How do you say you have AS without a diagnosis?

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You have Asperger's and it causes you problems, yet for whatever reason you don't have an official diagnosis...

How do you show you have Asperger's without that official diagnosis?

Say for example when claiming disability benefits, explaining your 'disability' to employers or medial staff, or perhaps in a situation where you've had to take someone to court for prejudice towards you based on your disability. Right now I'm considering claiming disability benefits again, but without an official diagnosis for Asperger's I'm not sure how to go about it - last time I stated 'social anxiety disorder' although this time I'd have to say Asperger's to explain my problems, but without that official diagnosis why/how would they believe me?

they might belive you but you porabably should get diagnosed or not cause problems.

for anything involving the law, you probably need an official medical diagnosis.

Socially, when this information is needed, I simply state that my niece has been diagnosed HFA, when I was her age, I wasn't doing much better, and some things are still difficult for me.

I'm currently unemployed, and my trade is Network Administrator. Many in my field basically go freelance when unemployed, doing computer repair and consulting work. I find it difficult to even contemplate doing this because I don't have any scripts for those situations.

Just curious, BloodHeart. You're self-diagnosed, and that's fine. What symptoms of AS do you have which makes you say you're AS? And what problems does it cause?

I'm in the same situation. It's either say something, or say nothing and be forced into doing things I can't (not won't) do.

By getting an official diagnosis . Since everything you mentioned involves the government or the courts, they aren't going to do anything based purely on your word, you have to have physical documentation or evidence to back everything you say up. As I understand it, for disability you have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you are physically or mentally unable to hold any (keyword: any) potential job. As for prejudice lawsuits, if you have proof that someone has disenfranchised you due to a perceived difference, then by all means take it up with a court. But that said, there needs to be conclusive proof, not simply circumstantial, and this is often a pretty hard thing to prove.

As a side note, I'm far from an expert on disability benefits or the justice system so don't take my statements as cold, hard facts.

I'm applying for disability as well. I'm officially diagnosed with depression, social anxiety disorder, auditory processing disorder and I'm mentioning how I'm in the process of getting diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I'm going to explain some of my symptoms of Asperger's and how it affects my life. This is my first time applying for disability. I have some old psychological reports from when I was a child as additional documentation.

It tells me on the last part of the form to fill out what my problems are on the paper. Do you think it would be okay to type it, because first of all my penmanship is horrible and second of all I might need more room? Also, I was wondering how much on average do people get paid disability in the states just out of curiosity?

I'm going to be claiming ESA in the UK - for anyone with a disability, not just for those completely unable to work - the point is that there has to be some way of doing this, whether you have a diagnosis or not doesn't change the fact you're autistic so face certain problems. Given as it can take years to get a diagnosis (I originally went to my GP for assessment two years ago, I'm now back at square one again with no clear path to diagnosis being offered yet), they can't rely on diagnosis alone.

Last edited by Bloodheart on 27 Apr 2012, 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I use my official diagnosis which is anxiety, depression and social anxiety, although I suspect the possibility of Aspergers.

Either way, I was awarded the disability because I cannot cope with social interaction.

I doubt I will pursue a diagnosis of Aspergers though, for several reasons:

1 Most of my family is now deceased and although I had issues as a child, when I went through psyche testing at age 13 in 1988 all the tests concluded was that my moral and intellectual development were advanced for my age (beyond my years...which might explain why I preferred to socialise with children who were older than myself and adults rather than my peers) and that I was emotionally immature, too idealistic and over sensitive! They then sent me on my merry way without any real help even though I mentioned multiple times that I was having trouble mixing with people. My parents etc are also not alive to come to any appointments with me so that they can describe me as a child.

2 People talk to me as though I am backwards as it is, which is rather frustrating as academically I am a straight A student. Most of my problems are related to interacting with people and socialising but I don't have any learning disabilities outside of that at all. In fact I have always learned at a faster rate than average rather than a slower one. Even as a young child I was enrolled at school early. My parents took me for an interview for a school so that they could put me on the waiting list for when I reached school age but the school was apparently so impressed with me that they decided I was ready to begin my education straight away and so started me as soon as they possibly could. I also have no problems with following or understanding instructions, doing household chores when I feel well enough etc.

My main problems are mostly social, as mentioned above, and include difficulty finding and maintaining friendships, difficulty with social chit chat (my god its boring and I cannot learn anything from most people I talk to as they seem to just keep telling me the obvious all the time....I'd rather sit an exam than chit chat, at least the exam is fun, makes me think and enhances my learning and education!! !! !! !! !), being a bit too introverted for an extroverted world, a preference for working alone as I think best that way (I can also let my ideas fly free whereas when I am working in a group I have great difficulty getting the rest of the group to understand my lines of thinking. I usually get met with blank faces and a "we don't see how that relates" reply which frustrates me as what I am trying to say is really not that complicated! For that reason I am also a higher grade average when I work alone than I am when I work in a group...I generally have to go along with their ideas and so end up with their grade average rather than my own...bah humbug).

I also have sensitivities that add to my misery in social situations as well (too many people talking at once sounds like a cacophony in my head, bright lights hurt my eyes and so on).

Anyway, what I don't want to do is to encourage people to talk to me like I am a 5 year old with a below average IQ...

3 I don't think it will help with my career choices.

I am trying to get myself feeling well enough to return to work so I can drop all my diagnoses as it is. Mostly I am being held back by on going flu like symptoms and fatigue at the moment. Once I sort that out I will just have to learn to pretend to be more social than I really am I guess...Fake till you make it as they say.

Yup. When it comes to disability benefits, you need that little sheet that says "[insert DSM/ICD classification number here] Asperger Disorder" followed by a sloppy, unreadable signature. Often the letters "MD" will be at the end of the line.

I have a problem even really admitting that I have AS bc I don't have an official diagnosis. I feel like Im not being honest. That's a big reason why I will be seeking a diagnosis next month. I have mixed feelings though, because I don't feel like anything is wrong with me other than Im not good at the social stuff.

About two years ago my employer was demanding that we accept continual short-term changes to our schedules, so that you would be scheduled to work , for example, on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning and Thursday evening, then Friday. When you turned up on Monday the times would have been totally changed to Wednesday all day, Thursday all day and Friday morning, for instance. By the time Wednesday came round it had all been changed again or they had taken away five hours here or added two hours there. This went on for months due to having a lot of customers. For the other employees it was a real nuisance, but I couldn't do it at all. I was always giving excuses why I couldn't change at such short notice. In the end I was confronted by my boss but I literally "stood my ground". I just stood there like a pillar and refused, regardless of the threats and blaming words I was getting. It would have been nice to be able to say that I have a psychological condition which makes such short-term changes impossible. Now I have a reputation for obstinacy, unhelpfulness and inflexibility, It would have helped to be able to explain why I was less flexible than the others.

I'm from the UK too and am in the middle of reapplying for DLA. Due to having no diagnosis, (I have a load of undiagnosed stuff, including ASD) I've found it impossible to get my problems recognised by DWP. )DWP administer the benefits and their "decision makers" (who aren't medical trained) have the final as to whether you get benefits) It seems as though you do need a diagnosis to be taken seriously. Even then, they make up their own mind about whether you really have problems.

It only makes sense to need an official diagnosis for something you're trying to claim disability for- If all you had to do is fill out the papers yourself and list a bunch of reasons as to why you can or can't do this, or list the things you've self diagnosed, ANYONE could apply for disabilities, and it would be much easier to commit fraud and abuse the system. They make it so difficult because the people who truly need it would end up being hurt the most by the people who just want easy money. I would think the only way around it is to have a doctor put in writing that he/ she strongly expects you have ASD and that you've been referred for an assessment, which can take (insert normal waiting time) to obtain. Even then it might not work, because they might feel if you get disability and then don't get diagnosed with it, they've wasted money (which isn't always true, but they still feel like it.)


If I were to not need an official diagnosis for a disability, I could very easily go look up a list of symptoms or whatever you'd like to call them for some disorder or mental illness, list those things, and examples of them even if they never actually happened. They'd have absolutely no way to prove me wrong unless they asked for the name and contact number of the person in said situations and contacted them, asking if it were true.. Then all I'd have to do is put down my friends as "the co-worker I couldn't get along with for said reason in said example" and if they could vouch that it actually happened... The disability people can't claim it didn't, I'd get accepted, and I'd be getting money that I don't need, simply because I don't want to work.


Officially I have several things that I could get on disability for, I'm in the process of it right now, apparently as a general rule, they deny everyone the first time in Canada, and that helps weed out people who have a disability but it's not to the point where they really can't work. You appeal and a lot of the time you get accepted if you have the medical documentation to back you up

Does that make sense? (I've been told this sounds rude when I've said it before, but I'm honestly trying to figure out if I'm saying something that makes sense outside of my own head)


If you've been accepted for social anxiety disorder before, why can't you just go that route again?

I feel the same as you, although I definitely have other problems besides social. Actually I'm alright socially- in a shallow way- but I don't feel connected to anyone and have never had a relationship. If I were living in the US again I would definitely seek a diagnosis.

I've recently been undiagnosed. My social worker has Asperger's on my treatment plan, but that's only because of my claims. The shrink says he doesn't understand Asperger's but that if I have it, it's mild. (Can one believe the science behind that statement.) Meanwhile I am appealling for SSI/SSD. If I wasn't nuts before I am becoming so very quickly.

Note, I am searching for diagnosis and treatment for my depression as it is related to my Asperger's.