Rant about people with "self-diagnosed" AS

Post Reply New Topic

oops...I f****d that up. by ED I meant Encyclopedia Dramatica

http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Aspergers

lol I don't think he's talking about executive dysfunction either.

also, the diagnosis for many of you was expensive? Well I never looked into the prices, but I Was diagnosed at 16 and I think Insurance covered a lot of the therapy. Hmmm.....

I got diagnosed with this at a counseling session.

I agree. People act like they want AS, like it'll make them feel more special or something. I get really pissed off when I hear of people who practically beg their doctors for a diagnosis. If the doctor doesn't think you have it, you don't have it. Then there are people who score "NT" on the aspie quiz, yet believe that either the quiz is wrong or they'll get a higher score later on. It's ridiculous.

Here in the UK it's fairly straightforward to be tested for AS and get a diagnosis. The problem is, the NHS might be free, but waiting lists are longer than an octogenarian hermit's beard, so some people might choose not to go through all the hassle, and be content with their own personal diagnosis.

My view is that, if you are over 90% sure you have AS, it's worth pushing for a diagnosis if you are financially able. Having an official diagnosis doesn't change what you are, but there is something about having an official record that somehow makes it more valid in everyone else's eyes.

Most people who are just geeky and socially inept, yet NT, probably wouldn't bother trying to get a diagnosis because they'd realise that Asperger's isn't just about social ineptness, after doing a bit of research. They can come here, take the Aspie quiz and post how difficult life is for them, but they will find it hard to be diagnosed with a Syndrome that they don't have. On the other hand, a good proportion of self-diagnosed Aspies have done their research. A self-diagnosis doesn't make the possibility that they have AS any less valid, but I would agree that it is better to get an official diagnosis, if possible.

hah hah! Love that Freudian slip....ED? There's prescriptions for that (Viagra?) - too funny. Ok, that's off-topic. Couldn't resist.

This criticism is why I present myself as not knowing whether I have it or not, even though I score high on the aspie test. I have never been diagnosed officially as far as I know. My mom said that one doctor and some other people thought I was autistic, but we sort of just dismissed that as offhand comments. We both thought this must be wrong because I didn't have the severe impairment of what I now understand is LFA, and we attributed my slight delay in certain areas to temporary deafness from and ear infection. Even if I am on the autistic spectrum I can't definitively say it's aspergers and maybe it really doesn't matter. I have still learned a lot here.

What about those of us who were diagnosed young, but who didn't get it put in writing, opting for a 'verbal diagnosis' instead? Got the diagnosis, went through the process, but decided against having it put in writing because of probable problems in the future with discrimination, insurance, work, etc? Because that's what I did - I didn't want it put down on paper because then that limits me in what I can do. I can survive with this syndrome without it being in writing, people only need to know if I decide they do, and incidently I have done jobs that I wouldn't have been able to have had I not decided on the 'verbal' diagnosis. I know I have it, the people who need to know I have it know I have it, I can go back and get the papers signed if I ever decide I want to, but the fact is I really don't see the point. I can survive without it being written on paper and have opportunities in my chosen field I wouldn't have if it was written down, so what's the point? If I ever need it written and signed I can do that, but I don't want to at this point in time. Again, those who need to know know, if anyone else ever needs to know I won't hesitate to tell them, but for now it's not an issue.

I hate the way certain people have such superiority complexes about it. There are some extremely valid reasons NOT to get an official diagnosis, and they certainly outweigh the need to get one purely so you can wave it over your head and say "Haha, I'm better than you FAKE aspies!"

My DX is like what you refer to LeKiwi, I was clear in letting the Psychiatrist that this was to be my business. So if anyone doesn't want to take my word that I have been DX'ed, I don't care what they think. The DX was to put my mind at ease, and for no other reason.

I'll be spending $3,000 to be evaluated later this year. I think that is about $4,500 to $5,000 with the current Euro exchange rate. Ouch. I can't go any cheaper because so few diagnosticians have experience with adults. I have to go to a major university's autism center. The wait time has been over ten months. It's not so easy.

Z

Interesting. My old school therapist doesn't like labels. He just says part of my brain doesn't work. If it makes you feel better, you can just call me "ret*d" instead of Aspie. Happy now? However, I get to call you a$$hole. Let me tell ya' somethin', sonny. I was fighting this battle probably whn your dad was still playing in the sandbox. I have the battle scars of being treated as potentially dangerous, watching people be afraid, ridiculing, trying to exclude me from school activities,scouts, etc. The Aspie label is actually shorthand to tell OTHERS what to expect. Or would you rather be labeled with the catch-all phrase "off in the head" with the assumption you're a danger to society?

However, I am getting an official diagnosis because I plan to sue and make an example of someone when they discriminate against me in the future.

Last edited by tailfins1959 on 04 May 2008, 6:30 pm, edited 3 times in total.

My diagnostician also asked if I wanted just a verbal diagnosis. I opted for a paper diagnosis, but only after making sure that I was the only one who would get a copy. I figured it might come in handy at some point, and as long as no insurance companies or employers have access- it's all good!

I think you're missing the point of the Syndrome and combining this misunderstanding with your own teenage instinct of superiority when you think you're right.

If you have Asperger Syndrome then you have it, and have had it all your life. It is a part of you. People could go their entire lives without a diagnosis or even knowledge about Asperger Syndrome and they still have it. If a tree falls in a forest and noone is around to hear, did the tree still fall?

You were diagnosed at age 6 and are now 16. Have a little sympathy for those that have 20 - 30 years of coping mechanisms ontop of their symptoms, who are now having doubts and even trouble getting diagnosed, because their symptoms are subtle and are easily confused with Depression, Social Anxiety, OCD, Depersonalisation etc.

You haven't replied in a while in this topic, so I'm assuming you've lost your opinion or your voracity for the topic. I hope you've gotten the point from other people's posts.

On a side note, for a 16 year old, you really should not be idolising Mayhem as a band. I'm a metalhead myself, and I know their history, and anyone who idolises what they have done I feel has a lot more problems than just AS. I truly hope it is only the music you appreciate.

Anyways, good luck, and I hope this topic has given you some perspective.

I did. It cost me money I didn't really have because the doctors basically laughed me out of the office. The NHS weren't helpful. It took me two tries to get my doctor to understand what I meant, and that was only after I presented her with an AQ paper that I'd gotten from A UK Autism charity. After this, although not convinced, she referred me to a psychiatrist, who refused to see me, and referred me to an Autism specialist, who ALSO refused to see me as I was "too old, and a diagnosis would not be beneficial". That's where the "help" ended and I was forced to go private.

So, do you see how difficult it is to get a diagnosis if you were unlucky enough to slip though the cracks as a child? You're lucky, you were diagnosed at 6, you don't know the difficulties associated with diagnosis, nor the costs, if the doctors aren't helpful. I'm not much older than you, being only 19, but when I was 6, Asperger's had only just come into the books and was barely heard of, especially in a remote village, where I lived.

My first school knew something was up, as I was taken for several tests there and my doctor told my mum I needed speech therapy, but back then, they had no label for me. Their knowledge of Autism was most likely limited to stereotypes of mute, handflapping, rocking children. I wasn't like that, so they could hardly label me Autistic. I did handflap, but not in public.



That is a very rude remark. I'm giving "real" Aspies a bad name for originally being a self diagnosed Aspie? Who says that a diagnosis will help with social skills, or any Aspie traits at all? I haven't really received much help at all since being diagnosed. In college I was granted a room of my own for tests, but there wasn't much else they could do. I'm still left to figure out how to make friends and how to socialise alone. People still treat me oddly. Even college tutors talk down to me.

I'm very tired of being judged and dismissed for being a self diagnosed Aspie (or was a self diagnosed Aspie). Just because I self diagnosed doesn't make me wrong, or attention seeking. It means I may not have the means to go for a diagnosis.



After reading this thread, and the article contained within: http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt38887.html, I'm beginning to regret going for a diagnosis. I can now see why many self diagnosed Aspies don't go for diagnoses. I've always wanted children (not yet, of course) but after reading how that mother's baby was taken from her PURELY for having Asperger's, I'm very worried about what the future holds for me if I wish to have children.

Ya. Anyone, in my opinion, that is self-diagonosed doesn't have AS for a fact that many of those with AS don't think there is anything wrong with them.
Me I swore nothing was different about me up until a solid diaognosis and I read some stuff on it.

What about the many people on this board who first self-diagnosed, and then were later officially diagnosed? Does that fact that they had the ability to recognize their impairment invalidate their official diagnosis? And if it does, then how do we know that any other official diagnosis is valid? Or did their brains magically rewire themselves in the psychologist's office? No AS- diagnosis- boom- AS!

You said you recognized the traits in yourself after reading up on it. Well, that is exactly what these people have done.