Self diagnosis of Aspergers

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Just a quote from wikipedia, one that annoyed me.

"Unlike the Deaf culture, which recognizes and accepts many people who are hearing, the Autistic culture generally shuns neurotypical people (NTs), and the sentiment among the Autism rights movement generally considers people who have self-diagnosed to be part of a fad which considers Autism/Asperger's as a mere personality type."



Like grrrrr. I've seen some of this type of behaviour on this forum. As a person that is currently self diagnosed, it angers me that some would consider me and others as some kind of fad follower, someone that tries to identify with a group just to feel like they belong to something.

Let me tell you something now. I've recognised many of my own symptoms(or differences) for my entire life. I always knew that there was something different about me, but for years and years I've investigated different ideas to explain the difference, but to no avail. I've read about brain disorders in their dozens, syndromes, disorders, none fitted. Although I felt that I was different, I never felt that any described me. When I finally found aspergers, I had chills running up my spine. Finally something that fit 100%.


Oh yeh, my point My point is this: while self diagnosis can be very hit and miss with a lot of people, I believe that aspies are actually perfectly suited to making a self diagnosis. The ones that don't get diagnosed in childhood are likely to be the more socially capable ones. Despite the capableness though, and even if they can fool others, they won't be able to hide it from themselves. It's the nature of the beast that aspies will notice the difference at some point, and from that point onwards they'll spend their time reasoning and observing themselves. By the time they read something about aspergers, they've spent so much time looking at their own behaviour that the diagnosis just clicks. As happened to me.


So in my humble opinion, stop the elitism. Only a aspie would want to be a aspie.

WOW, I usually don't join fads and things I join usually don't become ones. OK, COMPUTERS was an exception, but I was thinking about that in 1971! That was before Bill gates, Before M/S, before the IBM PC, before apple, etc... I started really getting involved before M/S had anything substantial, and while IBM was still LAUGHING at the very SUGGESTION.

And HEY, I find most aspergers items to be following ME, not the other way around! I find a new symptom and am like WOW, That's ME!

WHO KNOWS! We may be at different levels, and have different causes, but Asperger could have EASILY been talking about ME!

Steve

you're in a fad now, you fashionable dude you.



btw, is this site being a b***h or is it my computer?

BTW I have watched "talk shows" geared towards the deaf! I have heard deaf business owners talk, etc.... Some are SO proud as to almost feel they are BETTER than anyone else, and do not consider ANYONE theri equal unless BORN deaf and having little assistance. They have SUED to prevent cochlear implants, etc.... At one deaf school, a person was elected president, and there was a massive protest! WHY???? Because she was not BORN deaf!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/06/colleg ... index.html

I understand their point of view, etc... To a degree, I respect it. My point is merely that they are not as accepting as some would have you believe.

This would be like aspergers people not accepting one not born with it.

Anyway, I am HAPPY about most of the "symptoms". Some are other peoples problems. Still others I have hidden. The one I can do without is the main one. Social ineptness. Why try to fit in with a group like that, when geniuses can have it all. The idea of following a fad makes no sense.

Steve

I gotta say, i agree with you completely. Go you.

This is just coming from my own experience and my own personality, but why, oh why would someone who wanted to badly to "fit in" and be "normal" ever want or seek out a diagnosis (whether official or self-diagnosis) that just proves that they are not and will not ever be "normal" or "fit in"?

I hate the Aspie traits that I have. I always wanted to be "normal" and no matter how hard I tried and how many people I may have fooled, I always knew that I never could be "normal". I struggle every day to accept myself and have since I was a child. Having self-diagnosed does not make this any easier, does not make me feel any bettter, and certainly doesn't make me feel superior to others.

The only thing it does help with is to understand that my daughter is an Aspie because I am and so is her father. It's genetics, plain and simple. We didn't do anyhting to cause it.

I'm self-dx'd too, and only recently at that. I'm a shoe in though, and don't see why anybody would want to make this stuff up. It seems like something where if it's you - you know. You just KNOW.

Jenny,

I don't know. MANY apparantly at least THOUGHT my father was smart. He WAS invited to mensa. He declined. It seems his only real interest outside of sports is bridge, but he apparantly does very well there. He goes to tournaments all over the world, and places high.

Then again, his entire family had this as a hobby.

When he got divorced, it took him about 30+ years to even have a good prospect for marriage. She is ALSO very interested in bridge(one guess as to WHERE they met, and what they do!)! WHO KNOWS.

BTW he constantly brags about me(Even others have said this even in private to me), and he says I am the smartest person he knows. FRANKLY, if I had a child I would encourage him/her to be SMARTER than I am. BTW my opinion of MYSELF has declined even as has the opinion I have of my father.

I WILL say his senses don't appear skewed like mine are, and there are a few other autistic symptoms I have that he doesn't appear to have. Who knows.

As for my mother? She seemed a LOT smarter earlier also.

Steve

It seems like there's an unusual accuracy of self-dx for those auties who go on to get the "official" ones.

I'm given the impression that some of the foremost experts and researchers believe the condition is still under-diagnosed.

I have seen some (but not a whole lot) of hostility on the boards towards the self-diagnosed and I'm not sure why. Unless a person is fraudulently trying to get disability (which a self-diagnosis would not suffice for) what is the gain is self-diagnosing with AS?

I have never been able to follow a fad or be part of a clique, it goes against everything I am.

AS can blur with other personality disorders like schizotypal, obsessive compulsive, borderline, some aspects of depersonalization disorder & antisocial, but if a person has the wherewithal to scan diagnostic criteria and identify himself in one especially, why should he not be given credence?

I know! Let's ask alex for our own forum, the self-diagnosed forum .

Just kidding.

If it IS underdiagnosed, that means if it weren't for self-diagnosis a lot of aspies out there would be left not knowing the reason for their suffering, which is a shame. I've always abhorred the hipness-factor in anything as well, it is an inherent part of my personality- but I think it would generally make the most sense to lighten up a bit.

I think part of the reason though some say it is a fad is the tendency that the more awareness there is the more people associate with the criteria without looking at the whole picture. For instance Bi-polar was kind of trendy a while ago simply because people were reducing it to moodiness and ignoring the critieria. Similarly some have tried referring to AS as the geek syndrome when in fact some people on the spectrum do not look like geeks at all and have learned as adults to blend in. And this should be something exhibited in some way from childhood - so that would actually not apply so much to other conditions.

Asperger's has made me rethink alot of the OCD stuff I was labeled with - although I do have some stereotypical OCD behaviors - alot of other stuff though is liking sameness and strict rule following. And the reason I do that is not to alleviate anxiety but because I just prefer it that way. Same with the dysthymia - before I knew about AS I guess someone could think that chronic depression was a good description because of my sparkling personality (lol). And the sensory issues I have were from when I was a baby. My son has been diagnosed with HFA also, so it really doesn't seem like to far a stretch of the imagination when I see the similarities also. However, so as far as not getting a formal diagnosis of AS it really serves no purpose for alot of adults so why should they bother.

One thing with trends though is that people get bored with them if it really doesn't apply and then they will go chasing after the next new dx if they are only doing it to seek attention.

I dunno why anyone would have a problem with people who are self-diagnosed.

Regardless of what people may think, being diagnosed with AS has no benefits right now.. theres no disability payments theres very little if any compensation given and nothing that would benefit an NT.

So why lie?

If your going to fake an illness at least make it something cool that will help you get some sympathy love from the opposite sex rather than something few have heard of and even fewer understand.

As someone else stated when its no longer fashionable they'll move on and we'll still be on the spectrum.. but at least we get to be cool for a while

I thought the same thing... if there were any pretenders they would eventually move on and grow bored, and identify with the next psychobabble fad. I remember a while ago it was fashionable to be considered ADHD as an adult and to be taking ritalin-- just as prozac was once fashionable. I think people who are attracted to the media-ized aspect of a disorder will eventually grow disenchanted and go to the next "thing."