Autism

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There is another post talking about Aspergers & Autism being different, but in the same group, I know there different levels, I don’t know what level am I. How do people know what level they are? Did they see a doctor & get tested, or they read it. Is Autism greater than Aspergers? I’m trying to see where I am in Aspergers or Autism.

The term "Aspergers" hasn't been used in official diagnoses for several years now. People who were identified as having Aspergers years ago are automatically considered to be on the Autism Spectrum. Those people sometimes choose to continue saying they have "Aspergers" because it's the term they were given and they're familiar with it. Some other people who were identified with Aspergers years ago choose to say they're autistic.

People who were identified after the switch, whether adults or children, are considered to be "autistic". They are given a level to identify their support needs (1= Requires Support, 2= Requires Substantial Support, 3= Requires Very Substantial Support). Most of us don't get much / any support regardless of the level. For example I'm Level 2 so legally I should be getting substantial support. I do get support but I have to pay for it, just like people who aren't autistic at all. I guess it would be different if I were a child in school. Then I'd get extra supports without having to pay.

I had a chat with a lady on disability for mental illness in Connecticut.
She said that a lot of support went away when she turned 18. I'd assume the same would hold if she were diagnosed with autism and received support.
So, if you are over 18 in Connecticut, I doubt you would get any significant support.

Autism testing may or may not be paid for by insurance.
One of the benefits of working is health insurance paid for by the company.
Well, sort of. These days most companies only pay part, not all.

In the U.S. (and some other countries, as well) psychologists select diagnoses listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Apparently people with Autistic traits received a variety of different diagnoses until "Autism" was added to the third edition of the DSM in 1980. At that point, however, "Autism" did not apply to people with the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome, there apparently was no official diagnosis that applied to them (for instance, my parents just thought I was "weird").

In 1994 the fourth edition of the DSM (DSM-IV) came out and included a new possible diagnosis for Asperger's Syndrome. It was separate from Autism.

In 2013 the next edition of the DSM (DSM-5) came out. DSM-5 combined the earlier diagnoses of Autism and Asperger's Syndrome under one new diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). If someone satisfies the criteria for ASD the DSM-5 includes additional criteria to distinguish whether they are Level 1, 2, or 3.

I was assessed against DSM-5 which does not list Asperger's Syndrome as a possible diagnosis. My diagnosis was:

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild)That's how I know what level I am.

I don't identify as autistic but I know a surprising amount about autism!

Sometimes the diagnosing people don't assign a level. I had to ask what my level was.

I was never assigned a level. I got my diagnosis privately in the UK from a freelance psychologist who had quite a bit of experience with ASD. It only cost me about £200, in 2009. It was fairly brief and to the point, with no looking into other mental health problems except that the diagnostician said that she couldn't see any evidence that I had anything else, and that she would probably have noticed if there had been anything.

It is indeed a shame that a diagnosis is often so expensive these days. I think they've bloated it like they bloat so many products and services these days, jobs for the boys rather than just giving an honest, basic affordable service.

There was no level given. I asked how severe my ASD was, and she said that my scores were about half-way between the limits. I'm not sure that levels were a thing in those days. I guess I'm Level 1 - requires support but not substantial support. In practice I have no support, so I guess it depends what they mean by "requires." I require it in the sense that I'm sure I'd benefit from some good-quality support, but I don't see anything affordable on offer, and I'm not about to pay huge fees for "support" that might turn out to be virtually useless and without a money-back warranty.

The NHS has offered me nothing but tranquillisers and antidepressants, which I've not bothered with because I consider any anxiety and depression I get to be sub-clinical, and so the use of (what I see as) a chemical cosh is not indicated. My workplace made a few blunt adjustments to what they required of me, which took some of the stress off, but nothing like the empowerment I'd have wished them to give me, they just let me off a few duties but didn't do anything to help me take on a more "high-powered" role, and I still found my job painful and didn't change my plan to get out as soon as I could afford to. I felt I'd been more or less left to rot like some disabled half-wit they couldn't legally get rid of, though there were some there who had a high regard for my mental skills.

In simple terms, I've somehow muddled through for my entire life, for most of which I was undiagnosed, and I guess I'll just have to carry on muddling through, but a bit of help now and then would likely have made my life rather less painful.