Self knowledge vs official diagnosis

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The question of whether self knowledge is enough or an official diagnosis is warranted is a big one . I think to a large degree it depends on age(I’m 61) and how much extra support it will bring (support for ASD,LD etc is very patchy/ a post code lottery).

If we’re intelligent enough when a diagnosis might not bring extra support do we really need a psychologist to back up what our own research has told us?

It matters if you need confirm it and know it sure or if is enough for you your research.
The result of several hours of different tests in psychological examination was that I have probably AS. But I want know it sure...

It's more a matter of confirmation. Because of our nature, when we research a topic we're interested in, we tend to do it to the nth degree hence our conclusions are fairly solid.

I wasn't even aware that I was potentially autistic until the age of 40, when I took the AQ50, but had thought I was dyslexic for years.

My partner of 22 years went with me to my diagnosis, answered questions honestly to the clinicians. She thought prior to the assessment that I wouldn't be diagnosed, but it became apparent that I was early in the process.

I got what i wanted, i.e. a confirmation, but her reaction has been the "fly in the ointment" for me, as she is now questioning the last 22 years and feels that I tricked her into thinking I was neurotypical.

I haven't though and it's pretty obvious to most people who know me

It matters if one for whatever reason needs to or is expected to have an official diagnosis.

What if Alex Plank or Temple Grandin were self diagnosed only? They wouldn't have as much credibility or maybe no credibly at all, simple as that.

Do you need to or should you have that level of credibility? If the answer is no, then it's pretty much irrelevant.

If the answer is yes, then it's extremely relevant.

Yes. Subjective "research" is inherently flawed, and requires confirmation by an appropriately-trained mental-health professional.

You may as well go around saying that you're an Otherkin, a space-alien, Napoleon, or Jesus of Nazareth.

An official diagnoses can be very expensive in the states. As I understand it, you just need to be patient in the UK.

If you constantly fixate on whether you have something or not, it makes sense to get a professional opinion.

In my case, I've been there and done that. Meaning that at one time or another I remember doing just about every Aspie faux paux in the book. No NT can do that.

Last edited by BTDT on 30 Jul 2018, 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

... you will eventually convince yourself that you have that "something". It's called "Self-Delusion", "Munchausen Syndrome", and "Confirmation Bias".

It matters only to the people on here with an official diagnosis. We can't be part of the their play group unless we waste $1500 for an official diagnosis. When you consider that the only help available is for people under the age of 18, a professional diagnosis is a waste of money. The only support for adults with autism is online forums.



But then we get a bunch of children screaming that we are delusional and can't play with them on these support forums, (our only place for help and support,) because we were born before a diagnosis existed and don't have $1,500 just laying around.

I don't know why everyone complains about how expensive it is to get diagnosed in the states. I sat down and had a frank conversation with my primary care doc and my insurance covered the assessment. It might all be in the way you ask the question.

I went to a local university, and spoke with one of the profs. She gave me my first diagnosis. I received a more in-depth diagnosis after a series of tests and interviews by a "tribunal" of professors who were researching ASDs in adults. The total cost came out-of-pocket (e.g., cash), but was much less than the price quoted above.

Insurance coverage varies widely.

It can be uncomfortable for some to receive care in an educational setting.

I have had problems with other people all my life and I didn't know why. When I was younger, I thought maybe the causes are: I am ugly, too small, my glasses, I am stupid, from a poor family...

Later I read an article about social phobia. At the forum about Social Phobia I found some threads about avoidant personality disorder and Asperger's. First I did not think I could have AS. I still do not know for sure when I meet on support groups people who are completely different from me.

I don't think that is bad want to know WHY, the causes, what an error occured...
And self diagnosis can precede official diagnosis.

The topic is such a mixed bag of feelings for me being self-diagnosed as I am at this point and nearly 50.

I try very hard in life (and sometimes fail miserably) at "putting myself in someone else's shoes". As in, I could see me finding a special solidarity with others who were officially diagnosed if I were as well. Conversely, I could see how someone with an official Dx would have potentially negative or at the least guarded feelings toward someone self identifying as being on the spectrum. However, If a self-diagnosed person experienced the exact same challenges I did such as:

Sensory hyper-sensitivities
Difficulty with eye contact
Sensory Processing Disorder
Non-verbal cue interpretation difficulty
Monotone talking and limited expression of emotion
Difficulty in recognizing sarcasm or jokes
Intense and very specific "special interests"
Lack of friendships
Literal "black and white" thinking
Meltdowns and Shutdowns
Severely uncoordinated and accident prone
Expansive vocabulary
Echolalia
Stimming

To name a few. I have all of the above and have had all of the above since pre-school. While it's an absolute fact that none of the above or the sum of the above provide anything that would equal an official diagnosis, it's also a fact that no one could argue that I don't have those issues. None of them are imagined or fabricated. I believe, therefore, that I can share the above experiences with someone who has been officially diagnosed and who experiences the same issues and vice versa.

It's too bad that in my limited experience with forum formats in general it doesn't seem like there is an ability for certain members to have some sort of key or password to enter a specific area of the forum only if you have that passkey. Members officially diagnosed that would feel more comfortable conversing only with each other privately however they wished could do something like that?

WP has been so helpful to me for the short time I've been here because I have always felt that I've been both unable to understand others and for others to understand me in large part...until I came here and realized, "Wow, I'm not alone!! !".

Last edited by Magna on 30 Jul 2018, 2:20 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Yes. Absolutely.

However, it is arrogant to assume that a self-diagnosis has any meaning without the confirmation of an official diagnosis by an appropriately-trained and licensed mental-health professional.

I find this comment abusive and inflammatory. Just because you are concerned about something and intelligent enough to do your own research doesn't mean you are any of the things you describe .

I disagree and I don't think it was meant to be abusive or inflammatory.

The tendency for people to be unobjective about themselves is very well known in psychology. Furthermore, there's a phenomenon known as med student syndrome, whereby medical students in learning about diseases begin to imagine they have this disease or that, absent any objective evidence.

In fact, medical diagnosis makes a distinction between signs and symptoms. Signs are objectively observed things such as temperature, red skin, blood pressure, or a particular type of reflex. Symptoms are self-reported observations by the patient. Rightly or wrongly, medical professionals tend to put more reliance on signs, although symptoms are what usually brings the patient in.

So please don't be angry with Fnord for his post. There is some validity to it.