Poll: Self Diagnosed Aspie's - Opinion?

Post Reply New Topic

I disagree with the question being asked here, claiming and thinking are two very differnt processes, and so should not be grouped into the same question.

In my mind, it is perfectly acceptable to explore your thoughts and concerns on AS, and essentially give yourself a self diagnosis. This is purely an interlectual excersise though, that will possibly allow greater understanidng of self.

If you try to claim anything in a professional setting though I feel that you should have confirmation from a qualified person, even if you have had to lead them through the dx like a donkey on a rope, when you are trying to obtain something out of a dx, you are likely to be biased, and possibly miss obvious signs of other conditions, and as such, a professional could be seen as the second opinion on your own.

It took me about three months to work up the courage to go to my college's counseling center in order to get an evaluation, only to be told that they don't do that there, and then they talked me in to going to counseling until the semester was over (no fee since I was a student).

Granted it was nice to talk to someone who didn't cut me off, I ended up just feeling like a jackass after it was all said and done.

So I guess in response to the poll, I am fine with self-dx, but I would feel uncomfortable telling someone else about it since we're such a society that relies on that sort of professional, branded confirmation.

I think aspie people could still be subdivided in to aspie kind1, aspie kind2, aspie kind3, etc, and in this case we would even more CLEARLY diagnosis ourselves; by now we still met many people very different from us, all put at the same group, what probably difficults our own recognition.

I agree with DingoDv, claiming and thinking are two entirely different things. I am not self-diagnosed, my profile identifies me as Have Aspergers - Undagnosed, I am not qualified to make a diagnosis but I am entitled to my opinion, and that is my opinion.

I don't claim to be an Aspie, if fact, I have never told anybody my opinion outside of the internet and I have no intention of seeking a professional opinion. What would be the point? I have always known I am weird and everyone who knows me knows it too. The only thing they don't know is the clinical name and what difference would it make if they did? As far as I know, there is no Be Nice to Aspies movement.

It is enough for me that I can see myself in other peoples posts here for it explains why I am the way I am. A professional diagnosis would do no more.

I refuse to "self-diagnose" (kind of an oxymoron) myself without any conformation from a doctor, although I see many of the symptoms in myself...

I first heard about AS on a wikipedia link, and was compelled while reading about it...but I started reading everything I could about the disorder after reading this (ESPECIALLY the last sentence)...

Quoted from Wikipedia

The dry-math logic of wondering why people treat me differently than others, the over-thinking of everything, the loneliness of being the only one who doesn't know what's going on...when everybody thinks I'm just smart and snobby.

(Note that I voted with the majority...it's stupid to say that somebody only has aspergers if their doctor confirms it... If all of my hair fell out, I'd be pretty sure I was going bald, even before my doctor diagnosed me with baldness... what a stupid comparison, my bad)

Personally, I don't like diagnostic labels and there are too many quacks out there in the mental health professions that think they are God's gift to psychiatry and psychology and know little, if anything about Asperger Syndrome. The only "good" thing about having the diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome is that whatever treatment and "benefits" that does exist for us adult Aspies will only go to those individuals with the specific diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome.
Most of the real help for adult aspies will most likely come within the next ten years or so when the great numbers of preschoolers and children under age 21 "age out" of their treatment programs and become adults. Then society will have to create more programs to address our needs and deal with us all!

I agree this is a poorly constructed poll, but whatever. While, yes I think people can be mistaken when they self-dx themselves with AS or anything else, I voted "no" simply because people who truly do have AS can normally self-dx themselves because we are 99% of the time aware that there is something different about us and what is different about us, even when we lack the skills to articulate it. That was my experience. When I first read about AS and HFA in 1996 I knew on a very deep, intuitive level that I fit the bill. But admittedly I was intimidated about professing to world that I was because 1) I don't know how that would go over, seeing I had always so poorly articulated my experience that even people close to me didn't realize what I was experiencing and 2) I couldn't claim to be an expert on the topic, and so being typically Aspie-ish about it, I chose to research more about until I felt I better understood the matter. Nonetheless I was still very awkward when I brought this up with my shrink when I was being treated from depression 4 years later. I didn't know how she would react to someone saying "I think I have AS" and I had a horrible time articulating why I thought so. But I managed to get past that hurdle.

Nonetheless, I see for people who truly do have AS that the self dx part is almost unavoidable. We're natural problem solvers, and we do usually sense something's amiss about ourselves. So naturally we try to figure out why. I can't knock another Aspie for doing what's a natural process for him or her.

On the other hand, as I've said before, I know people get misdx'd with AS, and from my expeirencec as a spec ed teacher, it happens too often for my comfort. So even if someone shows up here waving their dx in everyone's face, I don't put that much stock in it if that person goes about acting in ways that are inarguably atypical of an AS person. This is especially trrue when they go about wrangling others into one of those "Is this AS???" discussions and people try to rationalize the fool's non-AS behavior as somehow AS. I think these people are more irksome and far more deluded than someone mistakeningly self dx'ing themselves out of misguided intentions or desperation.

Poorly constructed poll? Please feel free to create a new one and have this deleted. I only wanted to see others opinions on the matter which it has enabled me to do so. Therefore, this thread has done the job I intended it to do. But do create a new poll and delete this one.