People Doubting you have Aspergers

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I doubt it myself from time to time, mostly because I haven't had an official diagnosis. No matter how many times I look over the list of symptoms that matches me perfectly, I have that little bit of doubt. I haven't had that from other people, but I'm lucky enough to have supportive family and friends. I guess I'll hear someone say "It's just a label." now and then, but not from anyone I care about enough to listen to.

No one ever has

People have doubted the Autistic Disorder one because I can talk as an adult and I wasn't diagnosed as a child, and they say I have Asperger's.

Before diagnosis, I got placed in (NHS) therapy with psychoanalysts. They attributed all my issues to childhood trauma, even though I did not experience trauma and the issues went back to at least age 3. Their answer to my claim I did not experience trauma was that I must have repressed it (even though I have clear memories of the rather benign event they blamed). I cannot describe how this made me feel, but it was very unpleasant.

Since the possibility of ASD was considered and since diagnosis, the vast majority have not doubted it and are more convinced I am on the spectrum than I am. The only people who thought otherwise were those who could provide access to appropriate ASD support services: I was accompanied to an appointment where I apparently stimmed the entire time, gave infrequent eye-contact, and could barely speak, only to be denied access to services because they would not confirm my diagnosis without parents present, but claimed a course of CBT would sort me out (ignoring I'd had several already).

I mostly felt numb and confused, in addition to much curiosity. However, there was a period lasting about a day where I felt traumatised, so can imagine how such an event might affect others who have few or no other professionals believing their diagnosis. It is a kind of violation (and insult) to have the majority of your issues dismissed and your input denied in such a way.

I've only had one experience with a friend of mine who told me that I didn't have it. She thought that since most everyone struggles with some sort of social situation and because of that i was just like a normal person. I was no different than anyone else. I don't know. I felt that I needed to try and explain it beause in my mind, i have a piece of paper that says i have AS and so that must mean i indeed have it so I believe that to be true. I was getting frustrated trying to explain why I have it, but it really didn't matter to my friend. On the bright side, I guess she didn't care that I had AS in the first place.

My Mum tells me that my Asperger's is an excuse for getting things wrong and believes that AS can be "cured" and is a "disease". =[

I "came out" on a forum I'm on to lots of mates. Most believe me but one say I can't have AS because I have a wicked sense of humour and his daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia when infact she's very inteligent, therefore these specialists are always wrong. Another who is a psychologist or psychiatrist (I always get confused) hasn't commented.

Some people think I am being obtuse just for the sake of giving them a hard time. I cannot make them realize that it is the way I am and I am not trying to give them a hard time at all.

It is like saying to a blind man -- Oh, you are just pretending you cannot see.

ruveyn

Some laypeople think I have it, but the mental health professionals say no.

I think they mean "ret*d." Over and over again, I discover that most people believe that autism is the same as retardation. Comes down to that belief that if they don't understand somebody, than that somebody must be ret*d. Which I thinks says a lot more about the intelligence of the person who believes that than it does about the intelligence of the person that they don't understand.

I got tested for it and got a diagnosis for Aspergers, but I'm really not sure if I actually have it? I mean I know there's something wrong with me. I'm not quite sure however if that's what it is. Some of it fits, a lot of it seems to differ however. I guess I mean other people think I have it, but I'm unsure myself. I think when someone doubts you have something they don't understand it themselves. It's probably not suppose to be insulting, even if it is.

The problem I see sometimes when someone has a disability is they use it as an excuse and not being personally accountable. I'm a person first.. I'm also an Aspie, a father, a husband, a bit weird, etc.. I don't want people to see me as disabled, I want people to see me as an equal.

I have friends will all sorts of disabilities, but I do not look at them any different. I understand that each person has limits and each person has strengths. The trick is to have your strengths outshine ones limits.

I don't have the luxury of being in a wheelchair or having overly physical signs of anything being wrong. I can even carry on a conversation for 3 min without much of a problem.. scripting works wonders.

I have problems expressing myself, my boss works with me on this.. but it drives my coworker crazy. I told them up front that I have a communications issue.. mainly because I knew they would be clueless if I talked about high functioning autism. But on technical issues, I am the 1st person most go to. I'm just not asked to give presentations at conferences.

Some things come easy to me, others are almost impossible. Most of my struggles are internal and I will spend way too much time figuring out simple tasks in hopes I will do them right next time. Sometimes I never 'get it', other times I do... I fail at something every day, I also succeed at some things too.

If a person accepts that I am disabled or if they want to think I am just weird is up to them. But my disability does not define me... I define me!

When I was in high school, I thought I had Asperger's. My friend, who had Nonverbal Learning Disorder, was very verbal about her autism and how difficult it was for her. I kept my problems to myself. One day I told her that I thought I had Asperger's and she laughed at me and told me that was the most ridiculous thing she's ever heard. She said I was just shy. I was so mortified and embarrassed about it, that I never said anything about it again and didn't think about having Asperger's for years.

I think the problem people have with it is they don't understand it's a spectrum. They see the kids who are the stereotypically Asperger's and think that's how all Aspies should be and act. If I ever told my mom or grandma about my AS they wouldn't believe me. My grandma always talks about a patient she has who's Asperger's who, according to her, thinks he's a chicken and twirls around in circles all the time.

That does sound a bit like my childhood, not so much now, although I am still eccentric in a lot of ways.
When I was a kid, some of my passtimes were pretending to be animals of various kinds, and I was a total spinner. I spun around in circles a lot, and whenever there was a merry go round or something like that, I liked being on it. I also liked see saws and swings.

My life story...

Except they had the cheek to add that I was paranoid, potentially schizophrenic/multiple personalities then had a severe 'personality disorder'... All have been disproved (except the paranoia but thats cos of drugs THEY put me on!).



again, similarities there. My Dad used to go on about some kid with AS who was 'cured'. I personally was a dog, not a chicken, most of the time...

I love people who think I 'must be high functioning' when I barely leave the house and can't hold down a job.

The emphasis in my home growing up was appearing normal. The problem with this is that all my energy channels in that direction now. I don't have energy to do anything else but seem mostly NT on short-term bases.

I was only dx'd properly two years ago; Currently I'm in therapy and I'm hoping to reallocate some of my energy into more practical spaces. I don't care anymore how many visible symptoms I have, I just would like to be able to do more useful things with that energy.

I'm diagnosed with NLD. Two psychologists said there was a possibility I could have AS with it or instead of it. A psychiatrist said there was no way I had AS. My parents and grandparents don't really believe it either. It gets quite annoying.