Is self diagnosis good enough?

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I am a 17 year old male and I believe that I might have autism. After being tipped off from rdos Aspire quiz I began reading as much as I could find on the subject and from that I drew the conclusion that I might have Asperger's. My problem is that I'm afraid that if I tell someone that they will just shout it down and call me paranoid or get scared. I doubt that I have the money to spend on the tests and I don't know where else to turn.

While a self-diagnosis might be good for some people's peace-of-mind, it already seems to have caused you unnecessary anxiety. Telling anyone else that you have AS, even with a real diagnosis, is not always a good idea, for the reasons you cited. A real diagnosis is the only kind that is "good enough" for obtaining government benefits and reasonable accommodations from universities and employers.

If you can wait a couple of years - that is, if your condition is no debilitating - you may be able to receive a free or low-cost diagnosis through whichever university you attend.

Keep in mind that an official diagnosis usually involves a questionnaire or an interview that must, by necessity, involve your parents.

I have always believed that self diagnosis is the very FIRST step... I have pissed people off by stating "self diagnosis is no diagnosis at all."

I wrote about how to proceed from here...

http://www.savagelightstudios.com/warpedlens/?p=62

Well, if you don't need help due to the impairments of autism, there's really no point in being diagnosed at all, nor would it be fruitful to bother with "self-diagnosis".

I would agree with many of the above responses and also add that it really is a personal choice about whether to proceed with a professional diagnosis. Many individuals aren't able to get one due to financial reasons or self-diagnosis (with research and self-evaluation) is good enough for them. However, if you do need to have benefits or assistance, then a professional diagnosis would be the way to go. I don't require any assistance (even though I am classified in my prof dx as level 1 (requiring support) and simply sought the diagnosis because I needed to hear from someone who had actually worked with and known individuals on the spectrum to tell me if what I thought was true (affirmation by a professional). It was a relief to know that it wasn't "all in my head" or that I was making it all up. It was what I needed at that point in my life. However, like I said it will be a personal choice and if you are confident in yourself enough to know that you have done the research and don't need someone else to confirm it, then a self-dx would be okay. There is no rule or law to say that you absolutely have to have one but be warned that many won't take you as legitimate or will write you off, without a prof dx.

Not once you're a legal adult. It's standard procedure in most cases, but not an absolute requirement.

If your coping skills are good enough that you don't need any assistance surviving (for the time being at least), then there's no rush to make it official. If you're still in school, you might try asking a guidance counselor (or a staff psychologist, if they have one) if they could refer you for an evaluation - that however, would involve your family at some point.

The reason they want to speak with the family is to get the perspective of you, when you were younger so they have a fuller/complete picture of you throughout your life. When I went in to get mine, both of my parents are deceased so I ended up taking in my paperwork from the caseworkers from when I was under the state's care as a child as a substitute for my parents.
And yes, once you are a certain age and don't really need a diagnosis to get accommodations, then it's more of just a personal knowing or confirmation that you aren't alone or weird- which is also a perfectly legitimate reason to get a diagnosis. It's not just about what the function it serves for others (your employer, your doctor)- it's also about the function it serves you (the knowledge that you aren't weird or a freak or just "socially awkward.")

I go with self diagnosis all the way. Professionals have diagnosed me with EIGHT different and serious mental disorders over the years, and some of them are even mutually exclusive. Therefore I have decided that professionals are possibly crazy or don't have a clue what they're doing.

I would agree that if you are going to get professionally diagnosed do it while you are still young before you graduate university. Many clinicians knowledge of adult autism is non existent or extremely outdated. Insurance generally does not cover it so professional diagnosis for adults is often unavailable, unaffordable, or incorrect. Hopefully this changes when you are an adult but why count on that?

Molly's experience is not uncommon.

...good enough for what? It depends on what your goals are.

What are your symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? we don't use assburgers around and here anymore it has been buried.

Where is "here?" Vancouver?

However you arrive at the realisation that you are on the spectrum, the next phase of sense-making is a very important one:

"Sensemaking has a few key steps, most of which I found happening naturally as I processed my newfound identity.

The Sensemaking Process

Shift in identity – identification as aspie/autistic
Retrospection – looking back at key life events in the context of this new identity
Building narrative accounts – retelling the story of your life in light of AS/autism
Sharing your narratives – strengthening and preserving your stories by sharing them with others
Reflecting – the ongoing process of receiving feedback on your stories and reshaping them as your understanding of your narrative changes
Each person’s sensemaking narrative is unique.
Mine takes several forms: thought, speech and especially writing. Right now, my blog–including your comments and my replies–is the cornerstone of my sensemaking narrative".

- from musingofanaspie website

Everywhere duh.

SIDWULF,

Here is a sort list of symptoms that I experience.

-Trouble remembering people's names and faces, people all kind of look the same to me
-Extremely bothered by change, things like temperature, humidity, peoples personalities, etc.
-Rituals that I must follow at certain times in a certain order.
-Extremely shy and quiet around people I don't know well
-Avoid eye contact like the plague
-Uncomfortable with a lot of touching.
-Obsessed with detail
-Encyclopedic knowledge of subjects that tickle my fancy
-Sensory overloads
-Compulsive ticks, I can't rest easy knowing that a cabinet is open or the television isn't hooked up to get the best picture possible.
-I pace for hours and hours.
-Monotoned voice

"Here" does not mean "everywhere."