How to Know if you have Asperger's and what to do about it

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I've only been on Wrong Planet about a month (if that) and have seen several posts of people new to the site to the effect of "Here's who I am, Do I have Asperger's?" I Wrote this in response to a post along those lines and am putting it here for those that may find it useful.

Do I have aspergers

1) View "What is Asperger's Syndrome" by the National Center for Learning Disabilites on youtube. It's fairly short but concise and to the point. It's also easy to understand.

2) Once you are convinced in your own mind that you have Asperger's, there are a couple of avenue's to getting a diagnosis if you want one. If you don't want one that's fine too.

A) Call your local Hospital and ask if they or another facility in the area have a Neuroscience division that could assist with an Autism diagnosis. This ultimately is what I believe will be most helpful and reputable.

B) GRASP (Global Regional Asperger's Partnership) has a website you can register with. Once you tell them where you live they will send you some recommended clinics/psychologists.

C) Some states have a non-profit Autism Society. Try running an internet search on Autism + "Your State" or your country if you live outside of the USA. Get a number and call them. They can usually give great advice about things you have not even thought of yet.

D) DO NOT just call a Psychologist office in your insurance plan and ask if they could assist with an Autism diagnosis. Asperger's is complicated, yet Psychologists want your business. I wasted a lot of time and money doing this. When I confronted one LCSW with his past experience working with Autism, he replied, "Well I had to write a paper about it in college once." Use one of the above options, it will save headaches.

If you live outside of the USA and have specific advise for newbies in your country seeking a diagnosis, please add to this post.
If you're a newbie and still struggling to get a diagnosis, PM me and I'll try to help point you in the right direction.

The video was very informative. Thanks for posting it. I am having trouble navigating the GRASP website. On the "Can GRASP Help Me?" page, they mention a Links page, but I have no idea where to find that. I thought maybe it was only available to members, so I tried to make a membership, but I'm running into a wall in that department too. Can you direct me?

How to sign up with GRASP (Global Regional Asperger's Partnership)

website is grasp.org

In the top right corner click on "Getting Started this will bring up a new page

About halfway down the new page on the right is a box with choices that say "Sign Up" or "Sign In"

This will bring upa new box that says sign in with one of these. Depicted are the facebook, google and yahoo icons respectively. If you do not presently have an account on any of these you may obtain a free email address on either google or yahoo. Use this to proceed with signing up for a membership.

Hope that helps.

you can also e-mail grasp and ask for assistance at info.grasp.org

Thanks, Bill. I think the website just wasn't working properly when I tried last week. It is working today.