Worth getting diagnosed?

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Hi,
Bit of a strange one this (maybe). I work offshore and the weather is very bad at the moment so I have been surfing the internet way too much (a dangerous occupation). In part of my quest to fill up my 12 hour shift i decided to look up aspergers as a friend's son has been diagnosed with it.

As i sat here reading through different web pages i was stunned by the way so much of what was being said sounded very familier. When i found this forum a quick scan of this section again brought out some familiar traits:-
the loyalty thread, the one about groups of friends or individual friends, drawing (i cant) and the one about living in your head

I dont fixate as much as when i was younger but i'm still fairly renound for my encyclopedic knowlege on certain things. I'm currently one of only 2 english speakers on a boat of 60 and i dont feel any more or less alone (or awkward) than i do when there are 60 people i could talk to. I just feel 'outside' as usual. This was the same at school although i was always described as "popular". One source i found described children giving up trying to make friends due to repeated rejections and failure, at which point i almost cried.

I've also come accross what are termed sensory overloads on the web but i'm not sure what these are. I was trying to help my son with his homework last week and my wife started talking, not to me and not to him but the noise seemed to completely de-rail my mind, i couldnt even really work out the highschool maths i was looking at although it had made perfect sense 2 seconds before. Noise pretty much does it for me every time. Is that a sensory overload?

Now i'm not expecting a diagnosis from you, but i do want to know if its worth going to my doc about. I'm 28, if i get diagnosed or not what exactly will change? I have just finished a degree (i went back to school) so i've missed all my chances for help with education and i dont think i need help at work.

So if you wouldnt mind can you let me have your thoughts on the following:

Does any of the above make sense or am i just a bored internet hypocondriac?
Is it worth seeing my GP?
What difference will it make?

Mike
(off to re-read this a half dozen times the same as i do with conversations)

Do you know how your health insurance company will discriminate against you if it turns out you have AS?

If you don't know the answer to that question, don't get diagnosed.

I live in the UK, my health insurance company is the government...

Worth bearing in mind though thanks

At the risk of further fuelling your suspicions, have you tried the online tests? They're not a diagnosis but will give you an idea of whether you're on the spectrum or not.

I'm in a similar position to you in that I suspect I'm mildly aspie but haven't been formally diagnosed. As I don't need help or medication and have managed so far to stay out of trouble, keep a roof over my head, and work, I'm doubting that a formal diagnosis will be of any great benefit and may just complicate things (such as life/mortgage insurance).

I'm always going to be a bit odd compared to most people and diagnosis won't change that, it'd be rather like stating the obvious

I think it is only worth getting official diagnosis if you start having problems with family, work, socially, emotionally.
The best help I have had is from this website, it helps me understand things and put things in perspective and makes me feel I have friends without the hardwork of face-to-face friendships, I can come and go as I please.
Sounds like a good aspie job you have anyway being in relative isolation for such long periods
I like the sound of signalman jobs with the railways, sat in a box all day waiting for trains to pass (trains also seem traditional aspie interest eg Thomas Tank engine with AS kids, though I really liked Ivor the Engine better, not such big faces and had a cool dragon)
I am from UK too, W.Yorks/Midlands, though living abroad now.
Good luck anyway and welcome to WP!

there are risks with getting diagnosis,especially for those whom are successful [eg,job,education etc] functioning NT-like enough already,in uk,aspergers is classed as a disability and that means with an official diagnosis would be automatically labelled with a disability-this can cause a regression in how people see the highest functioners when they are not really impaired but are different,can lead to discrimination in work,family,education and so on.
there are aspie parents whom have had threats of having their children taken into care just because of their aspergers,Amy and Gareth from AFF had a similar problem if am remember correctly.
it can be an issue with some insurance companies,and it has to be declared with the dvla.

if don't need support,accomodations at work/education,any more understanding from boss/family etc,then it's probably not worth the risk and effort,there are a few good tests online [as mentioned by Macallan in thread]-try this one: http://www.rdos.net/eng/
if going to go back into education again,and needed support/accomodations the last time,it would be worth the diagnosis,but getting the help can depend on where the uni is and which one it is according to what have seen on the asd-forum.

a lot of people on here are self diagnosed which might be one to consider for now,if are on the spectrum,then are on the spectrum regardless of label or not,some people don't like self diagnosed asders but that is their problem.