Whats the advantage of a diagnosis?

Post Reply New Topic

Hi, I'm a college senior considering finally getting tested for Aspergers. I'm almost sure I have it, but have never been formally diagnosed. The one thing holding me back is the cost. It's $200 just for a 1 hour consultation with no testing. That just seems exorbitant. I only have $4000 to my name. What's the advantage of getting tested?

I suppose that depends on the extent of the difficulties you are having in life. If you have great difficulties and are stuck in a cycle of blaming yourself for them then having a diagnosis might be very beneficial. If, overall, you are coping and living an enjoyable, fulfilling life then, compared to the other position, having a diagnosis might not be very relevant or have much effect on your life. In fact if that is the case you might struggle to be diagnosed unless you had manifest problems for a lot of the rest of your life. It could be useful in that employers are usually required to at least try to make accommodations for any disabilities which you may have. So if you think you might struggle at work after finishing college then a diagnosis might be very beneficial. In my country (the UK) if you have a disability you can mention it in your job application and they are required to interview you so if there is a similar provision in the US or in your state then that could be handy. Basically it comes down to can you cope without the additional help and understanding (understanding from others AND understanding of yourself) that having a diagnosis might lead to?

If you wanted any disability accommodations, you would need formal documentation.

If not, some people just find it to be a relief that their behaviors and issues have a name.

Unfortunately it seems some people when diagnosed take a turn for the worse coming to terms with it.

http://turtleisaverb.blogspot.com/2011/ ... nosis.html

That's the list I came up with last November.

That can just be a temporary stage for some people, though. After I was diagnosed, I felt a wave of negativity about being "broken", "defective", etc. But I have worked through that (well, still going on but much further along) to acceptance and also enjoying the positives, the strengths. Similarly, I think I have become more "Aspie" because I have given myself permission to express, rather than suppress, my natural behaviour, and also because I am exploring exactly what is natural for me, given that I have spent a lifetime of bottling up my natural responses in order to appear NT to myself and everyone else.

So if your diagnosis is about self-understanding and self-development, then you will change - and that is an ongoing, up-and-down sort of experience, with some negative patches. Finding your mature Aspie self, at ease with yourself in an NT world and coping well, can take time - especially if you are a very late diagnosis (I was mid-fifties).