Is it beneficial to get a diagnosis?

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I started writing this post ~6hrs ago. It has changed a lot from what it was originally

I am currently debating whether to pursue an official diagnosis.

In all of the research I have done, it seems to me the greatest benefit is validation and closure.

I feel conflicted about this. I want to know why I am the way I am, I want reason for having gone through what I have. I want validation for my personal difficulties. But the diagnosis will be based off of who I am. They will say because you have these difficulties, you have Asperger's. It all seems very circular.

It's like if you hit a tree with your car, and you say "I ran into a tree, why did this happen?" and someone responds "I have determined that because you hit a tree, you have wrecked your car. Because you have wrecked your car, it means you must have hit a tree."

Also while I do have a lot of respect for some people in the medical and psychological field, most of them just tick me off. I have never been diagnosed with anything (mental not physical) I did not bring to them. I remember the first time I went to see a psychologist. I was so naïve, I thought it was their job to determine what was wrong with you and give a crap about their patients. My life had taken a nose dive for the first time in years and first time as an adult. He basically said I was lazy, and suggested I get more sleep. I was extremely depressed at the time, and looking for answers and hope. The prick did not help at all. I always had poor sleep habits. I have been told multiple times since then by others, that I just need to get more sleep. I have since been diagnosed with depression and ADHD. The point of the rant is I don't have a lot of confidence in their diagnoses, and even less confidence that they have not missed something.

Getting a psychologist to give me a label just tells me a lot of things I already know about myself. Also I do not need a label to be able to research Asperger's, or more importantly learn about myself through that process. In the process of writing this post I have reaffirmed that ADHD is real and that I definitely do have it. I have also surprisingly learned that I do interpret things literally and have difficulty summarizing.

If I can connect with the experience's of aspies now, I don't see how getting the label (or being told that I can't) is going to change the fact that the connection is real and does exist.

I would love to get the "card," become an official member of the club. But to do that means accepting the label, and I see that as having a lot of potential negatives as well as positives. I had a label growing up, and was constantly judged for it. I don't want to be judged by a label, I want to be judged by my actions. A label is a powerful tool. It can be used by yourself or others for good or bad and to help or to harm. Right now I am not prepared to fully embrace a label and everything that comes with it.

I am not trying to convince anyone of anything, this is just how I feel at the moment. Give me 12 hrs and I may have completely different views.

In Canada, there are some perks. For instance, there's a disability tax credit you could apply for:

Canadian Disability Tax Credit

May need a doctor or a psychologist to help with the form though. You can even get a revaluation for the last 10 years for your taxes.

Sadly, I don't know the tax laws for other countries. I hope that helps.

For most of my life I had no clue I had autism as I knew little about it and no professionals ever identified it for me. I have many autistic traits that caused difficulties in my life that I could not explain. I did not understand why I had these issues and people often became frustrated by me because there was nothing to identify as a reason why I was the way I am. People often thought I was a bad person and insane. I failed at many employment opportunities, suffered during school, and failed at a relationship because no one including myself understood my autism.

I am glad that I finally figured out I may be autistic, and then got my diagnosis done. Now I both understand myself more, and can explain to others that there is a reason why I am so different and difficult to be around, and that it is a real existant cause not make believe like people used to think.

So, for me it was very important to have a diagnosis.