"fake aspies" and self diagnosis. DISLIKE, sorry.

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and for all those people saying yeah well Im self diagnosed and I dont care what you think. I dont care what you think or care about you either so there's no problem.

I agree that Aspergers can't be self diagnosed ( I was also diagnosed by professionals) but I dn't condemn who do because they usually say that they're self diagnosed because their either suspect that they have it or they're s frustrated about getting a diagnsis that they are damn sure that they have it. I think there is a minority that say they have it for sympathy or to "fit in the club", but the vast majrity have legitimate reasons to suspect that they have it. Even if they are wrong and they find out it's something else, I still think they are part of this community because I wuld imagine that they had made a few friends during the process of an official diagnosis.

One thing that does bug me about self diagnosis is that people are now extremely skeptical over your diagnosis when yu say that you have Aspergers and no matter how truthful and objective you are, they will find sme way to call you a fraud. I can't tell you how many times that I've seen people on youtube try to "call" people. Wrse yet, there's parents who blog about how the autism criteria is too wide (even though they are not doctors and don't understand the research behind it).

A diagnosis is there to help you get support and therapy for deficits that impair your life so I have no problems with self diagnosed peple who are self diagnosed because they do have these difficulties and are trying to get help.

and its almost like it is cool to have a disorder, I don't think most people are like that

if people feel they might have an autistic spectrum disorder they are likely to suffer to some degree

I agree that there are many excellent reasons not to seek a formal diagnosis, and many people for whom a formal diagnosis makes no practical difference. (There are also, of course, the non-AS partners, relatives and medical professionals who make a valuable contribution to this forum). I do not agree with the claim of not being able to pay - a claim that I guess applies only to US residents in any case.

If we accept that a diagnosis costs $800, it could be repaid many times over:- The cost of a modern drug like Cymbalta, that might be used to treat a misdiagnosed mood disorder, will be about $300-$400 per month, every month - $4,000 per year, every year. Even the cheapest drug treatments for depression / anxiety will cost $1,000 per year. Disability welfare is currently $930 per month where I live. There are services available to people with AS where I live that are worth far in excess of $800. The employment opportunity value of a diagnosis is proportional to the severity of the AS.

The non-financial benefits include:- Being able to explain potentially hysterical reactions to being touched without explanation, being in crowded places or noise. Being able to analyse stressful situations and work through them. Having correct medical support - especially for non-AS issues. Being able to either explain or work around AS issues in employment.

If a diagnosis mattered, then $800 is a trivial amount of money for anyone to find, and only becomes a significant sum if diagnosis is not important. Not being diagnosed is a choice.

An explanation for life, the universe and everything is priceless - and most people find that external validation is very positive.

Only $800? Mine ended up costing a lot more than that.

A formal diagnosis is extremely difficult in Ireland. Even if you are rich, there are only a handful (I believe two in the country at the moment) of 'experts' who will do a private diagnosis. Our local aspie association sucks and charges 70Euros p.a., just to read their message boards. Further, the odds of you getting diagnosed at all if you are female is slim, if, like me, you have other problems (I was severely sexually abused so I've dealt with both ptsd and depression), it's next to nil. And even if you ARE diagnosed, there are no support services for adults at all, and few for kids.

I had the good fortune to attend grad school in the USA and got a formal diagnosis there.

I found the title of this thread rude (why say 'sorry' when you're obviously not sorry, even my limited social skills can pick up on that), and the initial post very off putting. To be honest, if the replies hadn't been so good, I'd have just dismissed the entire forum as having an...'I'm a better aspie than you are! Sorry!'..attitude.

To the initial poster: you ask for a grown up discussion. I contend that a grown up discussion is not habitually initiated with hostile title and arrogant post. That one ensued from what you wrote is to the credit of this forum and I am sincerely proud of it.

Aspergers is a spectrum. It blends with the NT spectrum. That's part of what makes it so fascinating. Even someone who is technically NT but very close to aspie on the spectrum could benefit significantly from reading and participating in a forum like this.

Aside from presenting the issue poorly, which you do, I think that the basic problem is that you present it as far too black and white. Unless you are playing devil's advocate in which case 'bravo', good discussion, but be careful you don't drive away people who really do need help. It almost drove me away.

I don't think that the OP is a grown up. He's a teenager, and if I remember correctly, Stuart is, too. They really are naive to some of the issues that adults face in regards to funding, and obtaining a diagnosis. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I feel they're coming from a place of innocence due to lack of lived experience, and that we ought to take that into consideration when replying.

Possibly, I'm not good at guessing things like age so I just respond to what was written.

Why self diagnose??

Same reason you self diagnose with a cold when you have a snotty nose and a cough.

Same reason you self diagnose with a head injury when you fall down a flight of stairs and smash your head on the floor.

Because if you have the symptoms, you take the time to find out the facts and they fit you...then yes, you might as well say you have it. You want me to get a diagnosis? Sweet. You pay for my ASD diagnosis, you drive me halfway across the damn country to undergo the diagnostic procedures because I can't drive myself around at 20 because I get overloads, sure, I'll go get a diagnosis. Until then don't you dare needle me.

Honestly I know I shouldn't take an angry aggressive tone but your post certainly warranted it. You're old enough to take a rational person's perspective on such an issue rather than give out to people for not being a proper member of the special Asperger race.