Should Mom get diagnosis?

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Hi everyone,

I am so grateful for WP. I've only been here a couple of days, mostly reading, the information is so reassuring. I have a diagnosed child with AS. I know AS is believed to be genetic, I know other family members are affected, what scares me now is. ... Should I get diagnosed? (I know I have it) Is it important? I worry I'm not teaching my kids everything they need to know, and I don't even know it!

Anyone in these shoes?

Thanks

Jetgirl

Welcome Jetgirl. Your question does not have an easy answer. There are many people here who have diagnosed themselves with AS (I'm one of them). There are a lot of these self-diagnosed people who have said they will not get an official diagnosis, for a variety of reasons. I am going for a formal diagnosis this week, in part because I want to know definitely (needing to know the answer to something is one of my aspie traits) and partly because I'm having issues with my employer around discrimination.

Getting a diagnosis won't necessarily help your child, although, depending on where you live, it could help you access services such as seeing a psychiatrist.

Hey Aylissa,

Thanks for the feed back. My son R is diagnosed, you're right, I needed that to get him the help he needs in school. During the diagnosis I heard terms like neurological damage, he is compensating with other areas of his brain. R is gifted and shows some extraordinary gifts. It just hit me hard that since Asperger's is the story of my life, perhaps I should be worried about co-morbid conditions. I'm self employed and a stay at home Mom, I could go merrily along with anything official but..

Am I brain damaged? You know the saying "if you think you're crazy, you're probably not" because you've had these thoughts. I don't have those thoughts but maybe it's because I am. The private diagnosis we got for my son was expensive. I'd hate to go through that to find I have AS. I guess these are questions for a psychologist. I do feel overwhelmed sometimes, but doesn't everyone? What is normal? I think I'll ponder that for awhile.

Thanks for sharing your reason.

Jetgirl

relax there, jetgirl things will be ok...everything seems overwhelming at times.....there are plenty of aspergers tests online that can at least get you started.......although i can't seem to find the link to the one both hubby and son took

Jetgirl,

You are NOT brain damaged! IMO Aspies are just wired differently, certainly not brain damaged.

As for getting an official "label," if you don't really need one, why get it. I can see why Aylissa might need one, but if there is no benefit why lay out the money? I might be NT or I might be AS, but I find as adults, we've all got our hang ups. Best to just go on our merry way and live life as happily as we can.

I found that because of my own quirks, I understood my son better. Many times I instinctively know how to deal with him. This is a big bonus. I will probably never seek a Dx because I can't really see a good reason to do so. For the most part, I function pretty well, now. It's just hard being misunderstood all of the time.

diagnoses can be costly too....spent about $1500 on son's

Hi jetgirl,

I know I ended up dx when I was with my son's doctor. When they did the family history, he suspected I was and asked if I would take the same evaluation as my son and I did. He ended up not charging me since I was in with the visits with ds. I was lucky. I actually got a 2 for 1 price
It only helped me to understand why I am the way I am and it made my son feel he wasnt alone so to me it was helpful for him mostly.