Reasons NOT to get a DX

Post Reply New Topic

Just wondering what kind of input I could find with a heading like that. I am not so keen on getting a label slapped on the forehead that says "DISABILITY"... I do not want a paper or file somewhere suggesting that I have one. I do not view it as a disability but it is clear that society on a whole would disagree.

Anyone else paranoid about the future implications of having such a label? Genetic revelations, predictions? Like that movie "Minority Report" or something.

I am not worried for myself, but I am thinking perhaps it is time to contact the school district for my 4-year-old and get an eval. I almost feel like I'd be slapping a label on him that he might not want when he's older. You can't undo something like that.

Thoughts?

if this concern is for your child only, you do not want it in the school records if you want your child not to be labeled and treated differently,
if you want them to treat him with his/her special needs in mind then by all means do so, but you do not have to give them a DX for that, just tell them that this is what you want.
if you just want to DX your self then go do so if you want, those records will never be used unless you use them.
in schools, if you give them a DX child it will stick in their records for the rest of their lives, all through school and collage and sometimes even into their working life.
but you can DX your child and not give it to the schools as well.

Last edited by aspergian_mutant on 24 Mar 2008, 12:09 am, edited 2 times in total.

Well, a reprocussion I can see from getting a diagnosis is employment. There's alot of nice, smart people out there.

...But there's also a lot of ignorant people in this world. If you happen to get a job and your employer is uninformed about Autism/Aspergers, he might take one look at your medical record, and see "AUTISM", "ASPERGERS SYNDROME", or "DISABILITY" and instantly not hire you. This is probably rare, but I would assume it could happen. Like imagine some guy who has never heard of Autish outside of the movie Rainman. The world is full of idiots.

I am worried about being denied health insurance if I get an official DX,

I'm afraid of it affecting both health insurance and employment. Healthcare in the U.S. is an absolute joke. You have to really look out for yourself and decide what dxs you really need or else changing plans in the future could become impossible. The only way to get blind healthcare is through work, and sometimes by the time you actually need it, you may be unable to work for the same reason and end up getting fired and losing all your coverage. A dx that could affect both is a little too scary for me to take the gamble for whatever benefits there may or may not be.

This is kind of discouraging me from getting a diagnosis. At the same time, I kind of want to talk to a professional, because it could probably help me figure out some things about my past and stuff. Can I sort of get a diagnosis but keep it off the record?

I work for a major health insurance company, the following are denied when claimed for benefits on a policy.

299.00 Autistic Disorder
299.10 Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
299.80 Rett's Disorder
299.80 Asperger's Disorder
299.80 Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS

So it is not the health insurance that is denied, it is only those diagnosis above denied.

Merle

Hi Merle,

I was just wanting some clarification..

Are you saying that someone who applies for insurance can be accepted for general health claims, etc.. but just denied coverage on the particular Autisim issues? In other words, would a person still be accepted and if that autistic individual were to have a heart attack they would be covered for that condition and just not for psychological visits for the autism itself?

I don't quite understand that either. Does it just mean that insurance won't pay for therapy that I go to related to AS, but everything else is okay?

From my experience, what Merle wrote is true--an autie or aspie could get health insurance but any treatment for those conditions would be denied. That's why this stuff is dealt with in the schools, and why there are no treatments or therapies for adults, not that many therapies work for children (more for teachers, imo).

Were I to get a diagnosis, I'd travel to a different country to get it, probably the UK since they have good AS specialists and it's not far. I'd pay in advance and not give them my real details so as to be sure. The way things go today, gov't computers know your every step inside the country, and I wouldn't trust even a private professional's dx not to find their way to those computers somehow. Paranoid? Nah, the other day I went to a hospital for the first in my life, and the first thing they asked my name, and within seconds the woman was reciting my private life details. I asked her if I'd been in that hospital before, maybe I had forgotten, she said I'd never been there.

If complications prevent you from getting a job, a dx might be favorable. You may need to file for disability payments, and a dx would be necessary. I guess it depends on whether you are able to work or not.

I'm with jawbrodt.

Most people with an ASD need some type of allowance made to work or study, and knowing that you're socially different can allow one to seek social training if one wishes to form relationships with people (it appears to be effective), or it can provide answers for past events that are quite illuminating, and answers to why you do things that have always been seen as odd and different by your peers (in the least).

I don't see negatives as by definition, you'll need to be affected seriously in some area of functioning to receive the diagnosis.

If I had a child, I wonder what the label could do to them. Could they maintain a normal life developing by themselves, or receive a diagnose and possibly stunt such development? I guess I would rough out the grade school years to see how imperative it is.

?

I wonder what my mom thinks about this issue in retrospect? My problems weren't ever addressed as a child; they were sort of "swept under the rug." When I look back, yeah, I had it rough, but I think it could of been worse. How? Not sure. I guess I would have to say I'm in the same boat as you.. It's a hard decision. Good luck.

That's what holds me back - a fear that if I get a DX, it will be used against me somehow.

Formal diagnosis can be tricky. If I do actually have AS (one psychotherapist thinks its "highly probable" but doesn't feel that there are metrics to reliably diagnose an adult with and I tend to score as AS on most of the self-assessments available), I'm concerned it could affect employment prospects if my superiors find out.