and there is more to it then I have posted by I know in my soul I have it.

Yes, I went through that stage. I was fortunate in that it did not last long, but it was a relief when it was over and I had confirmation.

My DX just kinda smacked me in the head, so, no.

Best of luck, however.

I don't even know how I get started on that.

Just the idea of having to find a specialist and having to come up with the record of my childhood tendencies etc from my parents (I live in a foreign country and my parents don't speak English) and other necessary documents etc and the process itself are overwhelming.

Also some people on WP mentioned some disadvantages of getting a diagnosis, such as that you may pay a higher premium for insurance (I don't know if it's true) etc if you are officially autistic. Could I also miss opportunities for employment or a promotion because of it? If you are officially diagnosed, then you have to inform your prospective employer of it, don't you?

I don't know what to do.

My understanding is that you are under no legal obligation to inform your employer. I could be wrong though so be sure and check it out yourself, but the few books I've read always discuss whether or not to tell your boss.

I haven't been able to get a diagnosis yet but from what I've seen on other forums, that isn't unusual. The neuropsychologist I went to actually told me he saw no signs of autism and then in the next sentence told me to quit rocking and look him in the eye.

Hope it works out better for you.

I know exactly how you feel. I've been obsessing over this every day for the past year.

Luckily for me, my roommate is a registered counselor and she's helping me figure it all out. I think it's narrowed down to ASD, ADHD, social anxiety or some combination of these. I personally think ASD+ADHD is the best explanation. I've read several times that the two together somewhat cancel each other out and as a result is harder to Dx.

I've been trying to figure it out since last April or so. I'm getting to the point, though, where I feel like I need a clear answer one way or another.

For anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area, there's a panel discussion this coming weekend on the autism diagnosis--whether it's worth it, what it entails, and so on:

http://www.aascend.org/?p=499

I think there are four (maybe five) aspects to being on the Aspergers-Autism Spectrum:

1) intense intellectual interests,

2) social awkwardness,

3) sensory issues,

4) stimming, and

5) (maybe) meltdowns.

And not all of us are going to have all these to the same extent, and that's okay.

sharkattack, one thing I'd ask is if you engage in stimming behavior.

Myself, I have a favorite soft T-shirt I will pull or squeeze or twist as I imagine sports or movies. And I will sometimes make sounds. This stimming kind of enables me to get deeper into my imagination. I also sometimes talk to myself. So I will stim, do intellectual work, stim, do intellectual work, and the whole session can be very productive. Yes, this is embarrassing personally and I only do it privately (well, most of the time, I will sometimes find myself quietly talking to myself as I take a walk).

The philosopher Jeremy Bentham, who I think might be on the Spectrum, did something a little bit similar.

And quote-unquote 'normal' people (and no such as 'normal' anyway and how boring the world would be if there were! ) stim, too, by such methods as twirling a pen as they talk on the phone or bouncing a knee during a math test, but somehow this is viewed as more socially acceptable.

Okay, this is probably medium evidence that you're on the spectrum.

Again, so-called 'normal' people (cough, cough) stim all the time, too. I saw a lady at my university library wave a leg back and forth and al-most rock as she reread her paper one more time (to me it was obvious that she was doing this in an effort to help herself concentrate better).