How many "almosts" does it take?

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By my count, this is the fifth time someone in the mental health profession has mentioned AS to me without me mentioning it first... But none of the past accusations led to a diagnosis and i dont know what will happen this time...

This feels like agony... Should i just quit and just count myself an aspie?

I don't have enough information to make an informed opinion.

Are you just walking into the psychiatrist/psychologist's office and right away, they mention AS?

What questions are the clinicians asking you? What are you telling them? Are they testing you?

Its not "how many near misses does it take?".

Its "can I get the monies together to pay for the official exhaustive diagnostic test?".

Though I did get a shrink to sign a piece of paper saying that she dxd me with aspergers even before I got the real test, but she had been seeing me for some years.

But if several different shrinks suggested ASD independently of each other when they met you then -yes- you're like on autism spectrum. So you are free to call yourself a "self diagnosed aspie" here on WP.

Join the club. It's expensive to get a diagnosis.

There are plenty here who are "self-diagnosed," and who have lots of credibility.

If you really want a diagnosis, and can't scrape up the money, joining a research study which deals with autism spectrum disorders might get you the diagnosis you desire.

If the clinical Psychology world hasn't been able to give you a definitive answer all is not lost. If there are strategies that you can use ease the challenges of the Asperger's traits you identify with then by all means put them to good use.

If you can get a formal assessment, I would suggest it. I found mine very helpful in identifying a lot of things. It showed me areas where I was gifted and identified other areas where I had some processing delay's. Overall it provided me a lot of information in which to make future decisions on. It truly left me with a better "understanding of my true self" if that makes sense and it would seem likely that it would do the same for anyone else.

Prior to my formal assessment I had read enough and just knew that Asperger's explained my whole life more than only other diagnosis. Just be honest with yourself and you'll get the right answer if you haven't already. All the best. Shark

Basically people that are around a lot of those with AS when they meet me will mention I'm quite similar or ask if I have AS without me mentioning it first. If I ask someone, I dont usually get a good responce.

Oh, and a couple psychatrists told me that I have AS but too high functioning to get a dx.

Why cant I leave it at that?

If getting an official diagnosis will get you help that you need, then it probably comes with hurdles. I see no benefit to myself from having more than a spoken diagnosis with nothing on paper. I have no one to show the paper to, if I had one.

Q: "How many "almosts" does it take?"
A: Almost all of them.

Sorry, I tried, but resistance was futile.
I do hope a definite answer comes for you. And soon. This business of ambiguity can wear on a person.