Value of Professional Diagnosis of Aspergers

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I was "odd" as a child, and my mum recognised that I was unhappy and somewhat withdrawn, but I was also interested in the world around me, articulate when talking to adults (once I felt comfortable with them), fairly well behaved, intelligent, and generally didn't draw negative attention toward myself. My unusual behaviours were simply accepted as being part of who I was, and my parents were happy with that.

My mum recognised that I had Dyspraxia when I was a teenager, but saw no reason to seek professional diagnosis as I was doing OK, all things considered, and she didn't want to pathologise me.

I have had depression, and have Anxiety Disorder. Both of these things are accurate I believe. However, until I started to research Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Dyspraxia I did not understand why I had Anxiety Disorder.

An audiologist has diagnosed Auditory Processing Disorder, one Ed Psych identified me with "specific learning difficulties". A more recent psychiatric assessment has identified me as having "a number of autistic traits".

So I am not yet diagnosed as on the Autistic Spectrum, though I feel were I able to access assessment I would be diagnosed as having Asperger's. So I ticked "0" on your poll, as all of my diagnoses have thus far been accurate, and I am not yet diagnosed with AS.

Robin

I'm on the waiting list for an official diagnosis, but it seems to be taking forver.

It appears that my hypothesis is going to be falsified, if the word "several" in my hypothesis is taken as meaning more than 2 diagnoses to arrive at an Aspergers Syndrome (AS) diagnosis.

The option to vote for "0 diagnoses" was intended for the self-diagnosed to have a place to respond but their votes do not bear on the hypothesis. As of the moment there are 11, 8, 1,2, and 6 people responding to 1, 2, 3, 4, and "5 or more" diagnoses categories respectively. This means that those who got an AS diagnosis on the first or second time represent 68% of the respondants and those who required "several" diagnoses to arrive at AS represent only 32%.

Only if "2 or more" is used as the definition of "several" would the statistics shift to 39% and 61% but this is probably unfair to professionals who may be trying to decide between similar complex situations.

Tentatively I would say that an AS diagnosis is probably accurately being used to characterize a group of similar symptoms.
In fairness to the professionals involved in the cases with several diagnoses:
a.
There may indeed be multiple problems so that some or all of the other diagnoses are accurate
b.
The other diagnoses may be due to innacuracies or incompetent work
c.
Both a and b.


For those diagnosed with AS, two conclusions that should be considered are:
A.
-- A diagnosis of AS should be treated as a strong indication of where the problems lie.
B.
-- The rate of professional diagnoses of questionable value is so high that:
-- -- serious consideration needs to be given if any proposed treatments are likely to carry high risk of side effects or significant risk of sever side effects, and in those cases and independent diagnosis should be sought.
-- -- Similar precautions should be considered if the person is in a situation where an AS diagnosis may lead to social or legal consequences.

outlander,

I think your poll would be of greater value if it could differentiate the age of the voters.

Thank you for your observation I definitely agree, however, just as I anticipated, the sample size of those responding is quite small even without age grouping.

I think you have recognized the same thing I did. but I left it unstated. Given that it was only in the 1990's that AS became an officially recognized diagnosis, those getting diagnosed prior to that would likely respond differently from those diagnosed later.

Additionally; of those getting diagnosed later I expect that those diagnosed as adults would likely respond differently from those diagnosed as children.

The poll I put together is a "blunt instrument" at best, but it does perhaps shed some light on those who say that a diagnosis is worthless or that most people on this forum really don't have AS. If either of those were true, I believe the way the poll is shaping up would have likely been different. It does not really"PROVE" anything as it stands but I think its suggestion is strong and it lends support to the notion that an official diagnosis of AS is probably an indication of a certain set of symptoms that it is useful to call "Aspergers Syndrome".

Boy ! !! am I going to hear from the other side on this one now! So just to preempt their charges, let me suggest that they design a better poll and run it. Then we can compare the results and see where we go from there.

I was diagnosed for the first time in 1984. AS was unheard of (where I lived, at least) and you had to be nonverbal to be diagnosed with autism. I was actually referred for an autism diagnosis and the expert told my parents I didn't have it because I could talk. They diagnosed me with Attention Deficit Disorder - Predominantly Inattentive Type.

I recently read over the criteria for that diagnosis. I did not fit it. It was based on misunderstandings of observed behavior (they didn't bother to talk to me) and the need for a diagnosis. My parents really wanted to put a label on my differences so they could try to make me normal.

I have read that a lot of aspies my age were given the same diagnosis, and these were switched to AS in the 90s. However, in the 90s, I was not screened or tested for anything. I had a lot of problems, but I got punishment instead of help. I was diagnosed with AS only recently, but it fits with who I am and my history, while other diagnoses have not.