should i go for a diagnosis?

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Apologize for my English first for I'm not a native speaker..
I'm not sure if I can post this here and if not, don't hesitate to ignore or delete it.

I suspect myself to have asperger syndrome since the first time I read about it two years ago, the symptoms are really close to my situation as a kid, and my mother agree to it. So..this is about if I should go for a professional diagnosis.

I'm 21 years old now and I still always get into problems that others can hardly understand. I used to got bullied and negated in school and kind of abused by my father and it's really terrible. After I know about asperger syndrome I feel much better because I started to think..something..it's not my fault. And I think getting a professional diagnosis may help more in daily life.

I took some test online because it's very hard to find a psychiatrist or psychologist in my underdeveloped hometown. Now I'm studying in a big city, I have the chance to get diagnosis but it's very expensive for me. And I still doubt that if I am is just shy and unsocial and it's just a waste of money..

So..what do you think? I'd like to hear your suggestions..and thank you very much for your time!


Aspie Quiz score:

Aspie score: 168 of 200
neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 28 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie

AQ test:

41 out of a possible 50.
Scores in the 30 - 50 range indicate significant Autistic trauts (Autism)

Last edited by TedGrey on 26 Feb 2013, 5:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

well it does depend on how much it is affecting your life and how much you think you would benefit, what country do you live in, how much money would it cost to be diagnosed, would it be enough to really set you back economically. i think i probably have mild aspergers but have not been diagnosed and prefer not too but it does not effect me as much as you said it does for you so maybe its a good idea, you can only decide really.

you could try writing a list of pros and cons of a professional diagnosis and go from there.

Yes, this is what they're for. If you can manage on your own, then there's no need for a diagnosis; but it is essential if you need help--therapy, education, assistance in daily life--your issues seem to be concentrated on low social skills, for which you could get lessons.

A professional diagnosis is only given if you have what they call "significant impairment"--significant here meaning "observable; important enough to matter". If that's the case, you'll get a diagnosis of some sort and can get assistance.

By the way, even mild abuse (if you can ever call it "mild") can really trash your self-concept, leading you to blame yourself for everything, including things that really aren't your fault, including things that are impairments caused by a disability such as autism. To deal with those issues, you would have to stop blaming yourself for them and start analyzing them and finding ways to circumvent them, which you can only do if you're no longer convinced that they're just there because you're a bad person and you're not trying hard enough! (Believe me, I know. I had a real scumbag for a stepfather, and my mom's pretty critical and ablist.)

So, yeah, I'd say--get an evaluation, if you can. Self-diagnosis is only really useful if you can't get an evaluation and you are trying to cope as best you can on your own. Sure, it might be accurate if you do your research well enough, but you can never get an objective perspective on yourself, and a self-diagnosis won't get you access to anything other than what you could get as an undiagnosed person. But it's not the end of the world if you can't get a good evaluation. Many of us survived for years and even decades without one. For those people, even knowing that they most likely have autism--even if they can't afford a doctor--will give them self-knowledge that makes it easier to find ways to deal with their disability.