Do You Still Second-Guess Your Diagnosis?

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I had actually heard that second-guessing your diagnosis was common even before I went to see the specialist. At the end when she gave me her verdict, I talked with her about how I was concerned that it may have been all in my head, or that I may have over compensated to make myself appear more Aspie-like, and things like that, in order to convince her that I have AS. She told me that she took so long to make the diagnosis because she was going through all the paperwork I had given her in order to make sure that she gave me her most confident judgment. She also said I was free to go see someone else and have them give me their diagnosis as well, and that she would stand behind what she said, no matter what. So, I think that uncertainty is absolutely common for all of us. Especially if we were not diagnosed as children, it's easy to think: "Well, if I really have it, then wouldn't someone have caught on, way before now?" Or at least that's my experience. So no, you're not alone. I don't second-guess mine though, because I know the specialist did a thorough job and I trust that she gave me a diagnosis to the best of her ability and the information she had on hand.

So much. One of my previous therapists was convinced I didn't have Asperger's, (though I apparently did have ASD.) It keeps me up at night, the thought that I may not have it. That I'm lying to everyone. I can express myself nonverbally, read nonverbal cues, and understand sarcasm. I have some trouble with eye-contact, but not much. I have obsessive interests, routines, acute senses, and trouble understanding some social rules. I have poor motor skills and stimming, too. But I'm afraid.

Yes. I do second guess my diagnosis.

I was diagnosed this summer so its all still new to me but I agree with the diagnosis most of the time - it really explains all I was going through in my life.
However sometimes I doubt it. Especially when I find out about other disorders that could potentially fit such as schizoid or avoidant personality disorder mixed with sensory processing disorder.

Sometimes I wonder if my social problems are not just related to peer rejection in young age. But then I remind myself there must be a reason for kids act that way towards me so there must have been something wrong with me in the 1st place. But then - maybe I was weird because my dad was drinking a lot and was aggressive towards me when I was little?
But then I remind myself that one of his sisters is just like me while his two other sisters are normal so there must be something in genes, not only environment since if my grandpa was just like my dad when raising my aunts the other kids should end up weird too. But the aunt is the oldest sister so perhaps something gone wrong when she was still the only child and when more kids were born grandpa changed? So many possibilities...

I especially worry about the special interest thing. I am really able to spend 14h a day doing one thing day after day for months long and not get bored but I don't consider it special interest since I am not getting enough knowledge to be called a professor - I just like my life to be predictable and doing the same thing all the time provides it. I do it mostly because everything else seems boring, not because I am obsessed with it. Sure, I get obsessed sometimes and then I get knowledge as a sponge takes water for a few weeks till I can't find anything new about it but those are rare cases.
I am also really knowledgeable about many stuffs and I can talk a lot about all stuffs I was ever obsessed if I get asked or something reminds me about them. It's not as I talk only about the thing I am interested in at the moment. Well... once someone starts a topic I want to keep it till it is fully over but I don't lead conversation to my "special interest" when there is another topic being discussed. Actually I rarely talk about the thing I am spending time 14h/day because I don't want to hear people telling me I should get a real interest - browsing specific information on Internet or playing a specific game 14h/day is apparently not an interest but "Internet addiction".

It could count as a "restricted interest" though. I feel a bit self-conscious about this, as that's basically all I do as well. However, I was honest with the psychiatrist at my assessment about what I did with my spare time. Didn't make out like I had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the mating habits of a particular species of ant or something equally obscure.

Do you find it difficult to switch between activities as well? Once I get started on one thing, I find it really, really hard to stop what I'm doing and move onto something else - hence spending 8 hours arguing on WP :p Apparently that's called "resistance to change" and is common in autistic people.

I wrote the below back in September. Might as well re-paste it here
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I felt the same way after I was diagnosed (in April 2013). Until, just recently.

So, after I was diagnosed, I posted this thread, Just Diagnosed, yet somewhat Skeptical (Long) <click>.

Why was I so skeptical?
- I am skeptical by nature. Usually, I do not like relying on any one person's opinion (for anything).
- Several family members (who are Doctor's in the mental health profession) have expressed surprise with the diagnosis and suggested second opinions.
- I am married, have 2 kids and have held a job (well, 15 of them, but who is counting) over 25 years.
- I don't experience the intense sensory issues that some people talk about on WP. I do have them, but not at the same level of severity.

So, I then spent the next year (well, actually a bit more than a year) wondering if the diagnosis was correct. I even started therapy earlier this year to, among other things, get a second opinion. I had other goals as well, but I really wanted to talk to someone about ASD. After my first session, I posted this thread, What can I expect from Therapy? <click>.

Unfortunately, the Clinical Psychologist (who I am seeing for therapy) hasn’t been too useful (in terms of providing that second opinion). While she has expertise in ASD (her dissertation was on Autism), she indicated that my behavioral could be explained by Aspergers or perhaps, a bunch of other things (including generalize anxiety, social anxiety, OPCD, SPD, etc.) that “share a similar constellation of behavioral symptoms”. She didn’t understand why having any particular label was that important.

Anyhow, fast forward to a month ago. I participated in some experiments which were part of an ASD research study. The experiments included a series of eye tracking tests. After the experiments were completed, the researcher (who is also on the spectrum) told me, “For someone of your age, you are a quite typical ASD male”. Several weeks later, the researcher sent me the results from the experiments. The results were consistent with other people on the spectrum. If you are interested, a video describing similar experiments, is available at: The Social Brain and Autism <click>. As a note, I stumbled upon this video only after participating in the experiments.

The net-net of this, is that after this long journey, I have stopped questioning the diagnosis. I now accept it.

In any event, I doubt my own story is that interesting to you. But rest assured, you are not the only person who has doubts, post diagnosis.

I have this. I didn't know it was called "resistance to change." Sometimes I even want to move on to something else, but it's like I'm stuck.

But to answer the topic question, I believe that I am actually lower functioning than my diagnosis of Asperger's and then HFA under DSM-V. I think people think I am more capable than I actually am. I'm a middle aged white woman and am fairly unremarkable. It's easy for me to be invisible. Plus my behaviour has been aggressively modified over the years by the zealous efforts of my mother. So I can appear fairly normal for short periods of time.

Yes. I do.
When my parents talk to me when I am doing something my first reaction is often an angry yell along the lines: "Argh!! !" or automatic, repatable sound like "Tsk,Tsk,Tsk..." or "What, What, What...", eventually "Wait, Wait, Wait..." before I even realize what they they are talking to me. It's quite weird.

And once I finally realize what they want from me I still have problem stopping what I am doing. I get especially angry when they suddenly tell me "Come here for a moment!" or "We are going out. Are you ready?". I always tell them "In 10 mins." or how much time I need to finish what I am doing, even if it isn't anything important and I "could" stop right away if I wanted. Unless their tone of voice seems really urgent (and it often does since I have problem reading tone of voice...). I often end up rushing downstairs in reaction for emotionally sounding "Come here!" because I think something bad happened and they really need my help... then it ends up they just wanted to show me a cat in TV and they were exited and laughing, not scared/troubled.

Btw, I had my full ADHD diagnosis today at the Royal Bethlem Hospital in Bromley, and the consultation and interview lasted four hours - if you manage to persuade your GP/CCG consortia to fund it, was useful for them to have a relative attend to help. http://www.nsft.nhs.uk/Pages/Home.aspx - their home-page my help you for local pathway, else, I suspect it'll be under the National SLaM service you'll get sent to: https://www.national.slam.nhs.uk/servic ... adultadhd/
https://www.national.slam.nhs.uk/about- ... hwhitwell/ was the girl I saw

My mum has learnt from long experience to give me plenty of advance warning if she wants me to get ready for going out - the day before is best >_>.

I also get irritable when I'm interrupted. If my mum tries to talk to me while I'm doing something, I'll often wave my hand and go "all right", or "yeah yeah", or something.

I'm not the world's most patient person, unfortunately.

Yes, I wonder if I have generic brain damage instead.

However, seven doctors and one expert say I have autism.

It seems easy to get a diagnosis when you have obvious functioning problems where people think you are ret*d, or eccentric, or laugh at you, or ask you "what is wrong", no one even stops to wonder if it could just be brain damage.

Professorial knowledge is not a requirement. This really falls under the "restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests category." Your description seems to fit quite well.

I don't seriously question it. I do have moments when part of me just wants to reject the whole idea, but then all the experiences pointing to it come flooding back. It is what it is.

I was diagnosed in May 2013. For the most part I believe it but every now and then I'll come across something and think, oh, I don't do that, maybe I don't have Asperger's, maybe it's all in my head.
I think a lot of that has to do with my family refusing to work with me on anything and being derisive every time they see my therapy bill in the mail or it gets mentioned in conversation. If you're constantly being told that something you believe is untrue, you're going to start doubting it. Human nature.

Before my dx, I allways thought, that I possibly had a micro brain damage, - because of the slightly odd sensory things. Some of them make you think of damage, - but they go with autism.

I am currently seeking a diagnosis.

I have been second guessing myself for months/years. I first suspected I might be autistic over 5 years ago, but only recently started taking a more serious look at it. When I think back over my life and different situations I have been in, a diagnosis would definitely make sense, but there are also other times when I'm completely normal. I've always functioned well professionally and I am very intelligent, I aspire to be a physicist if the opportunity ever presents itself. I'm always a top rated employee wherever I work, but that's probably because I'm so ambitious, smart and don't need a whole lot of socialization to succeed at my job.

I recently asked my mom if she ever thought I was autistic, she said no because I could always verbally communicate normally, but then she told me that when I was a very young child my grandmother had suspected I was behaviorally autistic which "Shocked!" me to hear that over 25 years later. I am very bad at eye contact, social conversation, staying in touch with people and making friends/relationships. The only people I ever call to talk to are my parents. I used to put objects in lines as a toddler, organize things by color, had preferences for certain numbers and always hated it when someone left both 2-way light switches in the on position when the light was turned off. I've always been an OCD perfectionist, which I suppose its sometimes a strength. There's been times over the years when I could spend 12 hours a day on one topic for months at a time. I went through acute depression as a teen, I'm surprised no one caught it back then, I now wish I had been diagnosed then so that I could have confronted it instead of socially isolating myself without direction and social uncertainty. I want friends and a relationship, but I'm just not that good at it.

I wish there were more physical/sensory signs that would give me more peace of mind as confirmation. I do think of the world it terms of pictures. I usually keep my TV volume barely above mute, maybe I'm really good at hearing things. I have lots of cowlicks, I've heard they are associated with autism. I do not have an "unusual gait", but people have told me I run funny. I don't flap my hands, but I am a compulsive knuckle cracker.

I don't know. From the sounds of it, other people seem to question their diagnoses as well. Am I autistic? Probably. Do I second guess myself? All the time.

It does sound somewhat aspieish. If knowing is important to you,- go for an assessment.

I was diagnosed twice.

The first time, I didn't even know what Asperger's Syndrome was. After I found out it was a form of Autism, I rebelled and refused to believe it.

The second time, the psychiatrist had no knowledge of my first diagnosis years before and still picked up Aperger's in me.

Then it became rather hard to refute.

After reading about Asperger's, now I can see why both psychiatrists diagnosed me with it. It's just me.

After reading about what Asperger's is (and has now become a Special Interest), it's impossible even for me to deny it.

If you have the symptoms, then you have the symptoms and I've got the symptoms. There's no denying that!! !

So no! I think if you've got it, you may not know you've got it but that doesn't change the fact that you've got it and it doesn't prevent you from displaying the symptoms of what you've got and your symptoms are what give you away -

I always knew I was different to other people. I never knew it was because I had Autism. I always thought it was because I was an Alien but I do like myself.

If you have an ASD, you should at least know something's wrong. Maybe not wrong but there'll be something about your life that leads you down this path of discovering where you're at. After all, normal people don't go looking up these problems because they don't have them. We only wind up on this path of discovery because we have reasons to go looking!