well, the doctors really didn't say no...

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I already see psych doctors because of anxiety and bipolar/psychosis. I'm thinking about what my last two doctors said.

My current doctor simply said she was not sure I had AS.

But the doctor before replied "oh that" when I brought up the subject then said. "a diagnosis of Aspergers would not affect your treatment plan." He said that again when I asked again

So my lack of a formal diagnosis could simply be a matter the doctors see it as unimportant compaired to my other afflictions? But people that say I have it say I am mild so maybe it just colors my personality.

My shrink asked me why I wanted a "label" and essentially said it would not affect my treatment plan. I told him it would enhance sense of identity. And i'm pushing him on it.

To repeat what I said in a post earlier: how aspie do you "feel"? How well does the aspie model enhance and validate your sense of self in the world? If it tends to validation then run with it as a self diagnostic tool. As for whether a formal dx is worth pushing for - well, it might allow you to communicate your model to others in a way that has been validated by "authority".

Maybe it just colours your personality? Maybe, just maybe, it conditions your personality...

"a diagnosis of Aspergers would not affect your treatment plan."


Actually, yes it does. If you're getting "treated" for things that are actually related to aspergers, then that would be helpful to know since you can't cure aspergers.


I would not allow a therapist tell me what diagnosis's I can and can't know about. You are the one paying, not them. Because I'm not the best with authority who tries to control me, I was very persistent with my last therapst about this same topic. He kept saying "your OCD affects you more, so an aspergers diagnosis wouldn't be beneficial". Well guess what? They were wrong, when I got my diagnosis I felt better than ever. I felt more connected to my identity than ever before. Therapists are dicks, I have to be honest, of course not all are, but lots are! I would not pay money towards a controlling therapist! A good therapist cares about what you want out of therapy.

That was a doctor that can diagnose saying that. The therapists I have seen can't give an official diagnosis but two of them thought I have AS.

Wow, I feel fortunate that I got in as a charity case and got diagnosed before I was on Medicare. As soon as Medicare started, they told me "We need to create a 'treatment plan' for you, Medicare requires it" and I said "So long, and thanks for all the fish!"

I have never done well under somebody else's "plan," and somehow I felt sure it was going to involve being pressured to start taking meds and I refuse to take medication for a condition that can't be cured and has no effective pharmaceutical treatment.

Bummer, 'cause I actually liked my therapist and it did me good to get out of the house a couple times a month.

It seems a bit philosophical (and prone to individual preferences) to associate the value of information with the ability to take some type of action based on that knowledge. If that approach to information was extended to other areas, I wouldn't study astronomy or follow politics in foreign countries.

I'm very grateful to have a diagnosis because it allows me to make better sense of my world and makes it easier to borrow observations from other people on the spectrum to better understand myself and to communicate some ideas more succinctly because others have put in quite a bit research than I might have time/intrigue to do myself. I also feel a bit less alone in the world by knowing that there are other people like me.

I got that response from my first therapist who rolled his eyes at me.
Then I saw another therapist, and before I could open my mouth, she said, "Have you considered that this may be Asperger's?"
I have a formal diagnosis now, but frankly O.P., I think in your heart you know your diagnosis already. Go with your gut and continue your CBT!
P.S. Welcome aboard. We all understand and we're here for you.

They gave you fish!?? Yay you!

I suspect something is different about me when I get so obsessed about something I would hook up a secret dial up connection in an employee house in order to download Sonic videos. I could have easily been fired. Ahora quiero estudiar espanol para siempre.
Basically I'm trying to learn Spanish.

It does effect the treatment plan because Asperger's symptoms should be distinguished from co-occuring mental illness. They are treated very differently. Its also important when finding suitable therapists and doctors. When being a client with the mental health system you have to be your own advocate. You may not get yourself diagnoses and prescriptions, but you can find out what would work best for you and persue that.
I am in USA and the mental health system sucks here. I have switched clinics several times for bad service.

My theory of why so many brain docs are this way is because it takes an arrogant person to want a career judging others.

Why doesn't it occur to these therapists that a person on the spectrum might very well want a label for the sake of having a label? I know I can understand things and manage them much better when I have a name to put to them.

My pschologist says the same thing too and I disagree too. I want a formal diagnosis. A psychiatrist told me that I have TRAITS but no Asperger's and I'm pissed because it makes perfect sense and I think my dad has it too!

Could be true.

Look at it this way: Imagine that you have a hangnail on your right index finger. It gets in the way of certain pleasurable activities, but does not threaten your health. Now imagine that you also have a melanoma, which does threaten your health.

A doctor might see your hangnail as unimportant when compared to the melanoma.

Of course, imagining this or that does not prove anything, but does serve to illustrate the point that that the experts seem to agree that if you do have AS, it is of minimal concern when compared to other issues.

"For the sake of having a label"? Is THAT why people self-diagnose? So that they can have a label?

There are not enough varieties of facepalm images to cover that one.

While I appreciate you trying to rope me into your weird crusade against the self-diagnosed, that is not nearly what I meant. I meant that having a label for oneself makes one's difficulties intelligible and thus manageable. Being able to put a name on something makes that thing simpler to understand and deal with. Autistics like order and putting a name on one's difficulties allows for such order. I meant nothing about people self-diagnosis as a matter of arbitrary personal identity.

While I appreciate you trying to rope me into your weird crusade against the self-diagnosed, that is not nearly what I meant. I meant that having a label for oneself makes one's difficulties intelligible and thus manageable. Being able to put a name on something makes that thing simpler to understand and deal with. Autistics like order and putting a name on one's difficulties allows for such order. I meant nothing about people self-diagnosis as a matter of arbitrary personal identity.