Are you self diagnosed or diagnosed by a mental health profe

Page 5 of 7 [ 102 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7  Next


Are you self diagnosed?
yes 37%  37%  [ 51 ]
no 63%  63%  [ 88 ]
Total votes : 139

Danielismyname
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Apr 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,565

18 Mar 2009, 9:55 pm

Apple_in_my_Eye wrote:
Dr. Bryna Siegal, director of the San Francisco Medical School autism clinc considers marriage a rule-out for Asperger's (link).


Well, those who tend to form intimate relationships who have AS, are usually of the highest-functioning make (and are often undiagnosed and oblivious to any disorder), i.e., they tend to appear well off in a superficial way (they'll work, possibly marry, etcetera). Whether these people deserve a diagnosis or not depends on how affected they truly are.

When you're doing things that people without a label can do, you tend to cross the barrier which creates "disorder" and "normality".



garyww
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Nov 2008
Age: 76
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,395
Location: Napa, California

18 Mar 2009, 10:01 pm

Actually Daniel I think I have to disagree here. I think that people who bend the rules, norms, guidelines, etc. perfer to stay far away from the well beaten path and seldom end up being accounted for in 'official' reports or studies. Personally I think this is good thing otherwise 'normal' would get skewed more towards the 'unusual' and then who knows what would happen.


_________________
I am one of those people who your mother used to warn you about.


Danielismyname
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Apr 2007
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,565

18 Mar 2009, 10:11 pm

There's a big problem with labelling those who're effectively "normal" with a label that is by definition a disorder or syndrome (with prevalence being of the statistical outlier make), one then will wonder what's the point of having a label [that explains severe symptoms] for.

It'll defeat the purpose, and one may just as well label everyone with a disorder, as life isn't easy for "normal" people in many cases. "Normal" people have problems with work (finding work; getting fired), socialising (dating, breaking up; marrying, divorced) and school (failing); all of this is normal for people.

When the common adult individual with AS can't do any of these things above (those that do, usually have help and allowances; there's not much help and allowances for social interaction, though), one sees why "disorders" are made in the first place.



pandd
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,430

18 Mar 2009, 10:27 pm

Danielismyname wrote:
There's a big problem with labelling those who're effectively "normal" with a label that is by definition a disorder or syndrome (with prevalence being of the statistical outlier make), one then will wonder what's the point of having a label [that explains severe symptoms] for.

There is a wide gap between being married and being effectively normal though.



Apple_in_my_Eye
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 May 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,420
Location: in my brain

18 Mar 2009, 11:33 pm

Danielismyname wrote:
Apple_in_my_Eye wrote:
Dr. Bryna Siegal, director of the San Francisco Medical School autism clinc considers marriage a rule-out for Asperger's (link).


Well, those who tend to form intimate relationships who have AS, are usually of the highest-functioning make (and are often undiagnosed and oblivious to any disorder), i.e., they tend to appear well off in a superficial way (they'll work, possibly marry, etcetera). Whether these people deserve a diagnosis or not depends on how affected they truly are.


I tend to agree with that, though don't get the impression that Siegal considers anything beyond the fact of being married.

When I first heard of married ASD folk I was baffled; I can't imagine that. But my impression is that those marriages/relationships tend to function internally (and come about) in unusual ways. I.e. a person who would be homeless on their own, but with a spouse to set their clothes out in the morning, cook, and deal with the outside-world social stuff, might manage a great high-paying job. Or someone having another person's presence & routines providing natural some prompts they need to get day-to-day stuff done. And etc. If someone just considers that a person has a good job or is married they might be missing the real picture.



SamuraiSaxen
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Sep 2006
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,465
Location: Mexico

18 Mar 2009, 11:38 pm

I self diagnosed myself 3 and half years ago.



jamieg
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

User avatar

Joined: 11 May 2008
Age: 48
Gender: Male
Posts: 165
Location: sioux falls south dakota

19 Mar 2009, 12:33 am

in a way i am diagnosed by both

one day i took my diagnosis list from social security disability and went to the harvard medical library to find out what they mean and there is when i found out that i am only diagnosed with symptoms and also found papers that were written by doctors telling my disability list and saying that is what you get when they are not able to diagnose any other condition and do not beleive aspergers is real

after that i started getting tested for aspergers and am not able to get the diagnosis in writing but doctors did tell me and my mom and dad i do have aspergers but here they have a real problem with you when you ask for it in writing so you can get in a program to get help and they take their problem out on you by telling you that you are a attention seeker that only wants to have problems for the attention and even tries to tell me that i fake the problems social security is giving me disability for

since the harvard library tells me my social security disability diagnosis list is only symptoms and papers at harvard tells about my disability list is from not having any other condition and this is the list you get when the doctors do not beleive aspergers is real and also include the fact that they will admit only with spoken words that i fit the diagnosis for aspergers

i decided that even if they are so biased against aspergers being a real condition that they will deny me the ability to have in writing that they said i fit the diagnosis for aspergers so i can give programs what they want so i can get help that i do have it

all the information from harvard medical library telling me my disability list is aspergers but diagnosed from a doctor not beleiving that aspergers is real is going to be right and all the tries to convince me i only want attention and my disability file is a diagnosis is more proof of the doctors in my area being biased against aspergers being a real condition



Last edited by jamieg on 19 Mar 2009, 12:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

millie
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 25 Oct 2008
Age: 61
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,154

19 Mar 2009, 12:34 am

Quote:
Apple_in_my_Eye wrote:
Danielismyname wrote:
Apple_in_my_Eye wrote:
Dr. Bryna Siegal, director of the San Francisco Medical School autism clinc considers marriage a rule-out for Asperger's (link).


Well, those who tend to form intimate relationships who have AS, are usually of the highest-functioning make (and are often undiagnosed and oblivious to any disorder), i.e., they tend to appear well off in a superficial way (they'll work, possibly marry, etcetera). Whether these people deserve a diagnosis or not depends on how affected they truly are.


I tend to agree with that, though don't get the impression that Siegal considers anything beyond the fact of being married.

When I first heard of married ASD folk I was baffled; I can't imagine that. But my impression is that those marriages/relationships tend to function internally (and come about) in unusual ways. I.e. a person who would be homeless on their own, but with a spouse to set their clothes out in the morning, cook, and deal with the outside-world social stuff, might manage a great high-paying job. Or someone having another person's presence & routines providing natural some prompts they need to get day-to-day stuff done. And etc. If someone just considers that a person has a good job or is married they might be missing the real picture.


there is quite a few people here in various types of relationships. I can f**k for instance - the f*****g part is animal - but i cannot get my head around paying bills, paying credit cards, why - i leave half the mail unopened and i have great trouble not burning food or putting washing out.
i have my own routines in the house and divergence from my own system is very difficult.

i am now in a friendship situation with my ex. we co-parent.

i know of people here on WP who have longstanding relationships.
i don't know about generalisations. we are all so different.

i think the doctor is a tosser. i can do some things really well. i am a loser at other things.



19 Mar 2009, 1:02 am

Only way ASD's can get a relationship and get married is if they find someone who accepts them for who they are and don't expect them to be a normal man or woman. They also have to understand them too. There are open people out there who accept people as individuals.



ephemerella
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Mar 2007
Age: 51
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,335

19 Mar 2009, 1:45 am

pandd wrote:
Danielismyname wrote:
There's a big problem with labelling those who're effectively "normal" with a label that is by definition a disorder or syndrome (with prevalence being of the statistical outlier make), one then will wonder what's the point of having a label [that explains severe symptoms] for.


There is a wide gap between being married and being effectively normal though.


I agree. Someone who works with "not married" as a diagnostic criteria for anything is working at such an arbitrary level that one would think their ability to infer meaningful diagnosis is very questionable. Too many generalizations needed to support that criteria.



Sundew
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

Joined: 2 Jul 2016
Age: 42
Gender: Female
Posts: 6

14 Jul 2016, 5:00 pm

If someone would fake being autistic just to get attention then wouldn't that person claim to be diagnosed instead of admitting to being selfdiagnosed?

I'm selfdiagnosed (although doctors did label me as autistic as a young child I was never diagnosed), I thought about getting diagnosed and sometimes still think about it but for now I don't feel like being hassled by proffesionals.

I can understand that some people are reluctant to trust self diagnosis, in a way I am to (but my trust in proffesionals is limited as well...)
I think it all depends on why someone diagnoses themselves with autism... are the grounds for the self diagnosis superficial and unfounded? or did someone do enough research to be able to exclude other conditions? Is it something someone did just come up with overnight? or is it something that has always been there but just got a name now?
I could go on like this for a while but I am not going to bore you with this.

For me it's like a puzzle that I put together, it's not just the social awkwardness and that I constantly make "faux pas", I also have sensory issues, I have always had intestine problems, I gnash my teeth at night, I have absent moments when I stare into nothing (although I am actually just elsewhere with my thoughts), I dissociate, I process my thoughts in a delayed manner, i'm distracted, I obsess over stuff, I can be very inflexible at times (especially when I'm stressed), people say that I do not show much facial expression, I'm uncomfortable with looking people in the eyes etc. etc. (the only thing that i'm puzzled about is the supposed lack of empathy in people who have autism, I don't see myself as unempathetic).
My point is that it really is a combination of factors, solely based on behavior it would be difficult to diagnose someone with high functioning autism I think... autism is different for everyone who has it and people with autism do not all act the same, so how can you judge if someone's selfdiagnosis is true or false?
If someone really feels that the diagnosis 'fits like a glove' and his or her reasons for believing so are not completely based on 'loose sand', then why would he or she even need an official diagnosis to be accepted as autistic by others?

P.s. If I wrote something weird, please excuse me, English is not my native language.



AspieUtah
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 20 Jun 2014
Age: 61
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,118
Location: Brigham City, Utah

14 Jul 2016, 5:04 pm

I was happily self-identified as autistic for about a year and a half, then I was diagnosed last year. I did so much of the work for my diagnosticians (clinical lists of my lifelong behaviors, characteristics and comorbids), that they offered to refund a portion of my fee. So, I like to believe that I was about as close to actually, really, self-diagnosed as anyone could be. Hehe. :wink:


_________________
Diagnosed in 2015 with ASD Level 1 by the University of Utah Health Care Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic using the ADOS-2 Module 4 assessment instrument [11/30] -- Screened in 2014 with ASD by using the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre AQ (Adult) [43/50]; EQ-60 for adults [11/80]; FQ [43/135]; SQ (Adult) [130/150] self-reported screening inventories -- Assessed since 1978 with an estimated IQ [≈145] by several clinicians -- Contact on WrongPlanet.net by private message (PM)


TheSilentOne
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Aug 2015
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,820
Location: Torchwood Three

15 Jul 2016, 1:46 pm

I was diagnosed by a social worker.


_________________
"Have you never seen something so mad, so extraordinary... That just for one second, you think that there might be more out there?" -Gwen Cooper, Torchwood


Jensen
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Feb 2013
Age: 70
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,013
Location: Denmark

15 Jul 2016, 2:19 pm

I had suspicions and got two in-official dx´es.
At 60 - after my forth and fifth work-trials, that ended with complaints about me, that looked like complaints about aspie-behavior, I got a depression.
I asked for a referral to a clinical psychologist, who is an expert on ASD and ADHD.
He dxéd me and wrote my psychiatrist, who aggreed and gave me the label.
That was it.


_________________
Femaline
Special Interest: Beethoven


ToughDiamond
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2008
Age: 71
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,137

15 Jul 2016, 3:03 pm

I was diagnosed by a private clinical psychologist. Before that, my ex-wife had said that she thought I had AS, I did a few online tests which strongly suggested I had it, I looked into it in more depth and had to admit that the balance of probabilities was that I was indeed an Aspie - the main sticking point had been that I could remember times in my life when I'd done very well socially, but I found out that this didn't mean I wasn't an Aspie, it just meant that I'd occasionally found some rare people who weren't judgemental ableist jerks.

I got the official diagnosis mostly to rescue myself from workplace problems where I was under increasing pressure to do stuff that was clearly a nightmare for Aspies. For all I know, I could have biased the official DX, because I knew quite a lot about the "right" answers by that time, and if my traits had turned out to be below the threshold, I would have been in real trouble at work. Also, I think that if you hire a specialist who is very interested in ASD, you're likely to be diagnosed with ASD, if you hire one who's into schizophrenia, you're likely to be diagnosed as schizophrenic, etc., and I hired a specialist who was very interested in ASD.

Nonetheless, the balance of probabilities is still that I'm an Aspie, just that I don't particularly see the official DX as definitive proof of that. It's more that the DX gives me some legal fire-power, because employers, benefits officials etc. would refuse to take my word for it. Not that I need legal fire-power these days, as I eventually quit the job and haven't claimed disability assistance. But it might come in handy again one day, if for example some official or company gives me a hard time in a disability-discriminating kind of way.



OliveOilMom
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Age: 59
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,447
Location: About 50 miles past the middle of nowhere

16 Jul 2016, 12:41 am

I was dx'd by a medical prof in middle age. I've been married for almost 30 years and have four grown kids. My marriage is normal and it came about in a normal way, so I don't know why people say that we don't have normal marriages or that it happens normally. I'm a housewife by choice but I've worked before and it was fine. Went to college twice, two different majors, and quit both times - once to get married and once when I was pregnant with my first.

I've had a fairly normal adult life, as in doing all the normal things in the normal way, although I've done a lot of stuff most people don't get or want to do. I think I have and have had a pretty good life except for my childhood and my mother.


_________________
I'm giving it another shot. We will see.
My forum is still there and everyone is welcome to come join as well. There is a private women only subforum there if anyone is interested. Also, there is no CAPTCHA. ;-)

The link to the forum is http://www.rightplanet.proboards.com