Can a diagnosis of AS hold you back?

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I finally got around to taking the standardized test for adult AS, and I will be discussing the results with my therapist tomorrow. I have not been officially diagnosed yet, but she does think I have a very high-functioning, mild version of Asperger's. There are more than enough telltale signs of it, particularly in my childhood. I have been thinking a lot lately about the potential advantages and/or disadvantages of being diagnosed and having it on my record, and I'm hoping you all can give me a clear picture of how it works.

I am told that there may be help available in the form of things such as disability, career services, and other potentially valuable opportunities. However, I want to know concretely about any possible drawbacks before I have anything irreversibly put in my medical records. Being diagnosed with anything is undeniably a just cause of serious concern these days. It is scary to think of the potential for a diagnosis to throw a monkey wrench into things like insurance matters, potential jobs, any situation where medical records can or must be acquired, remaining discrete for personal reasons, and I don't know what else.

Any information you can offer me about what an official diagnosis can do for me and any possible dangers would be greatly appreciated!

Interesting, I'm discussing my results tomorrow as well!

A diagnosis will bar you from military service. If you have kids and get a divorce, it'll make it harder to keep custody of your kids. The police reject Aspies on the grounds that they're "unstable."

There is no help available for adults.

I've read that in the UK, you aren't allowed to adopt if you have an autism diagnoses. I have read three cases from the UK that your baby gets taken from you if you have AS. It's happened to three people there so I wonder if that's what they do to everyone there who has it. I suppose that's why people go for a private diagnoses there and I read jobs are hard to get with a diagnoses. Maybe that's why 12% are only employed?

So it can hold you back, it even keeps you out of the military too.

The main areas I know it can hold you back is when it comes to people making judgements about you b/c of your disability and not being permitted to enter the military (no idea about other job limits, but their are plenty of disability related laws to protect us when it comes to employment).

We do? That's first I've heard of it.
Do you have any links?

We do? They are? That's the first I've heard of those too.
A person's medical records are confidential, and a potential employer has absolutely no right of access to them.

In my own case, I weighed the advantages versus disadvantages. Quite frankly there were ZERO advantages to it but several potential disadvantages esp with insurance here in the US. I had my PsyD keep my official DX as GAD.

Really?!?! That's scary! Does this really happen to people with AS who are really good parents?!?!

It's certainly the case that you're unable to join the British military if you have an AS diagnosis.

It was said over at AFF by Amy or Gareth, I don't remember who said it. It was a while ago and it be too much of a hassle to go looking for that post because I don't remember what thread it was in.

Here are some of the links though about a baby may be taken from mother who has AS.

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt38887.html

and another:

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthr ... 650&page=1

This is the first i've heard of most of these things. I have AS friends in the military, it's also illegal for an employer to not hire you because of Asperger's.

She must have had something else wrong, because that is one of the most stupidest things I've read in my life.

On a side note: support for adult aspies is very poor if you are high-functioning. Career services doesn't always know what to do with aspies whose problems in the workforce aren't always observable right away. Heck, they weren't helpful for my non-AS disability because I was atypical (young peopple aree pretty rare to go through such things, most of the people in the programs I attended were disabled later in life and had already had a career). A diagnosis is good if you are going to be seeking accomodations in the workplace, but that has its cons too. I was offered socal skills training (at a price of course) but I didn't because the therapist who diagnosed me was changing practices (and wouldn't be under the insurance plan anymore) and she was the only one with a specialty in ASDs in that practice.

Hmm - lots of outraged comments on that WP link, based only on what the article says, but the last I think is the most accurate:Certain sections of the UK media love a good scare story and many related details and truths get dumped in the haste to make one.

Although children can be taken immediately on an "at risk" basis, there has to be hard evidence to justify this and to "make it stick" (single unemployed mother on drugs, abuse etc) and AS on its own simply wouldn't cut it.

Unfortunately I couldn't find anything reporting what actually happened as a result of the court case - which probably means "nothing at all; the case got thrown out and the baby was returned".
Newspapers here don't generally report positive outcomes unless it involves a rescued donkey/rollerskating duck or something

Exactly.

True, but most people don't reveal that in an interview, they just come off as awkward. In addition it is really hard to prove you were not hired for any reason that is ilegal.

I remember reading aq news story that took place in the UK a few years ago about a family who decided that their daughter who has AS should have her baby taken away, because they thought that she would be too unstable to take care of it. I'm lucky that I live in Canada. I can't imagine not being able to adopt a child, due to a minor label on a piece of paper.