Rant about people with "self-diagnosed" AS

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Edit: Sorry people, you're going to looks elsewhere if you wanted a rant.
Due to the replies, I have realized that I knew way too little about this subject to make a rant about it.
Sorry to anyone who was offended

Last edited by Zancaur on 08 May 2008, 8:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

It is said that only 50% of all aspies have a diagnosis. Keep in mind that not everyone can afford a diagnosis. I could because healthcare is free in Norway.

Edit: I'm sure that many of the self-diagnosed aspies know the criterias for the diagnosis.

I never understood the hate for self-diagnosed autistics. Reminds me of that ED article on aspergers after the guy from aspiedforfreedom messed with it.

EDIT: by 'ED" meant Encyclopedia Dramatica, a decently-known parody site. Think unencyclopedia, only more graphic, mean and more catered to internet culture

link to said article:
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Aspergers

Last edited by Warsie on 04 May 2008, 5:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

for a 16 year old male you are doing pretty good with the scorn thing.

Back when I was 16 (1966)they did tests on me to figure out what was wrong with me, and couldn't find anything they could measure, so they said I was 'wayward' and put me into a mental institution because they didn't know what else to do with me. (how I dealt with getting out is a story I have often told on WP, so I won't give it here) When I was older (1976) I tried to get some sort of understanding but I wasn't the latest discovery (Bi-Polar) so I didn't qualify. Later still I again did some testing (1992, the year of your birth)and as close they could come was Cyclothymic, but even that they said was iffy. It wasn't until 2006 that I even HEARD of Asperger's Syndrome and once I read the DSM iv codes I was ready to go to the first psychologist with the news and ready to take the testing again.

Unfortunately, the psychology standards are not moving all that quickly on any sort of tests for people in their late 50's, as it is all for children and teenagers, and I have been put off with excuses as "you have learned how to deal with it, why would you want to be diagnosed at all?" And it is very expensive, did you know that? Did someone else pay for your diagnosis or did you save it up from your newspaper route?


So, when you get on your high little horse about the diagnosis SOMEONE ELSE HAS PAID FOR, please remember there are some other folks less fortunate than yourself.

And guess who is giving Aspies a bad name, now?

Edit: Post removed.

Last edited by Zancaur on 08 May 2008, 8:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

It is very expensive to get diagonist. I was suppoust be when I was 6 or 7 years old. Now my mom is trying agian but we are having a hard time because of stupid insurance. Some people do not have money to get diagnoist.

Ah yes, at 16 I thought I knew everything too.

Bear in mind that not everyone can afford a diagnosis, either financially or for reasons of medical insurance discrimination (i.e. some companies don't like to insure people with pre-existing conditions), or because of fear of job discrimination. Sometimes it is not in someone's best interest to seek a diagnosis.

There are plenty of self-diagnosed aspies who take just as much offense to people abusing the term as those who have a formal diagnosis. And basically, what does it matter to you if people diagnose themselves? You're going on with this sense of superiority because you have a formal diagnosis. Just because some do not have the papers to show a diagnosis it does not make their suffering any less than yours, it simply means they - for whatever reason - lack some paperwork. It isn't a college degree, it is a SUBJECTIVE conclusion made by a human being who may or may not be correct anyway.

PS: I'm pretty sure many self-diagnosed aspies have a hell of a lot more going on than just social awkwardness. And for the record, I was told nothing was wrong with my daughter for TWO YEARS before she was evaluated at a nationally recognized institute and finally diagnosed with autism. Lack of diagnosis means little to me.

Last edited by Mikomi on 04 May 2008, 5:03 pm, edited 3 times in total.

I must apologize for not taking financial matters into consideration. I live in Norway so....well, fill in the blanks

While some Aspies (diagnosed or not) may suffer from ED, I think it's best to avoid thread drift. We can always start a thread on ED in the Adult Forum.

I know you didn't mean anything 'wrong,' and you didn't say anyting wrong! I am rather picky myself when another just recklessly assigns the Dx 'Aspergers,' or 'HFA,' when they're NOT a diagnostician and only recongize a few haphazard traits - one must be very judicious in 'assigning' labels!

This is a community site. Anyone can come on here sneaking help. If people claimed they may have AS than they have every right to be on here than why else would they come here???

Its up to the individual whether they get`diagnosed` or not.I don`t see how 6 year olds can be accurately `diagnosed` anyway.Just because some brat shows anti-social tendencies and has tantrums does not mean he is AS,he may just be a selfish spoilt brat...

"Diagnosis" can place a person under the aspie construct using the medical model. However, the medical model is not the only game in town. Just because the term "Asperger's syndrome/disorder" was coined by psychiatrists does not mean that they own it (and I say that as someone who has been diagnosed with Asperger's autism by two psychiatrists).

sinsboldy - I admire you so much for what you've been through and, in many ways, pioneering diagnostics for those of us younger. You did it the hard way since there was no other way! You're strong and tenacious for 'knowing' and then pursuing your Dx. I know about not being able to receive medical care too (I'm so poor....)

Interestingly, until the 1950's autism (any form, regardless of functioning) was diagnosed as schizophrenia! This is patently wrong, quantitatively and qualitatively! Thank you to Dr. Hans Asperberger and Dr. Leo Kanner!

Therefore, some historical figures who then were once foresically Dxed as (possibly) schizophrenic are now being reconsidered! Finally....

I am unsure as to the 'exact' date, but I don't think Asperger's Syndrome was even in the DSM manual until ~ 1972. Even though, often dismissed. As we know, many on WP (whatever the age) have been unspeakably misdiagnosed, then mistreated. Finally, if they choose a formal Dx, they then can have proper ADA accommodations, treatment - if they so need or desire. Some/many Aspies do not need or even seek out formal 'treatment,' and their difference may not be too overtly noticable - this is perfectly fine.

For me, I am actually Dxed as HFA but I have much in common with AS. That is, I'm technically an Autie, not an Aspie. For some diagnosticians today, this is a moot point. Certainly, there are different 'ways' of manifesting autism, regardless of functioning level. I'm not even sure 'level of functioning' means much, btw.

Anyway, sinsboldly, I think you've really made the pathway for those who seek a formal (or even informal) Dx. Plus, you're a testament as to the strength of Aspies.

sinsboldly, I saw a t-shirt online and thought of you! It's printed: "Autism. It isn't for sissies." Indeed.

Your original post was hostile.

Your logic here is suspect. Anyone can claim to be an aspie without being diagnosed. Of what relevance is a diagnosis to being aspie? The best judge of an aspie, to my mind, is the aspie themselves. Any other person's opinion in the matter is essentially irrelevant. It may serve as a confirmation of the aspie's own opinion. If it comes from a person with good experience of other aspies, then it may carry extra weight.

I beg to differ. Asperger's syndrome is a syndrome. It is a collection of traits. If you have enough, according to some mechanistic rules, you (may) get a diagnosis.

How can we be sure that you have not been misdiagnosed? What "effort" do you refer to? It sounds very much as if you are saying that you needed to put effort into being diagnosed with AS. Is that what you are saying? That you faked it?

You were diagnosed at age 6, in a time when Asperger Syndrome was in the psychology books, and tests were available to check for it. When I was 6 years old, Hans Asperger was still alive. My parents and teachers and classmates and the people who tested me knew something about me was definitely abnormal, but there was no label to go with it at the time.

You should really read some of the many threads that discuss why some people don't want to go to the trouble to get an official diagnosis. There are worries about insurance, about keeping their jobs (which were hard enough for some of us to get in the first place!), about situations where they might be required to disclose it to others, about the government deciding to take their babies away, about the expense, and there are still apparently some psychiatrists who are using Rainman as diagnostic criteria. Plus, there still isn't much help available for adults who have it, so we have to wonder what the point would be in shelling out thousands of dollars for an official label that basically does nothing but tell us something we already knew.