the self diagnosed

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i have decided that i now have dementia and smallpox.

why not? i'm guessing around half the people here are self diagnosed. it makes amockery out of a reaal disorder and is insulting to those who actually suffer. usually these people will have no symptoms save for slight eccentricity and maybe lack of friends. (possibly due to their whiny attention seeking personality)

if you are so convinced you have it then at least get a diagnosis to prove you arent half a$$ed about it.

and i don't think your high scores on aspie quizzes qualify

Great another one of these stupid threads.

I am self diagnosed, why? because for one I don't have money to go and get an official diagnoses(you know not being able to get or keep a job and all)...all I've been able to get so far is two therapists who think I have enough symptoms. And I have struggled with certain things all my life and it just so happens autism/aspergers would explain a lot of it.......I wouldn't see a reason for a self diagnoses if I didn't have the symptoms and struggle with many of them.

I don't see how it is whiny or attention seeking to read up on a disorder and realize it's something you might have.....but if you want to refer to it as such then its just as whiny and attention seeking to go to a doctor to get a diagnoses.......how dare anyone be concerned they might have a disorder due to having many symptoms of it. I mean everyone knows no one can have any self awareness as to what they struggle with therefore no one should ever be given a diagnoses of something they think they might have.....because if they think they have it they clearly don't.

That said, I would like an official diagnoses but there are obstacles to getting one, maybe you should consider that next time you want to pretend to know how much people you don't even know struggle or don't struggle.

Last edited by Sweetleaf on 03 Dec 2012, 4:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Maybe they should require a Dr's note to join here?

I evidently have a 'whiny attention seeking personality', but I hope that I might still bring up some points worth considering.


But in all seriousness, I have a question...well several actually, about this notion.


Does a person, who having been failed to be diagnosed in childhood, who thus developed enough coping mechanisms and other work arounds to 'pass as NT' in at least some situations, still have AS or HFA? Or does the very mechanism of them being able to cope over 30 years of life on their own, mean that they never had it?

If they do still have it, yet also have these coping mechanisms, and thus would not require overall assistance would you suggest they get diagnosed just so they can participate in conversations with others who understand, despite it being a possible waste of resources that could be allocated to those who might need more help?

I get the impression many people have money issues or live in small towns that don't have sophisticated mental health centers. Yet, in a way I think you do have a point here.

At most, I self diagnose as having some undefined quirk. Maybe eccentric or something(like being on the Wrong Planet), but I think just simply considering the idea I probably have an issue of some kind puts things in a different perspective for me which does help. If I'm not having a typical social life or make a dumb gaff I now figure I probably have a genuine problem.

However, I'm not going to identify myself as having Aspergers because I don't know. I have enjoyed reading Robison's Look Me In The Eye and related a lot to it, but I could only speculate I have something like that.

@babybuggy:
Although I agree to invite to get a diagnosis when it is possible, and that there may be some confusion about the word to describe what exactly is going on in someone's mind, I am surprised that you say that is would be an insult. You can see it positively as well. It depends on yourself only to respect yourself in this case.

@Sweetleaf:
I agree with you. I've tried to get a diagnose here in France : it's very long (one year!) and I doubt they know enough about autism (especially high functionning autism).

I suppose I am in this case. When I tried to get a diagnose, they basically answered me that in my childhood I was not autistic enough to fit in. Now I'm quite stuck: there is only one place in each department where you can get a diagnose.


I understand.

What bothers me in babybuggy reaction is that it is basically a way of rejecting people based on a group thing.

To me, I don't see how people can be convinced they have a developmental disorder if they are functioning fine in society.... I would challenge anyone who is self-diagnosed to actually have a problem in one of life's major areas that isn't somehow due to something else like a personality disorder or substance abuse, etc.

If you aren't severe enough to get a diagnosis because the disorder isn't affecting you enough to require aid, then what good does it do to attach a label to yourself? Especially one that is mostly misconstrued and largely misunderstood by society.

I agree with OP too, it does hurt those who really have an ASD because professionals won't be able to help a tenfold increase in cases, which some of us can't afford to go without their help.

I think I've said enough. What is it that prevents self-diagnosed people to get a professional diagnosis? Is it money? That's a no-win situation if you're really autistic, can't hold a job, therefore broke and likely without medical insurance (US), then no money to get a diagnosis... Yeah I can see where that is a challenge.

How many people might have Schizoid Personality Disorder?

If you self diagnose, you might completely miss other possibilities.

This is an honest reason I only accept I could have an undefined issue. It could be Aspergers or a Personality Disorder or merely an eccentric personality.

I don't begrudge people who self diagnose though, this is just my own personal perspective.

Well, are you going to provide the money and access to a good doctor that will allow people to get diagnosed?

Also, I don't think anyone just wakes up one day and decided "I have autism!".

exactly! what annoys me the most though is they will say they have aspergers in such a "matter of fact" manner as if it is definitely true. how arrogant that seems.

then they will say "i have aspergers, but i couldn't be diagnosed because it was not severe enough" - doesn't that mean that you don't have it

i stand by my theory that most (not all) of these people just wan't a label because for whatever reason they feel as if they don't fitin.

i have a serious question for you self diagnosed.. explain how you are affected and disabled in detail. learning issues, sensory, social understanding, communication, obsessions and such.
how did you find out about aspergers? do you have a job? relationship? friends?

@Videodrome:
I think that schizophrenia / psychosis is basically the other possibility that can be confused with autism when self diagnosing. And I think it's not so hard to check by yourself, you just need to be honest with yourself and examine this possibility.

Large Catch-22 here...

How can there be a tenfold increase in cases and thus leave professionals unable to help the -diagnosed- folks, if some of us AREN'T going to get diagnosed, and thus not asking for that assistance?

Unless you count wanting to talk to the fine folks here at WP, I am not asking for assistance. However, that does not mean that I would not WANT my life to be different if I didn't have symptoms I have learned to work around my whole life. I think there are various degrees of 'functioning fine' and for others to assume because some of us hold jobs, got married etc...that it isn't a struggle, is pretty much 'you are not as sick as I am' elitism.

And trust me, I am not playing any judgement game in regards to 'I somehow managed to do this, why cant you?' Not in the slightest. In fact it makes me incredibly sad to read some of the very bad things and expieriences so many here have and have had.

But having a 'This answers so many things that I have truly struggled with my whole life, and only found coping mechanisms for some' revelation, in no way shape or form, TAKES AWAY resources from others.

I'm more qualified to diagnose myself than you are to undiagnose me without knowing anything about me. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

Do you honestly think that people start thinking "what's wrong with me?" when their life is and always has been going just swimmingly?

I am technically self diagnosed. In the sense that I claim I have it, (as do many others - including my sister who is a trainee psychologist) GP and ex-psychiatrist are certain I am on the spectrum; but no-one is willing to actually diagnose me. Letter to GP from psychiatrist does indicate that he's certain I'm on the spectrum somewhere.

I do know someone who claims he has Aspergers. I can't see it at all - I have known him for about 5 years now. Oh hold on, this is the same guy who claims his sight is so severe he needs a mobility cane to get around; but his vision is good enough to drive.

What? Of course not. There are plenty of happy autistic people. So not sure what you're on about there.

There may be something like "I want to be part of that group" that can motivate toward a site like WrongPlanet, but we all share that, it is a positive force. Of course, it is good to be aware of it, so as to be sincere about ourselves. Finally, if you discover you do not have autism, but something similar, slightly different, you will have made a journey along other people. It can be positive, and it is really not a reason for hatred or exclusion, but rather for empathy and support.