Lived Self-Diagnosed, then Confirmed not to have AS

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I thought asperger's disorder WAS autism? So does it not exist anymore?

Asperger's is a type of autism. One can be autistic and not have Asperger's.

I don't know what you are replying to, but if you are referring, in your second sentence, to Asperger's not being in the upcoming revision of DSM, well, homosexuality was removed (way back now) from the DSM. That doesn't mean homosexuality doesn't exist. It means it doesn't exist as a disorder. So, I'm thinking, the removal of Asperger's as a distinct disorder from DSM fits with the idea that it's a difference, not a disorder.

So its no longer considered a disability, then? And if someone had severe aspergers, they will now be classified as autistic?

By who?

Personally, I've no idea what the perspective of the professionals is. And I really don't care. I'm suggesting one way that a person can choose to see it, one perspective one might have on it.

Last time i checked Aspergers was being removed as a separate diagnosis and will in the future just fit under ASD which will have different levels.

Asperger's has always been autism. It's on the autistic spectrum.

Not sure who you were directing this at, but if it was at me, I'm not complaining about not having it. It's just that I thought I did (and still have many characteristics) but apparently do not have it, since I could't get diagnosed 2 times I tried.

Honestly, I think I'm just a gifted person with anxiety issues, when it boils down to it. But I'm closer to an "Aspie" profile than the average NT profile. Make sense?

Don't be disappointed by not getting a diagnosis. With such a high score on Aspie-quiz, and not being diagnosable, you have the best of both worlds.

Remember, you can have all of the quirks, focused interests, visual thinking abilities, whatever people associate with Asperger's, without having it.

You can not be properly diagnosed as AS, or now ASD, without being developmentally impaired in the appropriate categories to a certain degree.


I'm not anxious around people, or shy, I'm more aloof than anything. A common phrase I use in public is a dismissive "these people don't count", because the opinions or whatever of anyone I am not directly interacting with is ultimately irrelevant to me.

I'm quite curious about them, and enjoy babbling at people, but I'm most definitely abnormal in the way I go about interacting with others, and I am most definitely baffled by the way other people interact with each other.

It's kinda like being in a world where everyone is a little telepathic, but you aren't, there's a lot of information which I know is being exchanged, but can not observer or decipher.

I have significant impairment in the social portions of my brain, I am blind to these things, yes I can see other things with amazingly crisp focus... but I would use those abilities if I had them.


You know how bats can echolocate, bees can see ultraviolet light, pigeons can detect magnetic fields?

NT's are like that from my perspective, there is a spectrum of data they can perceive which I can not. I am autistic in that sense, and many others to some degree. That one is my most obvious impairment though, and the one which I wish I had been able to get a diagnosis for earlier so I could have adapted to it better, rather than becoming bitter about it like I did for years.

You see things like "He also evaluated me and said he did not think I had AS, and that if I did have it, it was too mild and high functioning to be considered on the spectrum.". How can anyone really rule it out 100%. It is almost like court. They don't really rule them out as innocent, but as not guilty, etc... Juries make mistakes.

I, for example, seem very different from how I was, HECK, I didn't seem to be reacting to bad sounds last friday but, BELIEVE ME, I was in PAIN! Still, one might have looked and said No SPD. And I know I am not faking this stuff, and haven't somehow learned it, etc... because it was the case even when I was VERY young.

I haven't looked at the latest draft yet, but earlier statements seem to be setup to weed people like me out. The OLD DSM didn't. AND, though parts of the DSM seem to apply to me, autism seems to cover more and better.

And I doubt that one could look at the DSM and find that they fit so many things. A SERIOUS person would have to be HONEST with themselves. For example, one criteria might be always eating the same thing. Well, if a kid loves chocolate, and every store has the same chocolate cake, the kid may INSIST on always having that. That isn't any symptom, it is nature. It isn't even just human nature. Another might be sensitivity to noise. If someone SCREAMS into a PA system, it will hurt anyone, then again, the last time that happened to me(where he ACTUALLY YELLED, and I even saw the needle on the PA system pegged in the red!), I was the ONLY one running out of the convention center and people were trying to ask "WHY". He was an ex football coach, in a place built to convey a WHISPER, YELLING into a PA! YIKES! Things like THAT made me feel unusual. It wasn't that *I* ran out but that I seemed to be the ONLY one running out. And there were over a thousand people there, maybe several thousand. It was a big city, probably the biggest convention center there, it was on the marque in front, and he was FAMOUS in his industry. It was PACKED!

Still, it seems like "doctors" don't pay any attention to the DSM anyway. You will see people here that were told they don't have AS because they spoke late, or because they didn't speak late, If you knew NOTHING else, that right there says SOMEONE IS LYING! HECK, many have kids that CLEARLY fit CDD, some don't seem to fit autism AT ALL, and they say they have an autistic child, Some "doctors" seem to agree, even though the symptom for CDD is pretty clear and the name itself pretty much says it all.

And SOME people figure that, if they fit ONE requirement, and they like it, THAT is the one.

So is self diagnosis accurate? YES, if you're honest.

Many people who suspect they have AS do finally get it confirmed, what we don't know is how many think or claim to have it and then own up to being mistaken, so accuracy is difficult to tell.

Although I knew I had it, I denied it thinking it was a mistake or so mild as to not really counting even after a professional and full diagnosis. It is just so hard to come to terms with when you are older.

The signs and symptoms of AS like seeming quiet or having an interest that you are deeply absorbed in could apply to almost anyone depending on situation. Despite people disliking the idea of others trying to tell them what they do or do not have (and with good reason when terrible mistakes are made) is that there are less obvious signs to do with how the mind works that are not necessarily apparent online or just by trying to apply the criteria to what seems to fit. It has taken me several years to understand why the criteria fit me at a deeper level than just being able to tick what looks most obvious.

Some people believe that just because they are shy and feel uncomfortable around people that somehow they fit the pattern, actually many aspies are quite sociable and not shy at all just don't fully understand what is going on at surface level and intuitive levels and therefore are not always able to respond appropriately and in the right time frames. There is just so much more to autism than a few tick boxes that say it is so.

Keep in mind there are next to no service for getting a Dx in most part of the world. Even if you find someone qualified to do a proper Dx, the cost can make it prohibitive to pursue it.

I know that if I ever get a job with good benefits, one of the first things I'm going to do when the benefits kick in is to see about being checked and getting a Dx about AS/HFA.

My muddly thoughts on this, no real conclusion but things to consider:

I may be going through the same thing soon - I say I have AS sometimes, but sometimes I doubt it. I am to be assessed on Friday. I have decided that I'm mentally/neurologically strange (I have anxiety issues and many health people have suggested something is a bit weird neurologically with me and I agree with them), and hope that autistic people can accept me as a fellow mentally different person, who wants to enjoy something of the autistic way of life (enjoying things even if they're 'weird' or 'childish', being truthful, and not giving a **** about what others think of me), and show others the truth behind autism. Learning about autism has enriched my life, even if I don't have it. And now I know about neurodiversity and anti-cure and things like that, I will continue to support autistic people and try to inform others what autism is and inform them on the issues surrounding it. I don't believe I have to be autistic to want to support these things, and I hope autistic people can accept me as 'someone they have converted', for want of a better phrase. I also want to support people with other disabilities, it's just something that interests me.

Self-diagnosis is sometimes accurate. Some people get it right, some people get it wrong, and particularly with mental things like AS or mental health problems, there's no clear cut line. I sometimes think it doesn't matter - it's how you want to think of yourself. I met someone else once who said they thought they had AS as they read they have the symptoms it presents in girls (I never understand how it's different for girls, I am a girl) but it turned out they had OCD and not AS.

I don't know if anyone saw the Aspie guy who wrote for Ouch! but he seemed very, very high-functioning and was able to do many things I could not, so I don't know how relevant 'functioning' is, as many people were far more obviously different as children.

Indeed.

I do so well now you cannot tell apart from when I am naive and miss things about people that are obvious to an NT. I cannot see their intentions, though I am getting better at working it out logically after the event, better that than never getting it at all like when I was younger.

Hi BrooxBroox!

It is certainly possible to be misdiagnosed. As has already been pointed out, this is especially the case for women who tend express their autism/aspie traits slightly differently to men, and therefore don't always "match" with the typical clinical profile.

However, even accounting for underdiagnosis among women, by looking at your profile, especially the list of autistic traits you don't have, it seems pretty clear to me that you do not have AS.

You sound a lot like me! I have a truck load of Aspie traits, but I'm not on the spectrum. Are you an introvert? The experience of being introverted can be very similar to many aspects of having Asperger's. Both are prone to "internalising" disorders like anxiety and depression. I have anxiety, social awkwardness, sensory sensitivities, strong need for predictability etc.. Even though I do not have AS, because I have trouble with some of my Aspie-like traits, I use some of the strategies and therapies for people with AS to help deal with them.

So like makuranososhi said:



All the best with your studies! I study sociology (and autism), but if I could have my time over I'd study neuroscience, it's seems like a rather sexy profession!

Yes, I am an introvert. Also someone who always qualified for special "gifted and talented services" as a child due to my high IQ and abilities in science, reading, and art.

I also find strategies used for AS helpful, and even some strategies for people with more severe autism. For example, body socks and deep pressure help me. Those are typically therapies more associated with classic autism, but I'm sure many Aspies get it as well. Also, if I can go get on a swing, the repetitive movement greatly reduces my anxiety-- not sure of that's an autism-related trait or not.