Is it wrong for me to try to get a diagnosis?

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Well, I have issues concentrating, I have no interest in "hanging out" with peers, depression, anxiety, and a ton of other things that therapy may be able to alleviate. but I don't know if therapy would be a "must" as if I need therapy in order to start functioning in my life.

But I want to get a diagnosis whether or not I get therapy.

Is this wrong, in any way? I have been here before and many people believe that you should only get diagnosed if you need to and have severe impairments. But I don't know if I have these impairments or not. So don't know if I am doing this because I feel I have to, Or if I am doing this for the selfish reason of finding out who I am as a person and feeling content...

I mean, I don't want people to get angry at me. I don't like repercussions.

you have nothing to lose (well except for cash if your country is like mine...)
in the beginning i was thinking the same thing but after getting the diagnosis (mild form) i have to say i felt quite better
the first few days though i noticed the symptoms were a lot more prominent ,maybe i was more confident to be myself idk

I was just diagnosed a couple of days ago. I have yet to do any therapy, nor do I have any interest in doing so. I despise therapy, I have been getting panic attacks every time I think about having to do it. I still have not made the appointment.

But I will. Eventually.

Edit: I, too, have noticed the symptoms showing much more prominently since being diagnosed. I suppose it is because I no longer have that little thought in the back of my mind saying "You are ****ing weird". Or maybe I do still have that voice and now I can just agree instead of trying to fight it.

Last edited by Civ on 15 Jan 2012, 10:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Basically if you can spare the money and you're interested in getting an official diagnosis there's no reason not to. If I could afford it I would do it right now.

I was diagnosed several years ago, before I was diagnosed, I wasn't aware of what AS was so finding that diagnosis and label was something that could give me and the people around me a better sense of understanding and relief. The diagnosis can also help you to realize what you need to work on and find different strategies to cope with certain aspects that may be affecting you.

No, it's not wrong. Autism isn't a mental illness, remember; it's a developmental disorder. If you are autistic, that means you'll be autistic your whole life. Unlike a mental illness, a person with autism doesn't need treatment to get them back to baseline mental health; they need therapy and education to teach them the skills they need to live in an environment not designed for autistic people. Autism is a disability, not an illness, and that changes how the medical community should address it.

You won't get, and shouldn't get, a diagnosis if you have no impairment at all, or such mild ones that they are within the range of what a typical person might experience in their day-to-day life. However, the majority of autistic people, the majority of the time, are mildly impaired in most areas of their lives. I blame Autism Speaks and their sort of "charity" for spreading the idea that autistic people are severely impaired in all areas at all times; that's just not true. Sure, there are some people who are severely impaired in many or most areas; but for them, it's easy for a doctor to recognize that they need a diagnosis. It's the larger group--the group with the milder impairments, the people who can talk most of the time and take care of themselves if they're not too stressed and interact with each other if the interaction isn't too taxing--who slips through the cracks, with very real problems that they can't address because they don't have a name for why they are different.

If you are indeed autistic, and you do get a diagnosis, there are two benefits: First, the benefit of self-knowledge. You can learn more about yourself and more easily solve your own problems the better you know yourself. And second, you know that your problems are indeed autism-related, part of a disability rather than a more acute mental illness that needs to be addressed with medication or therapy before it gets worse.

However, don't swear off therapy categorically. Another benefit of a diagnosis is that, when your circumstances start to overwhelm your skills, you have a diagnosis and can ask for help more clearly. Autistics under stress can often be mistaken as having a mental illness, or misdiagnosed if they do also have a mental illness, because the autism has remained undetected and the diagnosis was obscured because of the unknown underlying developmental disorder. If the doctor knows you are autistic, he can take that into account. When you need help from a therapist or psychologist--and almost all autistics eventually do--you can give them the name "autism" right away, so that they know what they are dealing with, where your baseline is, as opposed to starting with the assumption that you are NT.

Iceveela,
I feel much the same as you do on this, and I do not think it is wrong for you to want to get a diagnosis. I do not think it is selfish regardless of whether you want therapy or not or what your level of impairment is. How can it be selfish to want to understand yourself more completely? I also am a little confused as to why it matters how seemingly impaired you are as to whether you should get a diagnosis, which seems to matter to some people. If you are autistic, you're autistic, and always will be, no matter how well you learn to cope with or work around your difficulties. Isn't that the point of most therapies, to teach you to overcome your impairments? At 43, I've learned to work around and cope with many of my impairments, which makes them less severe than when I was younger, but it doesn't change the fact that they are still there. I think that that has been a problem when I talk to mental health professionals; they see the carefully created public persona I have developed over the years to seem less odd, and they don't see the real me or all the effort it takes me to use that persona. Anyway, this is not about me so I will not say anymore on that but I think that if you can, you should definetely pursue a diagnosis for your own peace of mind, if nothing else.

It does matter, though--a diagnosis requires "significant impairment". In this case, "significant" is a technical term that means "detectable; relevant" rather than "extreme". So you have to have some kind of impairment, though the impairment may be mild. They don't diagnose autism in people who don't have at least a mild disability. That's because a diagnosis is a tool that they use to say "This is the set of traits this person has, and it's similar to the set of traits these other people have; so the same solutions may work for the whole group." And if you don't have autism-related problems, then you don't need solutions, you don't need a diagnosis. Mind you, those problems can be rather slight for many people, especially in adulthood with a good set of coping skills, and don't have to mean you need help from other people. But they have to be there.

Regarding autism being life-long: The brain wiring is life-long. You'll always have that cognitive style. But it's possible to lose a diagnosis because you don't meet that "significant impairment" criterion anymore. That usually happens in childhood, especially with children who had mild autism as young children, received useful therapy and had a good environment to grow up in, and by adulthood had no impairment related to autism. But if you still have problems related to autism at fifteen, sixteen years old, you'll probably always be diagnosable--though it's likely enough that you'll become completely independent and self-supporting. Most autistics can.

Callista,

Thank you for the explanation. I was interpreting "significant" as "extreme". Significant defined as "detectable; relevant" is different than what I was thinking, and would apply to me personally, despite my coping skills, as I would guess that it would for many other undiagnosed/recently diagnosed adults. I guess I understand how people, especially those such as you used in your example, could lose their diagnosis. But it still seems odd to me; to use a rough analogy, a dog, no matter how carefully trained to function in some specific way, is still a dog, because his neurology and genetics make him a dog. So if you're autistic, even if you learn to overcome any disability it causes, genetically and neurologically you're still autistic. I know that the jury is still out on the genetic link to autism, and PLEASE nobody get upset over my analogy, I am not comparing autistic people to dogs. It's just the best way I could think of to get my point across. I hope you understand.

As a side note, Callista, I always appreciate your posts. They are well written and informative.

I don't think you need a diagnosis for therapies like cognitive-behavioral, but if you want to use prescription meds as a part of treatment I'm pretty sure you'll need a diagnosis. Otherwise insurance companies won't pay for the drugs (and some drugs can cost upwards of $200 just for a 30-day supply).

I was totally expecting much harsher posts from people on here. I am glad the people here are accepting of my desire for a diagnosis.

I am hoping not to need any pills.

Naw, dogs are cool. Though, I'm pretty sure I'm a cat!

Awww! That gives me warm fuzzies! Thanks

Dont do it! Noooooo you will regret it for FOREVER

Whatever, it wont hurt you, and it probably wont heal you either. I have no malice toward those who wish to get a diagnosis, just as I have no malice toward those who want a big mac, its all the same to me

Go for it. It's not always helpful, but it's seldom harmful.

And Callista: well said.

Having only just been diagnosed myself (at age 45) my opinion is that anything that can help you better know yourself, your strengths, your limitations -can't but be good. Without knowing why I was constantly tripping myself up in certain things (such as my studies) i have been repeating them over and over. Now that I understand I can try different ways and set things up to play to my strengths (as well as request specific help at university - Try doing that without a diagnosis)
Until I got a diagnosis I just felt that I was in limbo. Knowing that I had asperger's, but at the same time not REALLY knowing.
And remember: once you have a diagnosis you don't have to tell anyone. Even when official insurance,employment, etc people ask about illnesses, diseases, mental health issues - that doesn't include ASDs
I wish you well with YOUR decision
... And if it turns out you don't have an ASD, you'll have ruled that out and be able to continue your search

I have asked my GP to refer me for diagnosis. I have already been diagnosed as having anxiety and depression, but for me, this doesn't explain what is going on - I feel there is more to it than that. Does that make any sense?!

I've 'self-diagnosed' by doing online tests etc - that's always an alternative. There's a really good forum here listing a selection of scientific tests - that might be a good place to start exploring

I guess the other thing to consider is the issue of labelling. Some people are happy to accept a label - which is what you may get following a diagnosis - while others don't like that idea. Just a thought.


Your Aspie score: 168 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 58 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie