Went to see a doctor for a diagnosis

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I went Monday to see a psychiatrist for the first time and get a diagnosis. He did some basic testing (which from what he hinted at I more than likely will read as normal in the results) but that testing is to rule out severe cases and I'm not as severe as some. I mentioned that I'd been tested by one group and scored too high to get into their program and that one of the ladies from there on her way out had suggested I may have Asperger's. He had heard of it (very good as my regular doctor doesn't know much at all about it) and after all the testing was done and he was talking to my mom she mentioned my getting absorbed with a task and not listening when doing it or stopping to eat or bath or whatever and he said "that is Asperger's". So he said by the end of the week he'll call us and tell us how I did on the first tests and we'll set up an appointment for more testing.

I'm very happy about this as it seems to confirms that I may have Asperger's. Of course I may be wrong and the test may show otherwise but when the lady suggested it I'd never heard of the word before and went to the library and looked it up.

I do match a lot of the stuff on the lists I've seen though some are hard to understand and I was wondering if maybe I'd just brainwashed myself into thinking I maybe had it or something. I've had times when I couldn't tell memories from dreams I'd had (which is scary for me) I was glad someone else thought I might have Asperger's rather than just me thinking it as I'm I guess you could say very gullible or something similar I don't know the word for it but I don't like being that way.

All in all I'm very happy with how the doctor visit went and I hope that I can finally find out what's wrong with me. (I've been trying for the last three years at least, if I remember right, and stuff kept coming up that would slow everything down. Like the classic two steps forward three steps back or however the saying goes).

My mom's right I guess I do talk in parenthesis and I type how I talk. I wonder if that's an Aspie thing or just a me thing?

You can discuss that if you want or someone can make a new thread for it if it seems important enough.

Well at least they gave you a test

My mental health professionals won't even consider it and they are the only ones I can see on my insurance. Some other people have told me they think I have AS however. But I'm getting treated for Bipolar and also my therapist thinks I have ADHD, it's the ADHD I am wondering if it's really causing my problems.

I'm glad you're pleased; however, I don't understand the being happy about confirming a diagnosis. Without a diagnosis, you might have a handful of oddities that you can learn to overcome. With one, you can still potentially overcome some of your difficulties, but you will forever have an ASD. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that I can't see why anyone would be happy for a diagnosis.

i was very happy to have my sons diagnosis confirmed. happy, relieved, even overjoyed. the diagnosis meant we knew what was going on. it was no longer just a mysterious "difference" that came with all these behaviors we didnt understand or know how to work through. the diagnosis gave us answers, what could be causing the behaviors, how to avoid them, how to work through them when they did happen.

having the diagnosis doesnt change the person. they still have the "oddities", and they can still overcome them just as they could before the diagnosis. its just easier i think because you know why the oddities are there.

after our sons diagnosis, weve figured out his father has as too. he is not officially diagnosed, but we know its true. its up to him if he wants to pursue diagnosis but i will fully support him in that if he chooses it. even just understanding that he has as has explained a lot to him about his past and present. it was never even a vague notion that he had an asd, even after our sons diagnosis he didnt see it until i told him i suspected it. then it was like a light bulb went on, and it shined all over his life, from his difficulties in elementary school to his near panic attacks in social settings even now. suddenly all these things in his life that made no sense now make sense.

and speaking as a partner and mother, having the diagnosis for one and an explanation for the other has made huge changes in our life as a family. it has impacted how we handle discipline, social events, expectations, and daily functioning. it means more patience with our sons inability to potty train and inflexibility with various foods. it means understanding my SOs combative antagonistic behavior at the grocery store is his form of sensory overload and meltdown and not just him being a &%#&I^ jerk. the diagnosis is not always just for the person with as, its for those around them too.

Are you saying once one has a label, one's stuck with it, even if one improves?

Or are you you talking about the difference between having an autistic disorder, versus not having one?

If it's the latter, getting a diagnosis doesn't change anything. Any traits she can overcome, she can still overcome. Any traits she's stuck with, she was already stuck with before.

A proper diagnosis is a confirmation of what's going on, and something that can lead to tools for dealing with what's going on. I can see why someone would be pleased with a diagnosis that they feel is accurate.

I agree that a competent formal diagnosis is helpful - you are (of course) exactly the same person as you were without the diagnosis. But having a correct assessment of the cause of difficulties means that you don't get prescribed ineffective drugs (for depression, psychosis or other explanations for the same difficulties) and that you do get whatever appropriate help is available.

Self-diagnosis (apart from being totally unreliable) has no value in obtaining treatment and services.

Self diagnosis can have much value in finding helpful information. And has the advantage of not being black and white. As in, one can say "I have traits of X, and reading about X, I may find things that help me understand myself, even though everything won't fit."

I'm not of the view that professional diagnosis is necessary. But I do understand why someone would be pleased at getting one. Which is why I posted.

Also, you say you agree "that a competent formal diagnosis is helpful". I respect that you feel that way about diagnosis, but you aren't agreeing, because that isn't what I said.

SuperTrouper may have had an early diagnosis, in which case it can seem negative as you've confirmed different from early on, sometimes before you even know what it means (this could become an issue for your son) but if you've been living with it all your life, I'm sure it'd be a relief to finally know the reason you're different (your husband) and for parents it'd be a similar relief as you'd have been watching the differences and wonder why they're there.
So basically the important part is whether you were aware before the diagnosis, if so it can be a relief, if not, a life sentence.