Do Aspies generally accept the self-diagnosed?

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Back in 2006 when I self DXed myself, I recall the burning question of why I was so different and what made me function. After a couple of days of searching online and reading articles, it dawned upon me that I may have AS. I was not at all happy with the suspicions tbh. I did my best to ignore it until around 2009, when I decided to start reading up even more on it. And right as of this month when I go to the Veteran's Hospital for my orientation, I will definitely get my official status because I don't want to depend on just my word and beliefs concerning me and AS. And I sure as heck do not want to use AS as an excuse to be a jerk.

In fact, I have purchased and have read/still reading up on books that concern problems that I face like anger management, emotional intelligence, social skills, patience, and empathy. And come the day that I officially get screened for AS, I'll be better for it because if I do have it I can feel good knowing that I took the initiative to help myself. And if I don't have it all the better because I have a newfound respect for the real aspies and will donate to their cause the rest of my life. Not to mention that some of the AS books that I have read have helped me in my life, so it's a win-win situation for me...

I have been misdiagnosed at least twice with mood disorders, once in particular when the lion's share of my moods were chemically induced. It never even occurred to me to look at people's profiles to see if they are officially diagnosed, because, given my own experience, a percentage of people here who are officially diagnosed are likely misdiagnosed. The other reason is because this is the internet, nothing is confirmed, all you have to do is check diagnosed, and no one can say otherwise. Unless people declare it openly in a thread, or have it under their picture, every one is on a level playing field in my mind and I'm not at all curious what their 'credentials' are. And yet another reason is because I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to claim this if they didn't have it.

I tend to take this on an individual basis. Some people who self-diagnose do not seem to have AS, but seem to be confusing misanthropy, shyness, or social anxiety with AS. I also tend to believe females less than males, because females tend to be more likely to look for an answer. We have a great deal of pressure on us to be social, and a woman who is not terribly social, may more likely to believe there is something wrong with her.

On the other hand, I have met people who are self-diagnosed, or haven't even identified themselves, who are quite obviously on the spectrum. I tend to accept those who have done a great deal of research, and haven't just spent a few minutes googling.

That being said, my acceptance does not matter at all. What matters is that that person finds out what is going on with them, and strives to live the best and happiest life possible.

[sarcasm]Well, considering that in cases of (high-functioning) autism, some of the symptoms include obsessive interests in particular topics with a high speed and volume of information acquisition in a particular topic of interest, as well as a more analytical view of the world and themselves, I have no idea whatsoever about how could they be possibly right.[/sarcasm]

It needed to be said. I even tagged it for your benefit.

THis topic seems to come up regularly...

LIke I've said before, I don't care for this notion of "self-diagnosed" "aspies." Just because you are shy or suffer from social anxiety doesn't make you an aspie. And claiming you have AS without professional confirmation only creates greater skepticism in the general public about the authenticity of our condition.

Feel free to use terms such as "suspected" or "self-identified," but the term "diagnosed" implies some sort of professional judgment, which is utterly lacking in people who take a couple of online autism quizes and call themselves aspies.

Nordic

Now that I think about it Nordic, I went to my profile and changed myself from self-diagnosed to not sure. I seriously believe a lot of people are using AS as a "designer diagnosis" when most of them haven't took the time to read one book nor go to the doctor to get themselves diagnosed.

I didnt realise the social rules existed either. I found AS on the internet because I was trying to figure out why I had a detachment from humanity which made me feel like an alien.

Then when I read about the social skills problems people with AS had I suddenly realised that all the fighting I did with people was because some stuff was going on socially that I wasnt aware of. I wasnt aware that I wasnt aware of it, if you know what I mean. Before that I had assumed that the people around me were jerks.

There was no AS diagnosis around when I was in high school, you were just a nerd, a dork, or maladjusted. I remember some people at high school who in retrospect appeared to be on the spectrum but AS was mostly unheard of then. This was in the early to mid-90s so not so long ago even.

I accept the self-diagnosed. I don't care if the person is not a professional. Who knows your own mind better than you?
I self diagnosed the first few months before I got diagnosed by a psychologist, then again by a psychiatrist because in Australia you're not official until one of them diagnose you.
I could write pages and pages about my symptoms (and did ) which is why I think a self diagnosis helps with getting an official diagnosis.
The psychiatrist even said that a diagnosis would do very little, so in a way you may as well stay self diagnosed and save $$$.

yeah, it's expensive here in the USA for a formal dx. I asked my regular psych about it, but he doesn't think I have it. My therapist said at one point very mild, at another point no.

But basically, he also said that I'm at a level of functioning right now where a DX wouldn't help me, and that I already have other dxs that are enough to get me special help in other areas.

Several different docs diagnosed me as:
"mentally handicapped"
"schizophrenia"
"a mild form of autism"

I don't know who the hell to belive anymore.

This is very similar to my experience.

I remember being in high school, kids would treat me bad. Get mad at me for caring about people, wouldn't let me socialize, always told me to be quiet. I also got accused of not caring and only thinking of myself.

I learned by my shrink I didn't pick up on any social cues or pick up on their body language and I realized I showed my empathy differently. At first I refused to believe him because how the hell would he know? He isn't there to see it. I guess I just didn't want to be more aspie but I already was but I just wasn't aware of it. I thought my mom would have told me if I had those traits. She used to say all the time "That's part of Aspeger's." She still does it but not much. Now she says things like "I don't have Asperger's" or "they don't have Asperger's" but it's rare when she does.

But I look back and ooof those kids were jerks. It stills feels that way. I bet I came off as annoying, argumentative, rude, and maybe me taking things literal and not getting things got on their nerves, obnoxious, talked at the wrong time, not caring about them. After being with my ex, I saw how annoying it is when someone doesn't get things and takes things literal and argues with you when they think they're right and I saw how irritating that was and gosh no wonder I got the treatment in high school I bet. Okay I could change that about myself but the other two I couldn't so it was depressing. Sometimes we just don't realize how we come off as and how annoying we are and how we make people feel until we meet someone who has the same traits as us.

You don't have to know about the social rules to know that there is something wrong with you socially. A lack of friends and a feeling of bewilderment in social situations are big clues.

Or finding socialization difficult or group projects, and being at friends houses and having a dificulting time relating to them and connecting, and prefer to be alone and not play with other peoples kids when your parents take you and your brothers to their friends' house.

The prevailing constant in my life with social interactions is conflict. And I never understood it about myself until I was formally diagnosed, because I am deeply caring of others. Most of the conflict has arisen because I have been too blunt or missed subtle social clues which have angered and annoyed others.
I have made some friends over the past ten years in a group thing i attend. And when I was diagnosed with AS, some of the women were very cruel and ignorant about the diagnosis, as they knew very little about the spectrum, except for a very stereotypical notion of a person with fairly severe autism.
BUT - one of the nicest things to happen was just last week, when one of these women stayed back after the group meeting and talked at length with me about her ignorance of ASD's. She had gone away and read a bit about it and also reflected about me and how quirky and eccentric I am, and then she offered me a very decent and heartfelt apology for her part in yet another round of scapegoating of a weirdo. She said she realised later she was wrong and gossipy about it and felt she wanted to mend things with me.
I thought it really decent of her and it helped me a lot and made me feel good about humanity.

It is also a good example of peaceful bridge-building between AS and NT individuals.

As for dx and self- dx ----- I have no problem with people who self dx. It's their journey and their life.

After a few years (let alone 10 or 20) in the world where you need to work a job to survive and you'd have known *something* was wrong. Outside of school, no one cares if you starve, and the world will gladly let it happen because of social rules (and EF & sensory issues). And no one outside of schools knows what AS is (teachers are trained to know -- it's not because it's general knowledge). You just didn't have to find out the hard way because you your case was picked up early (and assessed for free). And maybe your case is very mild, if you were so totally unaware of it. (but maybe I'm wrong -- I was suicidal by 13)

I've had cardio problems missed by doctors, correctly recognized by me (and tested for and confirmed), among other things, so my belief that doctors are genius gods bestowing a magical absolute certainty is resting in peace along with my belief in the Tooth Fairy.

"What is autism?"
http://www.autreat.com/definitions.html

No discussions like that anymore, because all it is is a medical diagnosis, now.