Do you think getting diagnosed matters?

Post Reply New Topic

If you need disability services, they are gonna ask for proof. I'm signing up for vocational rehab, they want my medical records.

So yes, I rather think my diagnosis was an important thing.

As noted in the last post a diagnosis is necessary if you need benefits or accommodations.

If you do not need any accommodations or benefits a diagnosis will matter if you need professional validation for your suspicions.

Two things to consider
What I call an “informal diagnosis” where a professional says in their opinion you are autistic but it does not go on your records. The upside is that since a diagnostic report will not be written this option is less expensive. The down side is without records you are not eligible for any help.

While you may not need a diagnosis now at a later time you might. Better to get diagnosed now then first start the process when you are in crises and presumably have less money.

It made a major difference in my life. It's just too bad that I had to get horrible anxiety and insomnia, suffer extreme mood changes and meltdowns, get kicked out of community housing a few days before Christmas, and hospitalized for two weeks before I finally was diagnosed for Asperger's, which I had no idea I had until then.

And even after that I was put in a home for people with severe intellectual disabilities and mental illness because I had no where else to live, but after about a week in that cesspool my parents decided to take me in until I found somewhere better. My mother told people I would have suffered a nervous breakdown if I had stayed there because going to that place made her feel uncomfortable, and she's not even on the spectrum.

I think it matters, getting access to support is very good and also knowing what ails you is good

That's the rub, the actual support often times isn't there whether you've got a diagnosis or not. If people did routinely get the support that they needed following a diagnosis, it would be a much clearer benefit. Doubly so if they'd start actually covering the cost of the evaluations and you could get one in a timely fashion.

Often times the only benefit is knowing that you've been diagnosed and being included when they do statistics on prevalence.

Vocational rehab is a support for folks with disabilities. They help you find jobs, cope with jobs, etc. If you refer yourself to this service, they ask for proof that you have a disability.

A diagnosis is also needed if you end up needing to go on disability pay, which I might.

Unless it's changed, you need a diagnosis, not necessarily an ASD diagnosis and the ASD diagnosis is a lot harder than other diagnoses that frequently apply.

Privately funded vocational rehab can often do whatever they want with deciding who is eligible for services.
This may be more common as federal funding is reduced.

i needed asd lvl 2 on record to get support, without that then i couldn't get help needed and i get disability which means i can be more independant from family and move out one day