These next paragraphs aren't directed to a particular person. So people, please don't feel offended.
magz wrote:
I guess people do not want to have Asperger's they want to have an answer why they are different, where their trouble comes from. A diagnosis of Asperger's is an answer, ruling it out means one still needs to search for it.
I've been in that boat once and I must tell you with no shade of doubt: the answer in that regard is irrelevant. Whether you're an aspie or not, that's still your life and you have to make the most of it. Looking for that "answer" will lead you nowhere. First and foremost, there's no real consensus on what Asperger's is. Science doesn't have a clue and from what it looks like, never had. Two diagnosed people display different traits. There are many succesful people out there whom science consider "could be asperger's" with no definite proof.
Lastly, Asperger is said to have no cure. Added to that, this current worldwide Asperger trend doesn't help science to go any further! It only takes a young troubled person with access to the internet and there we go, there's a new autist in this world!
jon85 wrote:
exactly.
For me, I know I am different. I know that somewhere I am ND and not NT. I have had an ADHD assessment previously and was told I only have 'traits' which I feel doesn't cut it for me so I keep searching.
People shouldn't keep searching for the rest of life. So, you have a first opinion. Seek a second opinion but not a third, fourth... tenth. If that would be the case, you'd be searching for a person who only tells you what you want to hear when in fact, no one has the answer. Also, we all know how dangerous it is to listen to people who only tell us what we want to hear, right?
While an autism diagnosis could seem to enlighten you because "makes a lot of sense", think again: it's not a clear diagnosis after all. Someone comes to you and tells you have a heart condition, that affects your whole life style. They come to you with autism, how that helps you? It doesn't! Try asking a psychiatrist "so I am on the spectrum, what recommendations do you have for me? do I have to give up listening to heavy metal and avoid shopping at the mall? is it ok not to socialize, to have no autonomy over my own life, not to seek a job? should I use a bow tie?"
Now, this is something for the OP to consider.
So you are different. It's ok to be different. Embrace that. Nobody needs an official credential to be different. People think you're a weirdo? That's ok! They won't start accepting you overnight because now you're diagnosed as an autist. It'll be worse: the very moment you come to people telling that you have an official diagnosis, you'll be to them "officially deemed as mentally ret*d". Your opinions will matter even less. Bullies will still be bullies. Family will treat you like a wounded pet. Is this what you want?
There are people out there like me who will have inconsistent diagnoses from doctors. I was told by a therapist in training that do not even bother trying to get retested for Asperger's and dwell on it because each doctor will just have their own opinion and I will just get more and more confused. Some people get consistent diagnoses from doctors where all the doctors have the same opinion about what that person has while others like me will get different diagnoses from different doctors because they will all have a different opinion what I have. Then I am sure there are some that will be told they have a disorder but be told by some other doctors they have nothing wrong with them. So at the end my mom says I am just me. I also say they are just labels. They are only there to help us seek help and to help people understand us better and how we process things or to understand a situation better regarding your behavior.
06 Dec 2017, 7:34 am
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Try not to get obsessed with diagnosis though, I think the best age for it would be mid-twenties.
