What are the benefits and cons of being diagnosed?

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well, i was reading somewhere in WP about getting diagnosed, but while i was surfing along someone mentioned that being diagnosed had its benefits when it comes to being a "grown up" but also it "blocks many doors". I would love to know its benefits, (other than learning the truth about yourself) but i would also like to know its cons, so can anybody please tell me? I would like to know which "Doors" it blocks out for me in the future.

additional info: i know pretty well im an aspie (pretty obvious) school is okay, im not a total reject, i have a couple of friends like 15 or so in a school of 3,000 and something, my worry is homework since i cannot concentrate no matter what i do (i almost failed last year) speaking of last year i got so depressed that i was suicidal (still a secret) that i stayed at home from school for many days (got in huge trouble) my posture is weird, i walk like a penguin, i cannot look at someone in the eye at all, my voice is low, im shy and etc. etc. and pretty much anything else in the symptoms categories of aspergers, With this in mind, should i even consider a diagnosis?

Well overall, i would like this question be answered to the rest of the aspies out there that are also considering getting a diagnosis

I'm considering a diagnosis. but I'm also considering doing something big with my life and for that the diagnosis might affect.
I'm still quite 50/50 about it. I got my army delayed due to it, but havent actually gone to psychiatrist yet.

I can easily imagine that being leaked and used against me to make me sound less convincing no matter what issue.

thats what I meant by leaking, someone will leak the file to publicity for money.

You can get a private diagnosis by paying cash. If you use any kind of insurance, the law requires the doctor to tell them. When that happens, its pretty much common knowledge and everyone will know in spite of hippa privacy laws. With a private diagnosis, you pay cash and don't give your SS#, ID or real name. Nobody will know but you and the doctor.

Pros:
You'll know better how to deal with it.
If you are bad off enough, you can qualify for public assistance.

Cons:
If your insurance finds out, its considered a pre-existing condition and is grounds for denial of coverage.
In some countries like the UK, its grounds for taking your children away if you have them.
People incorrectly associate aspergers with mental illness. Its not, its just a social learning disability.

Really depend on what available around where you live, but for me it actually helped me land a job, cause had access to work program (state pay a part of the salary, so employer is more accepting of my difficulty). (But I didn't seek the diagnosis, got it while I am seeing a psychiatrist for other reason)

And on wage part it is far from been a bad, even if part time (24,5 hours a week), it is enough to pay the rent for a 2 1/2 apartment, pay for living stuff and have some luxury (which mostly end up been computer related stuff in my case =p). All while paying back for study dept.

And gave me access to social resource specialized in autism. Which is quite helpful, for one they helped me find this apartment I am living in currently, even if I disliked my previous apartment, the anxiety of finding a new one was just too much for me. I actually can see myself living in this location for many years, if plan to return to study doesn't has me requiring to move, which is I go in informatics will not for I live like 15min walk distance from school with the program. =p


But I live in Quebec, Canada, so I admit the social security tend to be a bit more heavy then what available in the US.

If you have awkward posture and walk like a penguin, then fix it. You need to try sitting and standing more socially polished. Its not that hard to adapt to, you just have to watch how other people are sitting.

Sit up straight with your chair scooched in, put your hands in your pockets, cross your arms, etc.

I would think the biggest thing about getting a diagnosis is knowing for sure that AS is what your dealing with. It might not be that at all. It could be something else and you'd be missing it and not getting treatment you could be getting.

You mentioned depression. What if it turns out you are clinically depressed or something and there is a treatment for it but you aren't getting the proper treatment because you didn't get diagnosed. Also feelings of suicide should not be ignored. Please talk to someone about it. Have you ever seen a therapist? So I guess I'm also saying rule out other things too.

BTW you said you have 15 friends. I probably had that many ( maybe less) and I'm NT. You must be doing something right and obviously there are things about you that people like. So keep up the good work

Being diagnosed hasn't hurt me at school. I don't think you should be keeping it a secret anyway because when you're visibly odd, people want to know that you have a quirky brain and can't help walking funny or having an odd cadence to your speech, rather than being some kind of axe-murderer who's going to come after them in their sleep. But that's your choice.

In many cases, not knowing is a bigger problem because it means you can't get help. If you need help, you have no choice but to ask for a diagnosis--because you'll need those accommodations to do whatever it is you have planned.

If you did end up doing "something great" (let's say you became a famous musician, for the sake of argument), I highly doubt that being "outed" as autistic would hurt you any. People might be mildly surprised, or they might just say, "Ha! I always knew he was a bit quirky." Many parents would probably say, "Look at this guy over here. He's a famous musician and he has Asperger's just like my kid. Those people who say my kid's life is useless and hopeless must be wrong."

So, yeah: If you need help, go get it. And if you're scared you won't be able to advocate for yourself, I highly recommend going to a disabilities support group to learn from the other people who've been doing it in some cases for their whole lives. Autism support groups tend to be less focused on that sort of thing in general, but if you can find one, that's great too.

I will speak for myself on getting diagnosed. I went to get professionally diagnosed because I wanted an expert in the field to determine if I had AS. I was diagnosed using two criteria (DSM-IV and the Gilliberg). After receiving my diagnosis of AS I underwent some therapy in late 2008 and early 2009. That was a benefit. But most of all, realizing that I have AS allowed me to understand the eccentricities of my life. And I adopted the motto, "My journey has just begun." Since that time, my grade-school age son was diagnosed with AS, and our school's evaluative team tested him and gave him an IEP in autism. That has helped him tremendously with smaller classes and adaptations. He also takes speech therapy. He also joined the Challenger League baseball team for children with disabilities. He enjoys it and does well. I feel regular little league would have been frustrating for him. He chose the challenger league over the regular little league---we (his parents) gave him the choice.

I am sure anyone can find individual anecdotes that link a specific condition with having children removed and taken into care. However, these are anecdotes, they are not representative of all cases of the condition. In addition, there are compound factors in every one of these ASD anecdotes, where other conditions more relevant to child welfare were also present. Only a copy of the court records would adequately show which conditions were relevant to the decision to take children into care, or award custody to another party.

It is not true that having a diagnosis of Asperger's or autism is grounds for having children taken into care.