How can I KNOW

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I've been told for most of my life I probably have Aspergers. However, I've never been officially diagnosed (my mum didn't want me to be). A friend who works for an Autism charity was talking about helping me get an official yes or no, but that was a year ago and the last time I asked her about it she snapped at me and said she was very busy.
So, I'd like to try and find out on my own. How can I do this? Is it costly?
I live in England if that helps.

If you have a GP who you trust, you should talk to them about getting a referral to a specialist. It can take a long time unfortunately. Have you contacted the National Autistic Society? They can help you out too and might be able to assist with a referral.

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

Basically yeah, take Jellybeans advice
The process can be very drawn out, mine was about 14 months, but it'll be worth it for you to actually know. If you go onto the National Autistics Society's website and are able to contact them they should be able to inform you of the closest specialists closest to where you are. It might help to do this first then you can take this info to your GP so they have someone they can refer you to directly. This might shorten the amount of time you have to wait for a diagnosis. You DO need to be referred by a GP though.

I never been officially diagnosed. But for me it was similar to having a big@$$ 3rd degree burn on my face, painfully obvious.

The icing on the cake for me was reading most of your replies about AS and feeling like your talking about me.

However I don't want to get diagnosed because I might join the navy and other negative things from having a label over my head.

Membersix,
My dx has allowed me to begin to learn more about myself and accept who I am. I only got my diagnosis two months ago so its still very early to say whether or not it would help me over the long haul. I have some follow up sessions with the psychologist who dx'd me coming up soon, so I can only wait and see what happens with those.
As things stand with me right now I suppose the biggest way my diagnosis has helped me is by giving me affirmation. It was only by chance two years ago that a work colleague mentioned he was seeking a dx for AS. I had heard of Asperger's but didn't really know very much about it. So I did a lot of research and, like many other WP members I'm sure, felt as though I was basically reading my own life history. So I sought a diagnosis straight away and now finally I know for sure and am slowly beggining to view myself in a far more positive light than I have in a long time. Its helped me look at myself more closely and identify aspects of my personality/behaviour that I can change and others that I shouldn't have to and I'm beginning to realise that if someone has a problem with the way I am that it just might be them who has the problem. Its helped me realise that I can't be, nor do I need to be friends with everyone all the time, and its unrealistic to think otherwise. Its helped me realise that good days and sh***y days are natural occurences in EVERYONES life. Its given me the strength to apply for a job as a Peer Supporter and realise that I can succeed in this role despite the problems AS may cause me and not fail because of them.
Hope this answers your question and hope it helps.

That's certainly a big part of my desire for a DX. It's as if I have an obsessional idea that the world sees me as a hypochondriac. Bad enough if it's back pain, when at least I know myself that it's real. With AS, who the hell knows? I'm a clever guy. Unconsciously I might just have ticked "can't" when I meant "can when I want to." Online tests and introspection, however honest, shouldn't be relied upon for important life decisions.

So there's more to it than wantng the protection of a certificate. Even though I know I'll never know, it doesn't stop me tryng to find out, and a test by a third-party with no axe to grind (except maybe to pronounce me fit for normal work, i.e. NT) would I think remove quite a large chunk of my doubt. Meanwhile I keep it quiet. I'm monitoring what's happening at work to see if I get trapped in a lot of situations where only an NT can cope. Not much data so far. I'm not being overworked right now, I'm barely being watched at all, my boss seems quite pleased with my performance, it's a good niche for an Aspie.

But it won't stay so sweet. Soon I'll be among some less cool people, totally different remit. That's the most stressful area of my work, interruptions galore, being expected to read between the lines, new people, lots of competition to be top dog, no control over personal workspace - I detest it and I want to know how much of it is AS. I've always felt I could do a lot more for them if they'd take on board my way of working and thinking, but if I asked for that now they'd probably point out that we'd all like special treatment like that but there's a job to be done. The boss hates people who sue the management for all these politically-correct things like tripping down the stairs. Right-winger, I think.

Excuse the long post Can't seem to get it any more concise than that.

http://www.rdos.net/eng/

I haven't been diagnosed, but would very much like one. It would be most helpful to my 2 daughters who also have symptoms of it, though my oldest seems to have a more severe version.

I would also hope that it would be a tool that I could use to get others to be more tolerant of people who are different. Prejudice runs very deeply where I live, & I'd like to help change that.

I'm still deciding whether or not to approach my GP about this. Knowing the amount of time it usually takes me to make big decisions, it will probably be years before I decide.
I'm not sure whether or not to do it because my mother (who is a SENCO) has always said that I am on the spectrum, but that diagnosis would not help anything and would just lead to me being 'labelled'.
However, it has been driving me mad to think that I MIGHT be, but without knowing. I look at information about Aspergers, and I do feel that I probably am, but then worry that I'm just imagining things. I also find it difficult to know if I should tell anyone, especially since it is not backed up by an official diagnosis.