From a 40+ viewpoint - be officially diagnosed? or not?

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I wish there were more places like nonPareil Institute around. I came across this place while looking for a general AS meetup in the DFW area.

It really is so painfully obvious to me that I am Aspie when I come to WrongPlanet, or research the condition - that my reason for wanting to be 'officially' diagnosed is almost funny.

I have to prove it.

Plain and simple, just like you are an automatic dumbass if you don't have a degree, you also canNOT have Aspergers unless diagnosed by an NT that is clueless as to whether you really are or not. My family, friends, workmates all labor under the delusion that I am 'perfectly capable'. Poppycock, I am having one heck of a tough time in this world.

NTbad....... That is about all there is to it.

It did feel good to have my belief confirmed. Once I accepted it as a baseline to work from I'm much happier.

Well, there's that too. I can't say I'm doing really well in life and I couldn't use some help. It's sort of a catch-22, you know, get that label slapped on you and get some help - but also create a crutch that you might over-rely on. Not to mention that there's no guarantee you won't have people still thinking you should just "walk it off". In fact, if they can't already see you're having trouble and aren't willing to help, I imagine they'll just rationalize a diagnosis away, tell themselves it's bogus science or something. So I remain skeptical about any possible benefits.

"Pop psychology" as one of my detractors calls it.

I'm 49 years old and was officially diagnosed by a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in Asperger's Syndrome just a few weeks ago. And I'm tickled pink with the diagnosis! In fact, I'm thinking about purchasing a stainless steel medic alert bracelet which says AUTISM on the back of it. Why? That'll be my 'get out of jail free' card. I'm hoping it'll but a dead stop to all these incessant "adult" questions thrown my way all the time - "How come you're not married?" "How come you don't have any kids?" "How come you're not a doctor, or going further with your education? You're smart." How come this and how come that?" Arrgghhh! They can make your blood boil with these interrogations. I know they mean well but to someone like me it's irritating and annoying. Typically, when people at work used to ask me that I'd just run away.

Definitely, if you're adult and autistic, get diagnosed officially. There's a black hole that consumes autistics over the age of eighteen and it's consumed too many of us already. With a little more pressure, someone would come up with something that could be done to make us happier. With a little more pressure, the NT world might start to make a little more room for us.