Is Aspergers trendy?

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When I stumbled across a YouTube video and instantly thought "This is incredible odd- that woman has the same eye movements and body language as me!", then heard her exactly describe the traits I had been searching for answers to since I have been self-aware, I was soooo relieved. It was the best moment of my life, but no one will share it with me.

If you're at me laughing right now, thats what's bothering me. Just think that it may be possible that someone may be right, even if this is the way they discovered they have AS.

I have been referred by my GP, and then by the patient "access to mental health services" liaison place, but I'm worried they will have the same reaction as my friends and family at first because of their lack of awareness that it present differently in everyone. I can appear just "quirky" in most circumstances and if I get a rigid tick-box diagnosis procedure like "does she have very limited and restricted interests?" I won't get diagnosed. My interests are quite specific, but they move on and expand once I run out of things to learn in that area. I will, as usual, get labelled as a hypochondriac, or as having "generalised anxiety disorder" or something, and that will be the final nail in the coffin for my relationship with medical professionals and the NHS (national health service in the UK).

So what sets me apart, in the eyes of anyone, from the people who, apparently, think it is trendy to get this diagnosis? And what is going on to make people get a diagnosis who don't really have it but suffer with social anxiety, or depression. And is it really "trendy"?!?!?

Please be honest- I love a good debate! That's part of the problem ha.

Your RDOS Aspie Quiz score is pretty consistent with having Asperger's.

Tony Attwood (British-Australian expert in Asperger's) thinks that most people who take the trouble to research whether they are on the spectrum probably are right. Of course, there are alternative conditions, like schizoid personality disorder, which might be confused with ASD.

I don't think it is particularly trendy. As far as I can see, there is still plenty of stigma attached to having an autism spectrum condition.

I disagree with anyone who thinks it trendy to be diagnosed with AS.

AS seems to have become the "disorder du jour" and gets a lot of attention from popular media. However, usually from the POV of the person who's got to deal with the aspie rather than the aspie him/herself.

It seems everywhere you turn, you hear that somebody's kid was just diagnosed. My wife has a nephew who was diagnosed and now his mother has a shelf with about 20 books on AS (I suppose she's read them all) and she's got him on what to me seem like way too many meds.

I see a great many reasons to not be officially diagnosed. In reality, AS is seen as a disincentive to be hired or be accepted socially. Much better, in my mind, to just be considered "odd" and have quirks but a decent sort nonetheless. Once you've got a label you'll be shoved into the same box with everyone else who carries that label and just be thought of as another one of "them".

I think it better to just deal with one's individual issues and let others deal with them without seeing them as part of a "syndrome". Because after all, we're all different, although that fact gets lost once we're categorized.

For myself, I'm certain had I been born 40 years later, I would have been diagnosed and as a result my earlier life would have been easier but ironically I'd be worse off today. I suspect other older aspies might say the same.

It's my impression that many in the UK want a diagnosis because it theoretically entitles them to "services" but I would caution that could backfire in the long run.

Of course I suppose this depends on the "severity" so my apologies to anyone who is truly dependent on such services. However I doubt many such have gone undiagnosed for very long.

I'll follow up with another observation.

It occurs to me I've encountered a handful of people in this forum who've been diagnosed as children and now no longer want to believe it. But having been diagnosed, they've no way to avoid the stigma. So you might say it's done them harm.

AS is not like Celiac Disease which can be conclusively diagnosed with a blood test. All AS diagnoses are subjective to some extent but the general public (is/are)n't sophisticated enough to grasp that.

I believe, from about 1995 to 2010, that Asperger's was a rather "hip" diagnosis.

However, since the Adam Lanza murders, and the media coverage underlying it, the diagnosis of Asperger's has carried with it somewhat of a stigma.

I find it hard to believe that any clinician would diagnose anyone with AS just based on someone suffering with depression or anxiety.

I also very much doubt it's really considered "trendy" in any real life environments to get a diagnosis of AS, I think many people are confusing the recent years' increasing awareness of it with a trend and thereby constructing a misguided narrative about it.

Last edited by alwaysnow on 24 May 2014, 9:44 am, edited 2 times in total.

The rdos one was the only one that was consistent though- my AQ and EQ were the opposite of what is considered autistic, but I think it's because of the way I look at the test, and my coping mechanism of using other ways to get the answer? I will look into schizoid personality more, thanks.

I couldn't believe it when I saw people saying it was "all over the news" and that everyone was self-diagnosing. In the UK I have only seen the classic "male brain" idea of autism splashed around, which now infuriates me because people who spend their lives working in the field should know better. Is it different elsewhere?

I can tell you that admitting any mental health diagnosis is the opposite of trendy as a 28 year- old in an old mining town in NE England.

We'd sure like to think it's trendy

Along with advances in science and technology, the demand for those who are naturally analytically inclined grows too. Now, I do not discount the struggles for those who have more pronounced difficulties with AS/autism, but for who can strive, we *might* actually be in demand, except that disclosure would still be really risky.

Someone I know (neurotypical, in law profession) told me about a neurotypical lesbian couple (professional/educated and affluent couple) who wanted to have a baby using artificial insemination. After much searching, this couple actually purposefully chose to shoot for an Asperger's baby, reasoning that those Aspie traits would be advantageous in a loving, nurturing environment. Go figure.

Maybe our certain traits are in demand, but autism itself is still not well regarded in our society. A balance of such traits could be prove to be beneficial, if we know how to manage the difficulties with good coping skills and support.

Aspies may not be cool, but we are hot

Where are you, if you don't mind me asking? Wondering if it is an American media thing? Aspergers is never, as far as I'm aware, referred to in our media as anything other than the little professor who misbehaves. There was a documentary for autism awareness on autism day, but I wasn't sure about some of the sweeping statements like one thing everyone with autism shared was being amazing at the "wheres wally" game. I can't remember if i was bad, or if i just looked at all the other bits of the drawing for hours. I think these days I'd get distracted and forget to look for wally lol.

The Adam Lanza thing just brought up issues to do with american gun control over here. Not sure if they even mentioned aspergers when it was on the news? It's probably a good thing that there are both very positive and very negative views shown now though- it should balance out when people realise we must all be totally different to each other. The stupid ones will always be stupid.

To be fair, the channel 4 Documentary "the undatables", despite it's title, has started to smash the myth that we should not be taken seriously when we want a love life. I remember thinking about one guy that he was attractive (I don't mean I 'fancied' him) , and hoped people could see that he was only extremely nervous and overly-naive because he had been sheltered from normal life. His mummy was his world and she played up to that to the point where he wanted to find a love interest who looked and acted exactly like her. He should've been discouraged from that I think as it came across as quite creepy in my eyes. At least it showed that he was very witty, intelligent and lovely and just got very nervous talking to girls.

My boyfriend used to sweat profusely because he was so nervous when we met haha- he would be trying to think of the "right thing to say" but I could tell what kind of person he really was and see behind the nerves. In a way it showed how much he liked me, but a lot of people would be put off! If you're a nice person and you have good intentions it shines through however you behave, unless the person is judgemental.

I think that there are differences in the perception of ASD in different parts of the world.

I went to my GP about ten years ago, and he referred me to the Mental Health wing of the local NHS hospital. The psychiatrists there refused to discuss the idea of Asperger's/ADHD because I was an adult. You didn't say where you have been referred to, but I would be interested to know whether you get a better response than I did! At the time of my referral, I found out from various sources that was a bit of a postcode lottery in the NHS about how to deal with previously undiagnosed adult ASD.

There is definitely a kind of autism 'industry', judging by the number of books and self-help schemes etc which are available. But, in the UK at least, the medical professions seem to be nowhere near coming to any kind of consensus about how to deal with the issue. Until there is some kind of consensus, there will probably continue to be a continuing supply of new/different ideas, some of which may appear to suggest some kind of cult trendiness.

I did mention to my then psychologist that I was worried I would be seen as an attention seeker without a formal diagnosis and that some people claim that Aspergers is a trendy thing to have. She looked at me puzzled and said "why would ANYONE want to be diagnosed with it when they don't have it? That makes no sense!" She proceeded to tell me that while she is not qualified it's pretty clear in her opinion I would be 'highly likely' to have it.

I almost see it as like homosexuality. Sure it seems like it's trendy now and that every second person seems to be gay now but that's only because they don't have to worry about getting lynched. The way I was treated as a suspected homosexual in school was beyond barbaric and no sane person would ever openly admit to it in the 80s/early 90s.

That's why I'm not racing to spend $$$ to get a diagnosis. As much as I fit the criteria 100% it's still HIGHLY subjective and no two experts are likely to agree. It's not like Down Syndrome where you either have it or not: ASDs are a wide spectrum and I have heard radically different interpretations of the words "clinically significant impairment" amongst professionals.

Yes, Asperger Syndrome is trendy. It really and truly is. There's so much romanticism around the condition, and so many people who wrongly self-diagnose. It is a coveted condition. I was diagnosed in early adolescence when no one knew what the condition was, and I never thought this word would become so widespread, and that so many people would claim to also be the same.

Where were these kids back when I was diagnosed? It's over-diagnosed.

Asperger Syndrome has gone from being a developmental disability - where the the person affected has profound difficulties with social integration from the beginning of life, to a condition for people who are socially awkward/depressed/gifted.

It's being used as a catch-all explanation for other mental health issues. And a misapprehension of the criteria means a lot of people like to think they're on the spectrum. Usually over extremely mild traits. A lot of the recently diagnosed on this board admit to not being able to relate to some parts of the criteria, and they also admit to not having many symptoms.

And the usual defence of this, "it's a spectrum" excuse, or you've only met one aspie. If you deviate so much from the criteria, it means you don't have it. All aspies should have two things in common, they fit the criteria (mostly) and have significant impairments.

I honestly believe the rise in the "autism is a difference" activism is because of such people. These people want to re-define autism so they can be included. And there have been papers arguing for AS to be completely thought of as simply as a difference, similarly to homosexuality, all because of their activism. They actually reviewed blogs written by such people and came to the conclusion that AS should no longer be thought of as a disability.

But why these researchers would actually think that these bloggers are representative of the AS community as a whole is erroneous. I sometimes think the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome can't be justified any more if they going to make it so wide, as to include people who have no developmental issues whatsoever. A separate category is needed. Unfortunately efforts to do this haven't changed anything.

It's AS what people want to get diagnosed with.

It's "trendy", yes, in a sense. It's new--we're just noticing it--so we see it everywhere. The explosion in awareness and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders is a good thing, because it means people are finally getting help; but now that people know what to look for, they're seeing autism in every nook and cranny. As time goes on, I think we're going to learn how to use the autism label more constructively--how common it truly is (one in a hundred? one in fifty?) and what autism really looks like in the average autistic person, when it isn't so glaringly obvious as the cases we used to diagnose when we thought the prevalence was only one in a thousand.

But just because something's popular doesn't mean it's not real. All those people with autism, who used to be diagnosed with developmental delay, or depression, or ADHD, or schizophrenia--they're getting a better label, and more appropriate therapy. Those people who had really mild cases and never entered the mental health system at all are learning more about themselves, understanding why they had to try to so hard to do things that seemed simple to everyone else, and getting help for the first time.

The statement, "Why would ANYONE want to be diagnosed with it when they don't have it? That makes no sense!" is spot-on. Aside from the occasional munchausen syndrome case, people don't want a mental health diagnosis unless they actually have some kind of problem that they think the diagnosis could help with. Sure, they could be wrong about their problem having to do with autism--but that doesn't mean that there isn't a problem. If a person suspects they have autism, they should not be shamed away from getting an evaluation. Either they have autism and they should be diagnosed, or they have some other issue bad enough for them to consider that they might have autism, and they need diagnosis and treatment for that. It mightn't be a severe problem; maybe they have social anxiety, or maybe they're dealing with the effects of childhood bullying, or maybe they are nerdy introverts who are uncomfortable in an extrovert-loving world--but all of those things are legitimate reasons to seek counseling, and real problems that have solutions. None of them have to do with being dramatic or attention-seeking.

It is currently a trend in research and medicine. My undergrad (and only) degree is in Psychology and both my professor of developmental psychology and my prof of Abnormal Child Development , the latter of whom is also a clinical psychologist who works with kids with autism, talked about how it's become a research trend and how there's a lot of money in researching ASD now.

Also, if you look at what disorders are featured in the media frequently, you can see that it's become a trend in the media too. There are few developmental disorders that have a month dedicated to creating awareness of them, for example.

Wow, I'm slow to put my thoughts in writing and both Acedia and Callista posted while I was writing my tiny response.

*ETA Re: Acedia's posts: all the self diagnoses do point to a trend, the reason people so often read or hear about their traits as part of a the disorder is because it is ubiquitous in the media.

* ETA Yes, I agree that just because it's trendy, it doesn't make it not real and it unfortunately makes people with the disorder can cast doubt on those who are afflicted with it. Many other disorders have been medical fads in the past. Also, it being a fad beings both positive and negative attention.

Last edited by daydreamer84 on 24 May 2014, 12:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

YES to This^^^^^ Can't stress this enough. It's hard enough actually being on the Spectrum without the risk of it being watered down for people who just want to be labeled because the have a little trouble in life or want to be trendy.