Why do they diagnonse/label us?

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Knowing the diagnosis topic

If a diagnosis is warranted, it should be a means, not an end in itself. It should be a tool for further research and understanding to benefit the diagnosee.

I recommend official diagnosis only if such is required to obtain services. The services available depends upon the area you live in. If you are seeking a diagnosis for your own [/B]personal information,[/B] then I recommend that the diagnosis be kept off the record so to speak.

Well, I'm sure glad my 11 year old son has a diagnosis. Being official on the autistic spectrum means that, by law, the school is required to teach him in a way that is appropriate for him. I just had a two hour meeting with a team of educators to work out a plan to help him adjust to middle school, and to make sure the teachers know how his mind works, and what kind of accomodations he needs. They are required by law to follow the plan. If he didn't have the diagnosis, the teachers would just say, "Well he's obviously bright, but he's not applying himself. He must be lazy. He needs to shape up and stop acting weird." With the diagnosis, he has rights. The school cannot legally say, "Oh gee, we don't feel like giving him special services in order to give him an appropriate education. It's too expensive and too much work." They'll try, but it's against the law. Without a diagnosis, they don't have to do diddly-squat.

His diagnosis is confidential, so it's not like suddenly he's "labeled". The other kids already know he's a bit different, because he IS. He leaves the regular classroom in the afternoon to go to a room where he and a few other kids work on social skills and executive functioning skills, but the kids in the regular classroom don't know what he does. In fact, his special ed teacher, in that classroom, just helped him make his very first phone call, which he was terrified to do. She helped him order Chinese food from a restaurant, and they had delicious lemon chicken and fried rice for lunch while all the other kids had to sit in the cafeteria and have mystery meat. Without a diagnosis, he wouldn't get any of that. His self-esteem took a big leap up after he successfully made that phone call, which I never would have been able to help him with.

I've never been labeled because people are too oblivious to the fact that I actually do have AS. However, I think a label would spare me from the annoying questions I get asked just about everyday that obviously attribute to my AS.

Including but not limited to:

Why are you so quiet?
Why are you talking to yourself?
Why are you flapping your hands like that?
Why are you walking/running so funny?
Why do you keep your head down?
Why do you never smile?
Why are you pacing around like an idiot?

Easier on the both of us for them...instead of asking questions to get the damn hint and realize "oh she's just autistic" and leave me alone. That would be a god-send to me.

But everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

As for the insurance question. It's probably because alot of these organizations still do not recognize As or still have doubts about AS should be recognize. It's hard given that we have to be the ones to tell these people exactly what our needs are and communicating our weaknesses just happen to be our greatest weakness. I guess this explains why my college rejected my application for disability benefits, because I couldn't figure out how to express my needs.

I wish I was never diagnosed.
Its just given me a label. Kind of like a curse, that I cannot get rid of.
If I ever do something notable in my life, instead of people being interested in me, they'd be like "OMG GUY WITH ASPERGERS MAKES AN AMAZInG MOVIE AND DEFIES ODDS".
I mean, as soon as I'm out of school, I'm getting all records of Aspergers gone, I will delete my account here, and tell my family and friends that know, that they should never speak of the curse again.

Or, they'll say, no surprise. He has Aspergers you know. But, the invention or art or creation will be rewarded for what it is seperate from the Aspergers. The output will be noted, as it always is, and the creator with Aspergers will be secondary. Your art, if it does become notable, will speak for itself, in its own right.

You don't have to show anyone this diagnosis or speak about it to anyone. That's fine too.

if you can fake it enough to hide it, good for you. I never knew I was AS and neither did anyone else, but they knew something was up.

Merle

I understand where you're coming from on that one.
My label wasn't helpful to me at all, it just made people more judgmental if anything. Perhaps if people had been more sensible and scientific about the whole thing, maybe my family and I would have accepted it.

Once you're assessed, in my experience, the records can be very hard to get rid of. These can do more harm than good.

That's why I kind of wish that people could have more of a say in whether or not they're assessed. When you're a little kid or a teenager, you often don't get a say in how people label you.

When you're an undiagnosed adult, you have that choice.




I find this whole idea of getting a diagnosis then hiding it away and forgetting about it very strange. Yet this is what I've been taught to do.

If people don't know what's "wrong" and because you're not allowed to speak about it, how can they help?

How are people meant to improve their situations if they can't let anyone know about their needs.

I do really question what the point of it is if there's nothing you can really do about it and no-one's really prepared to help and understand you at your level (in my country anyway).

Surely having a diagnosis of any kind should promote understanding, not condescension and unhelpful remarks?

It's funny, I'm really open about my physical short-sightedness issues and I get glasses and free check-ups to help. I do this and I don't get talked down to as though I'm an incapable, unintelligent person by opticians.

I also don't get:
"Oh you wear glasses poor you! C-a-n y-o-u s-e-e my h-a-n-d?"

They don't call me "four eyes" or say:
"You can't see that well can you really? What are those frames doing on your nose? You look really funny."

Or:
"What do you mean you're short-sighted? Stop labeling yourself. Of course all girls can see, everyone can see. Of course you're not short sighted, everyone has trouble seeing into the distance, including me. The myth of short-sightedness was invented so that opticians could make money and exploit gullible people."

Or:
"Pretend you can see and forget about it. No one will notice if you make the odd mistake copying from the board."

Or:
If you squint really hard, maybe that will help. How does squinting make you feel? Do you enjoy squinting? Write down your feelings on what it's like to squint. How do your headaches make you feel?"

Yet I had similar comments and "help" with AS.
Perhaps if I'd been treated differently, my attitudes would be different.

humanity has a drive to discover and understand things... this is the under laying reason for most things. we lable so we think we have an understanding of that thing. a lable is a name and names have power.

the unknown is humanitys greatest fear and it drives everything.

Except for the movie part, people were sometimes like that with me before I had a label (e.g., "I will tell students of your story and getting a degree despite [xyz]" They had no idea that without much innate ability I wouldn't have made it). My differences were obvious to most of them even during the times they weren't to me. I'm not sure which is worse: the difficulties being apparent (and having to deal with the issues that result from not "passing") or the difficulties being invisible (so that few or no accommodations are made.)

aspieguy101, I did not mind obtaining the diagnosis as, it helped me to better understand why, I had been floundering all these years both occupational and social yet, as far as the ideal of a label? Well, I'll state that as long as there are some amazing anomalies out there AS, being one of many the notions of "labels" will continue to reside.. The one thing I don't have any respect of is having other people tend to view you as being sub-human or something along those guidelines, after all everyone on the entire spectrum is not the same for, there might be people whom do exceedingly with given his/her case scenario whereas, others find it more difficult therefore, my own feeling on this is, that people in general don't start to look at Autistic people as being some of a liability in society...


ProfessorX

This is so good!! ! I get these reactions from the few people I've confided in.

Agree w/this pov.

Doctors and psychologists/social workers are generally both arrogant and delusional in regards to--thinking they know far more than they do; as such they are harmful. Psychiatrists, being top bananas in both medicine and mind, are the most dangerous of all. Due to being delusional about their intellectual capabilites, lacking in humility and balanced perspective, unable to appreciate the true nature of a healer [Hippocratic Oath is First Do No Harm], they aren't reticent in the use of restrictive labels, absolutely horrible drugs [potentially debilitating/incapacitating/grossly disfiguring and/or fatal side effects] and invasive therapies. And too quick to ruin lives.

They are way too anxious to assume their clients have mental health issues, when it is perhaps equally likely-- they are the ones with the issues. Reference Robert Mendelsohn's "Confessions of a Medical Heretic". [At time of writing, Mendelsohn was an insider, a popular and well respected MD.] In the book, Dr. Mendelsohn claims doctors are the most dangerously ignorant category of people in the world. IMO social workers are dumber, and just as dangerous.

It is terribly naive to foolishly trust...as well as to underestimate how safety and survival in our world today--are fundamentally contingent upon this prerequisite understanding: Mental health labels are techniques of social control and hierarchical assessment. Who are the individuals most valued, useful and productive?----Guaranteed it is not the ones labeled with a psychiatric disorder. Such labels are at best a mark of inferiority and at worst a liability. What kind of liability?, you might ask. A very real liability for having the quality of one's life forcibly reduced and one's physical/mental health utterly destroyed. It is suggested we thoroughly train ourselves to understand the invasive role of corporate greed and privatization in terms of coercively and legally damaging health and well-being of the global citizenry.

The monster in the room that too few intuitively protect themselves from--90% of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors and therapists are a great deal more hurtful than helpful**. ..With a diagnosis, you are more at risk, more vulnerable to the idiots running the mental health system/drama.

_______

**It needs be said, however, that the remaining 10% are often outstanding professionals with high levels of personal integrity, common sense, moral conscience and true ability to provide assistance to those in need of their services.

I've encountered my share of ignorant therapists (and one was particularly damaging). I think it's widespread in the mental health profession. Even when they have good intentions, the lack of knowledge can be harmful. For years, my difficulties were misdiagnosed as simply social anxiety disorder or neurosis. So, it's probably the case that those already in the system who are wrongly diagnosed and actually have undiagnosed AS would benefit from having the correct label.

If I hadn't required services or accommodations, I would have been very wary about getting an official label. On the one hand it provides a useful explanation for your difficulties, so that they are not blamed on character flaws; but on the other hand, it largely depends on luck how others will treat and view you due to having such a label. They will likely make false assumptions about your abilities and even your personhood. There is little knowledge of AS amongst professionals and few services anyway (particularly as an adult), and the only assistance I've received due to diagnosis has been from someone not specifically qualified in AS. Specific services and expertise don't exist in my area.

Interesting, brings the "Labeling Theory" to mind (Scheff, 1966).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labeling_theory

If someone is treated as "deviant" by professionals then the theory predicts that this expected behaviour will become a self fulfilling prophesy. The person will may adjust their behaviours more to fit the criteria. This behavioural reinforcement cycles round and round.

That's been my experience.

Once one is labeled as "deviant", then many people will come to expect that deviance and ignore any positive individual characteristics of the labeled person.

Society at large will just see the label and not the person (if the label has to be disclosed).

That said, there are genuine people who want to help others with their difficulties.
In my experience, the vast majority of these helpful people are opposed to the idea of labeling for the reasons stated above.