Do Aspies generally accept the self-diagnosed?

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I don't have an official diagnosis, and I would like to know the general feelings of the AS community toward people who say they have AS, but are not officially diagnosed. I suppose it varies from person to person like anywhere else, but I thought there might be a general feeling about people like myself.

Depends radically on the reasons for claiming it, the attitude regarding it, and of course, the correlation of the diagnosis by those you've known since you were a child is a big thing as well.


There are apparently lots of people who try to use it as an excuse for just being awkward, or shy, or introverted. There are those who try to fit things to the diagnosis in an attempt to seem different, or to try to claim it makes them better at this or that, [insert misconception that all autistic people are rainman here].


If someone pops up, tries to attribute positive traits that they assume are related to Asperger's, while using it as an excuse for anything they dislike about their lives, and overlooks the requirement of specific autism spectrum developmental hindrances for the diagnosis... I'd expect them to be treated skeptically, to say the least.

I would agree with justMax. BESIDES, some "professionally" diagnosed people don't fit. I quote "professionally" because I NEVER trusted any psychiatrists or psychologists. In the US psychology is a degree SO MANY seem to have. It is like they just wanted to have a major, and decided on something simple. ALSO, they can usually NEVER be proven right and usually NEVER help. Other doctors, for example, may quickly solve a problem, and they know what it was. HEY, how many times was house and his staff proven wrong!? THEY kept going until the treatment WORKED! But the REAL nail in the coffin is that so many here were diagnosed because they had some symptom they were TOLD they had to have, and even some of THEM were told by others that that symptom meant they COULDN'T have it. And some of these are things CLEARLY shown in the DSM. THAT has helped them to figure they should change the description, rather than follow it. ALSO, the NEW DSM entry looks like it might exclude me, though the old one didn't. It may also exclude others that WERE "professionally" diagnosed.

One thing I REALLY hate is those trying to get diagnosed to say they CAN'T WORK, though they can, or to get out of jail! BTW I feel I have AS I CAN work, and I have not even cheated on a test, let alone any illegal thing, save slights such as speeding when it has been safe.

Still, I'm sure one reason why this site was created was to have people comfort and help one another. Even if I DON'T end up fitting the new DSM, my development was skewed, I have hyper/hypo sensitivities, strict needs, my social skills stink, etc...., so I am like some here and they would better understand me than even my MOTHER would. They haven't even figured me out at the airports yet.

I don't care for the self diagnosed but I do know they might not be a true aspie or even be on the spectrum because they self diagnosed and so many symptoms overlap. Sometimes it's obvious they have it so I think it's valid.

While opinions vary, the overriding factor here at WrongPlanet is the policy of the site's owner and management. My understanding is that all members who contribute in good faith are welcome, whether or not they have been "officially diagnosed". Since this policy is well-known, you should be able to assume that all those who participate here accept the presence of people who have not been officially diagnosed by the appropriate "professional". Otherwise those critics would be elsewhere, perhaps setting up their own forum with some sort of "purity test". Perhaps some have already done this, I don't know - nor do I care for the concept of diagnosing or undiagnosing others over the internet.

I don't think the term "self diagnosed" is all that accurate, since they haven't actually diagnosed themselves officially using all the procedures and things, so that would actually make them "self suspected". Yeah I do accept them here but I don't always think their predictions are accurate.
What does piss me off though is when people use it to get out of jail or be proved innocent, AS is no excuse for crimes.

Since finding someone fit to do a formal Dx is hard enough, never mind a way to pay for it, I'd say we have to be accepting of those who are self-diagnosed so long as there's no reason to question the legitimacy or sincerity of their claim.

I also think self-Dxed autistics should be accepted unless other conditions overrule AS.

It's notoriously difficult to get a diagnosis in adulthood - so I'd agree with the last couple of posters, unless there's a very good reason to think someone's making it up, I'd tend to accept people who are self-diagnosed.

In my experience with personal friends it's often the other way around - people who clearly do have both the childhood history and the adult difficulties of AS are too nervous to go for diagnosis in case it's all in their head. I think we need to be supportive. It can look a little bit like elitism otherwise.

I am kinda self-dx.

My son was formally diagnosed.
While going through counseling and reading up on AS, I saw these traits in myself.
During a session with my son's psych, she agreed with my DX.
While in couples counseling with my fiancée, the therapist agreed with my assessment.
Took an online test, it agreed.

I am considering counseling for myself to deal with some lingering effects from my divorce, maybe then I will be formally diagnosed, but really I could care less. I know who I am. I know my quirks and buttons. As I learn how to help my son lighten up, I am learning things myself. If that means accepting that I might be AS, then that works for me.

It's no badge of honor and really I am not looking for acceptance from a community. It does allow me to step outside of myself, see myself from the outside and maybe give myself a break.

Perhaps we should use the term "self-identified."

Denigrating Self-Diagnosed People Means Denigrating All of Us

To be absolutely clear: I was never officially diagnosed as having AS, nor do I claim to have it; I only suspect I have it, based on the diagnostic criteria in the DSM and some tests I've done on the net.

I really don't understand the elitist prejudice amongst a limited few of you against people such as myself, who don't have a piece of paper with a shrink's signature to wave about. Of course there are wannabes and pseudo-Aspies who try to use it as an excuse for bad behavior, or as a misguided explanation for everything that is wrong in their lives. There are downright bastards too, who do nothing but disrupt our discussions, just to vent their rage and frustration about things totally unrelated to AS or even to any other disorder. But, dear people, you're going to have such people on any site dedicated to a particular disorder. (Unless members are required to send physical documents to the moderators before admission, authenticating their identity and diagnosis.) This is the price you pay for being on the internet. I think the price is worth it. You have been extremely helpful and friendly in helping me discover things about myself that I didn't know before, and I would have been very sorry had I been denied this opportunity. Let's just forget the fakers and the unfriendly bastards and move on with all the decent and honest folk, who I believe to be a vast majority.

Sorry for this rant, but exclusionist behavior in cases where it cannot be properly justified just pisses me off.

I was dxed through one of my old schools (retrieved older documentation now for other purposes) but as for the self-dxed, it depends on whether they truly fit the criteria of the DSM or if they are simply a little shy and eccentric. Some claims are accurate and others simply aren't.

Another problem with official diagnosis is that these therapists are ready to believe whatever you tell them. I have watched my GF go in with her self-diagnosis and come out with meds and a diagnosis. I am over-anxious, OK take this. I have pre-menstrual mood disorder, OK take this. I am bipolar, OK, I'm not bipolar, OK.

Correct diagnosis depends on a certain amount of self-awareness. Were I to be formally diagnosed, it would be due to whatever I tell the doc. So, if I am convinced that I am AS, then it would be really easy to convince a doc.

You all can say, well you have to be honest in your assessment. I say, I already am.