Why would anyone stay undiagnosed??

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psychologists competent enough to diagnose AS or autism in adults are few and far between, not to mention their sky-high charges. if you don't need any assistance then why bother.

I'm diagnosed with ADD and get all the meds for that easily.

apart from that I am a firm believer in AS and autism being different manifestations of the same disorder (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and looks like the new DSM is going to change the diagnostic criteria to make it just that. if they do, I might actually get the damn diagnosis. I just really don't like the "Asperger's" label.

I went in for depression, got out with that and Aspergers, and that at the age of 30.

Has my life been good ? Yes, definately.

Could my life have been better, with an earlier diagnosis ? I don't know, but I think it might.

I hid out for 9 years in University. But I have to work now. I have personality issues that I don't see as impossible to work with, but unfortunately other people do not agree.

I've been dropping from one job to the next, and around here (Netherlands) I have done some research and I am actually better off with the diagnosis, so I'm not so bothered by it.

Then again, I am not too happy about myself, even though my life has been good.

So yes, I have been diagnosed, and my world didn't collapse, my eyes were opened.

I had to find out why I constantly in the s**t, I was always in the s**t no matter what, somedays I would be swimming in it and others just paddling but I was always in it

So I needed to know for my own sanity, though didnt realise how much finding out would f**k me up to start with.

As for everyone around me at work they are pleased i found out and received help (my comany has been excellent in supporting me) as now i dont spend all day shouting at them and getting angry all the time. Plus i went to a rehab to sort out some other problems i picked up along the way

psychologists competent enough to diagnose AS or autism in adults are few and far between, not to mention their sky-high charges. if you don't need any assistance then why bother.

I agree few and far between

i agree with you, i was very paraniod about the same thing, the fact is if you have no fear, fear hardly exist's

i was very closed minded about it during the first dozen or so sessions i had with a qualified pro, please note, i was able to see the first so called pro i seen couple years back wasn't as honest as i needed, so if you are unsure about who you talk to, ask for a specialist who is qualified with asperger physicology, you really need someone so you can unload your brain so it doesn't hurt as much, lol

right now we are 50/50 with the Poll

I suppose though if people were honest I could ask how many older men are on this site pretending to be 17 and i would probably get the same result

So thanks for being honest I am really interested in finding out what the percentages are for those who do and those who dont

"Wrong Planet is the web community designed for individuals (and parents of those) with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, PDDs, and other neurological differences."

Nope, coming here isn't labeling oneself. Especially, it's not labelling oneself with a particular label. And I did say I've no need I've no need for a particular label.

Last edited by Mysty on 17 Oct 2008, 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

I consider myself an undiagnosed aspie... I match easily over 90% of the symptoms, involuntary rudeness being the only relevant exception (that I'm aware of).

I don't seek being diagnosed basically for the same reasons explained by others: I'm strongly sceptical that a professional diagnosis would be, for me, worth even a tenth of all the trouble apparently involved.

I doubt that this would happen much on this site. Autistic people are more honest than NTs. They are also less likely to be 'ageist' .

If I'm included in this assumption my birth date is 3/27/1991.

I live in the US. My health insurance does not cover psychiatric visits. I can limp along just as I have done up to this point, I am in my mid-30's. Right now, my son is my priority; he really does need help, but I can't afford a private diagnosis for him, either. I am hoping to get him looked at by a psychologist though the school system, we have a "pre-evaluation screening" on the 29th. Then the evaluation. Then a visit to a pediatric psycologist, if he qualifies.

DX for me is just not as important as making my mortgage payment. Priorities.

I know I have Aspergers. The moment I started coming here and taking the online tests...it became very apparent. I identified with most people, and have scored very high on all the tests.

Getting diagnosed? Takes money. Takes "proving" yourself. Why bother? I'm 40. I've managed thus far, and can move through NT society. My partner knows I have AS and makes allowances for my peculiarities.

Knowing I have it, now, has made me more aware of my limitations, and I am much gentler with myself.

What will I gain from a diagnosis? Nothing really. But please don't question whether we actually have it or not. I know I do, my partner agrees, and I can judge better than any doctor that does not know me, or isn't trained very highly to deal with female adults with AS.

I have my reasons. Main one is I can't afford a diagnosis right now.

This is a good point. A lot of the people here have probably read more books on the subject than most psychologists anyway.

Not to mention that it's awkward enough to go to a general practitioner for a broken litle toe...let alone asking someone to dissect your personality nd tell you what's wrong with you.

I've been to psychiatrists before..in the late 80s and mid 90s...and always waked out feeling like I got a bad haircut. Like they didn't get what I was telling them AT ALL and just went forward anyway with their bad idea.

It was difficult enough asking for sleeping pills after being up for 3 days straight.

I was 12 when diagnosed so I have nothing to worry about. My parents did all the talking and the work. But I always had to come along and I think they hardly spoke to me. I don't even remember the tests. All I remember is the big playhouse in the waiting area and it was dedicated to a guy who passed away on New Years day 1995. Then I remember being in the room and my mother and my psychiatrist would talk, while I would sit in the back at the table with the toys and my notebook. I never spoke a word as they talked. I was going through rough times then.
My parents got me one because I needed it for the education I needed. I wasn't getting the help I need in school and treatment I was getting for ADD certainly wasn't working. The school said that was my main problem. I read AD/HD is a common misdiagnoses in AS. They do share a lot of symptoms is why.
It's just surprising they never figured out I had AS despite me having troubles with changes, thats what the teachers had always wrote about me, my poor social skills, not reading people very well, literal, sensory issues, and poor balance. They had me labeled with dyspraxia and sensory ingretion dysfunction which also falls along the spectrum. Well AS still wasn't known very well back but today more people know about it.