Something I have to wonder about...

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Now I don't mean to insult anyone or stir up anything. But I've noticed that a number of people here say that they have diagnosed themselves as having Asperger's Syndrome. And I don't understand how that could be possible.
I'd never heard of it until a doctor I met in a mental institution told me he suspected I had it. And the doctor I see now told me straight out that I have it. I don't really care what it's called, all I care about is that the pills are working. And yes, they seem to be working just fine.
I mean to get on with my life, not dote on reasons why I can't. Oh sure, sometimes I think "Why bother anyway" but fortunately I'm too stubborn and crazy to let that stop me.
Why in the hell would anyone WANT Asperger's Syndrome? I guess it could explain a lot, but it's not the only explanation out there, and if an explanation for someone's suffering and failure is needed then they need to go to a psychiatrist pronto, before something bad happens, I really am convinced of this from my own experience. But this self-diagnosing thing seems very risky to me.
I am only CONVINCED that I have Asperger's, because two doctors made convincing cases to that effect, and it went a long way to explaining so much that has happened to me in my life. And, the medication that has been prescribed for me works.
But self-diagnosing? I find that somewhat worrying. Seems as though it could be dangerous.
Not to be a downer, or to bust in here upsetting the place! Peace and love, y'all!
Your pal,
jazzguy

I diagnosed myself because I have every single symptom on the list. What, is that not enough? I need a doctor to tell me because a doctor will know more about myself then I do?
I talked to some people who were diagnosed with it before I ever started coming here, and they seemed to have it way more mild than I do, if they had it at all.
Also, on that long aspergers test, I got a higher AS score and lower NT score than most the people here.
If I had a bullet in my arm, would I need to see a doctor to tell me I got shot?

Jazzguy,

You're not going to upset the place... that's for sure!

This has been brought up before.

I think the issues surrounding self-diagnosis come from different outlooks.
People like you who came across AS through professionals, and for me - my ADD/HD, take comfort in having someone you put your trust in provide an explanation that not only helps you understand your behavior, but gives it a certain ring of 'authority' as well.

People who have self-diagnosed are satisfied to find something that answers questions of their own, and in finding a place like WP, they can expand on that self-diagnosis by finding support where they do not have to prove anything to anyone.
Whether or not a person is being truly objective in their self-diagnosis, they finally have a means of looking at themselves and feeling like they are not the only ones. This could take a lot of pressure of some folks that have a history of confusion and self-hatred over the way they have been and the frustration of dealing with other people who don't understand what goes on inside their minds./

Even in the medical field, a diagnosis of something like AS, ADD/HD, Bi-Polar, Depression, etc. is fairly loose compared to something more concrete like diabetes, CHF, osteoporosis. I have spoken with many people, in person, who after hearing of my diagnosis of ADD/HD, tell me their stories about how they were first diagnosed with ADD, then as being Bi-Polar, on-and-on.

Yes, there are symptoms that can be run through, checklist style, but there is no blood test, no empirical measurement for psych/brain issues of the likes discussed here.
Perhaps someday when we can measure chemical actions in the brain better, or brain activity with real accuracy, then we can have better diagnosis.

While I feel like I can understand what you mean by self-diagnosis being 'risky', but to tell you the truth, diagnosis by a medical professional can be risky also.
No matter who does the diagnosing, the risk is what the diagnosed person does with this information.

I had never heard of AS until a couple of years ago. I was reading a story about treating autism in mice, and one link lead to another, and I found myself reading about myself. I found WP and found people again and again telling my story. Now I'm absolutely convinced that I've always had it.

I'm nearly 50 years old. There are lots of us in our 40s and 50s and 60s, and some of us in our 70s and 80s, who never had the (dubious) benefit of a diagnosis. We just got by somehow.

Do you believe everything a doctor tells you? Do you consider their word to be written in stone? If a person isn't their own expert on themselves, the best they can ever hope for is a complete stranger's opinion based on theory written up in a textbook and sometimes heresay and less frequently experience. And if you're not already the expert on You, that's what you need to becoming in this stage of our evolution as a species. There's enough info and resources out there on to get a Ph.D in Self-Examination, Awareness and Healing.

It's not a matter of WANTING to have it. If it was a matter of wanting to have something that made me special, I would have diagnosed myself with a genius IQ or something like that. I self-diagnosed because I meet the diagnostic criteria. In addition to this, I can relate to too much of what I've read about AS for it to be explained away by things such as "just social anxiety" "you're too hard on yourself" and so forth.

there are people on WP [such as above poster] who know so much more about ASD than many doctors,people on the spectrum are often great at self diagnosing due to having obsessive interest for researching and strong concentration,
not everyone actually needs formal diagnosis,so if they are sure they are on the spectrum,and have researched it and their own developmental history well,what is bad about them self diagnosing?
well researched self diagnosing is not hypocondria or munchausens,it's main use is an explanation to the person.

Anyone with a chronic ailment, dealing with it, treating it, experiencing it for years and years on all levels, mind, body and soul, like it was a kin entity becomes all-knowing about what works and what doesn't, simply because they made it their life's calling to find out! That's dedication and know-how that few if any doctors will ever glean from textbooks. People with every illness known to mankind are finding solutions, remedies and treatments they could never, ever have found by asking a doctor because 1 - either the doctor simply is clueless 2 - it's not in the best interest of the HMO to provide such treatment or 3 - the doctor and medical establishment are not geared towards the healing of the patient but of *treating* their symptoms. Chronic sufferers want and deserve much more than that.

It is not AS you are taking pills for. There are none. Is there now a pill for communication?

Happy pills do effect depression, but are not going to lead to eye contact, reading facial expressions, body language, or even remembering what faces look like.

If I do most things with my left hand, it is because I am left handed.

If I take a visual test for color blind, I can read the results.

One thing can lead to another, and that to a mental institution, but not for AS,

It could be the underlying cause, but for most people, it is no more than an annoying social problem.

It is like being color blind, nothing to do about it, no therapy, no pill, and good to know why you disagree about some colors.

As for being convinced, I am not, suffering and failure may be your path, but the 2,000,000 in the US mostly lead fairly normal lives, and do not wind up in mental institutions. Psychiatrists have their own agenda, making payments on the Mercedes, and informational sites like WP are cutting into what they see as their turf.

You say we are all in great danger of something bad happening, because, "I am really convinced of this from my own experience." Good, forming your own opinion is good.

I would suggest you read the Wiki article on AS, to see how their description fits what doctors have told you, and what you know from your own experience.

As for it not being the only explanation out there, what other condition has a lack of eye contact, an inability to read facial expresions, understand implied meanings, body language, while having a normal or above IQ and no signs of other pervasive mental condition?

I know of nothing close.

As there is no treatment, pill, cure, only the realization that you process information slightly differently, and can learn to avoid misunderstood communication, by asking the right questions, writing memos, versus spoken means, and adapt to the larger world.

AS is not a disorder, a disease, a mental illness, we are not broken, and we do not need to be fixed.

I am only convinced because, "it went a long way to explaining so much that has happened to me in my life."

I agree with your conclusion, but will skip the mental hospital, doctors, pills, and, "just get on with my life."

The problems can be coped with by understanding the cause, it is not a big thing.

The other side of the coin is the focus, talents, and drive that come with it, that can be directed to enhancing life. It explains why I see math and computers as simple and logical, how I order and write information, why so many are published, hold patents, gifted in music and art, and take leading roles in life.

AS people are intelligent, hard working, if quirky and obsessive, law abiding, truthful to a fault, and have a strong sense of right and wrong. The only problems are in social communication, and the Internet filters that out. The growing world of the Internet seems to be made for them, as it was made by them, and they are the natural type that will grow with the Internet, and reach world's undreamed of.

The bad is not knowing, getting depressed, having no explanation for why, and self-diagnoses clears that up. There is no treatment, pill, cure, only the support that can be found for free, 24/7 from the wonderful folks on Wrong Planet.

Many generalizations do not truth make. All people do not possess all traits and all traits are individual in their degrees. What works for one, may not work for some or all. And probably won't. AS ~is~ a disorder since it is a manifestation of the impairment to relate, emote and empathize with others. The word disorder must be viewed as the composite of 2 - dis-order - i.e. there is chaos and placement is awry with disconnects and severance of neurotransmiitters - whether inherent from birth or due to later conditioning/trauma. Those that would say to embrace a singular life bereft of human contact do so from a place of conditioning, habit and belief. However true this may appear to the speaker, truth be told, human beings ~are~ social beings and it is precisely because of this, and the biological need to connect that we congregate here on this web space. All of us solitary, lone wolves who crave our solitude, really do in fact, need other people to relate to and underneath the AS is a very sociable, loving, empatetic and relational human being.

I suspect I have AS because I fit the description in certain ways. I have intense and unusual interests, am somewhat shy and bookish and have a mild seizure disorder, fortunately under control with medication. I don't possess other aspects of AS, such as literal thinking or inability to understand figures of speech. (My major in college was English, so it would have been very difficult to pursue that if I couldn't get a handle on figures of speech.)