Whole spectrum and self-diagnoses?

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It's anonymous so don't lie please.

I'm curious in a general overview as to how many here are officially or unofficially professionally diagnosed, how many are self-diagnosed. But more than that, I want to challenge that popular claim that those self-dxed or unofficially diagnosed never have any PDD but AS.

Of course, most people here do have Asperger's, but WP in huge and there might be unofficially dxed or self-dxed people with PDD-NOS, classical and NLD.


Official diagnosis by a professional is just that.

The dx was made by a psychiatrist or psychologist and it's in your medical files and reports. You could refer to it when approached by governments, school, work and so on.


Unofficially diagnosed by a professional can mean you

A) went to a professional who told you have have an ASD, but who never wrote so into a report
B) went to an ASD ambulance, therapy centre that can't put your dx into your files and can't make it official
C) went to a private professional because you don't want it in your medical file
D) there's a professional in your family who diagnosed you inofficially


Self-diagnosis also means exactly what it says.

You're forgetting "Diagnosed with one PDD and self-diagnosed with another." Like, say, someone diagnosed Asperger's who's pretty sure they don't quite fit into Asperger's, which pitches you out into the PDD-NOS catch-all or, if the difference is more symptoms, into classic autism.

Somewhere inbetween these two:

-Officially and professionally diagnosed with AS

-Unofficially diagnosed by a professional


The second option is closer to the truth, but that was put on record.

Not everyone agrees that this was the correct assessment or decision though and aren't happy with me being labeled in this way.

We were told that this "mistake" was removed, but it wasn't.

I hope this makes sense.

What about someone who took the description of AS to a therapist who seems to agree that you not only meet but exceed the criteria for the AS diagnosis and has summarily refered you to a psychiatrist who is a specialist in ASD because you incidentally also have a child who is being assessed for the disorder?

It should be noted that most "therapists" are not able to diagnose, but are typically charged with being able to recognize signs and symptoms in their clients. They have a responsibility to refer clients on to professionals if they feel that a re-evaluation of someones diagnosis is warranted. For example, I have been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder with panic attacks, adult ADD and depression. The therapist and I have noticed that these diagnosis seem to fit me, but has also noticed that I also seem to fit the profile of someone who has AS. This means that it is possible that I have been misdiagnosed.

I guess this still fits in the unofficially diagnosed category, then?

I diagnosed myself with aspergers years ago before I went to an aspergers specialist to make it official. I just wanted to go to show my parents that I really had a neurological disorder. For every question he asked me, I knew it was coming because I studied aspergers years prior to it.

I've been diagnosed over and over. I've needed to in order to get helpful services, to switch drs after I moved to Oregon, etc. I've actually been diagnosed four times officially.

I think the PDD-NOS and AS differences are mostly a regional thing. If your therapist/psychologist learned from the Tony Attwood school of thought, then you're probably AS. If your therapist/psychologist got their Masters working with TEACCH, then you're probably PDD-NOS.

I insist on the term "undiagnosed," not "self-diagnosed."

I've been an aspie for many years, and I've never experienced anything that equals the utter stupidity, outright cruelty, and absolute lack of any principles that universally characterizes the self-described "mental health professionals."

They always get away with it because they always support each other, as long as their outrages involve feminists who hate heterosexual males and care nothing about children.

Due to the fact that that the "mental health" industry tolerates feminists, anybody who ever had any principles or ethics is now working at Walmart or Burger King.

Tony Attwood is an exception of course. Everybody at FAAAS is buying his books.

I refuse to ascribe any legitimacy to the "mental health profession." If they want respect, they can do something to deserve it.

Assessed by an AS specialist as having Asperger's, but not officially diagnosed, thought she said I could treat it as an official diagnosis.
Am not sure how responsible it was of her to tell me that....

I am one of those folks who is self-diagnosed with AS. Given where I live, getting such a diagnosis made "official" would be very much a double-edged sword, though.

While I would likely be better able to access services and support which could truly be of benefit to me, health insurance providers in Oklahoma are not mandated - and therefore don't - cover anything related to an ASD.

officially and professionaly dxed for me, it's all in the records and stuff

Isn't that a crock? Mental health in general is not really treated as a serious health issue by most insurance providers. I went most of my teens and adult life without ever seeing a mental health professional because it wasn't covered by insurance or I didn't currently have insurance. I moved to Canada and have finally managed to get somewhere with my "mental health". I had to wait about a year to see a doctor, but at least I got to see one! I am really greatful. I am also really ticked-off because had I been able to go to see someone when I started having anxiety and depression issues (along with ADD symptoms and sensory problems) at the tender age of about 5.... my life may have been very different. I suppose that is why I am on a mission to help my daughter..... most of the stuff that helps is really coping skills..... if you happen to "know" you have AS, then don't need to spend three decades trying to figure out how to cope alone!! Someone can pass along some of the helpful "tricks of the trade".

I think so far that the popular myth of self diagnosis almost always being Aspergers is holding up rather strongly so far in the results of the poll. This should not be unexpected as society has been almost bending over backwards to let 'unusual' people be Aspies rather than be stigmatize with more 'serious' mental conditions as they say. It's cool to be an Aspie, it's not so cool to be PDD-NOS or Autistic.

I don't understand the difference between "officially diagnosed by a professional" and "unofficially diagnosed by a professional."