Why/how Get Diagnosed

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Hey Everyone!
I've been reading through the various forums here and have a question (or two!) to ask you all.

Why did you get diagnosed?
How did you get diagnosed?

I am pretty sure that I have AS, an assertion that has been backed up by my friends who are doctors and also one friend who is a behavioural psychologist.
- I do not like company who I do not know and don't often talk to strangers even when sat right next to them.
- I dislike a lot to wear scarves and tight sleeves on my shirts - in fact I will often roll up my sweater sleeves to my elbow or forearm so that they do not come all the way down my arm
- I do not know when to speak in a social situation and sometimes make inappropriate comments in conversations
- I feel very uncomfortable to look people in the eys when talking to them and either stare at them or look away a lot
- I take everything literally which almost got me into some trouble tonight with someone who I THINK was trying to tell a joke. He ended up spending about 5 minutes telling me why what he said was suppsoed to be funny. I'm still not convinced. . . .
- I have VERY sensitive hearing and can hear clicking and low whistles from well across a big busy room
- I have an eating schedule for what food I eat for each day of the week (people have recently begun to make a bit of fun out of this which upsets me a bit)
- I have a designated seat in my house and get annoyed when my housemates sit in it

etc

I was wondering why did you get diagnosed by a professional? Was it just for the peace of mind or is there some benefit out there?
Can I just turn up at my doctor's surgery and say 'Hey, I think I've got AS. What can we do about this?'

Thanks for the help

hi aerofan_1

i was diagnosed by a consultant psychiatrist on the 17th of november, 2009. i am 29 years old.

my initial referral to said psychiatrist was not so much to satisfy my curiosity for diagnosis with AS as it was to address some ongoing issues with anxiety and depression. the referring GP had identified me as being a likely candidate for AS, but i had no formal diagnosis to that point.

on first consultation the psychiatrist commented that i presented with "striking" AS mannerisms and that my speech patterns were very much in-line with how an individual with AS may communicate. as part of my evaluation and at a following appointment, as arranged, i was diagnosed with AS against DSM IV criteria.

truth be known i did have suspicion of my having AS for some time. in 2001 wired.com posted the Baron-Cohen AQ test ( http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html ) and i scored highly (45). i do remember following up on the wired AQ test with a more defined test ( http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php ), again scoring highly in the AS ranges. you can complete the latter test and post your score if you like ( http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt5906.html ).

perhaps some of the reason for my not being diagnosed with AS as a child or adolescent has to do with attending 10 different schools from k-12 (we around moved quite a bit). also worth considering is that AS was not widely recognised or known in the mid-late eighties and nineties when i was attending school.

the behaviours that you mention could be considered symptomatic (or typical) of someone with AS, i can identify with a lot of what you have listed. in saying that, i suggest that it is better to seek professional diagnosis against DSM IV criteria rather than in a forum or from an online test . you may need to speak with a GP and seek a referral to see a behavioural psychologist - in Australia a referral from a GP would be needed to see a psychologist (or any specialist).

...will a diagnosis provide peace of mind or offer some benefit? these are questions that only you can answer. from my own experience it was a little daunting to receive diagnosis, even though it was a fair bet. since diagnosis, over the last 10 days, i have began to research AS, the more i read the more having AS explains who i am, how i interact with others, and how others react to, interact with, and why they may may tend to avoid me.

certainty in everything, for me, is everything - having been diagnosed places a lot of puzzle pieces and gives me something to work with. maybe it will do the same for you.

Last edited by tektek on 27 Nov 2009, 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

Abridged, but it says the same thing as my life story:

Why?

It seemed like a good thing at the time, as it adequately explained the weird behaviour I had that couldn't be explained with OCD (plus it jived with my developmental history)

How?

'You know, I have Autism.' sayeth I in an [unknowingly] authoritative tone

'Yeah, well, you're closer to AS than someone with the typical presentation of Autism' spoketh the psychiatrist whilst doing funny hand movements to show the spectrum and where I fit

I was diagnosed because school was ruining my life and I didn't know what was wrong with me.
I was depressed and considering things like running away from home and thought about dying a lot (though I wasn't planning to kill myself).

And how I got diagnosed was because I have a sibling with autism so when my psychologist saw my symptoms they suggested I be tested for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
I fell within the range of Asperger's and got my diagnosis, and that was the best day of my life lol.

It took off so much mental stress.
I'd gone 14 years not knowing what was wrong with me, and with my diagnosis I saw that I wasn't the way I was because I was a failure.
I actually had a condition.

How many people do you know who you can tell:
"You have -insert condition-" and they just literally scream YES, THANK THE LORD, YES!! !!
That is literally what I did

Hi aerofan_1 - welcome to WP!

I went in for a professional evaluation because I needed to know for sure. I didn't want to go through life saying "I THINK I have Asperger's Syndrome. That is PROBABLY why I have so much trouble, socially" Knowing for sure (in my case, I was correct in my self-diagnosis) gave me a sense of validation. Having the diagnosis allows me to see a psychologist who specialized in adults with AS. I see him about once a month & it gives me a chance to talk through any difficulties that I'm having & try to come up with some coping strategies.

I started along the path to diagnosis by first educating myself on the subject of AS - to where I was 99% certain it applied to me. Then I asked my GP about it at my annual physical. She pointed me toward a local psychological clinic where I could be evaluated.

I never sought a AS diagnosis. It just found me.

I was born a good 25 years before AS was even in the DSM to be diagnosed. As a child I had many struggles in school and family life and a psych diagnosed me as having an anxiety disorder and OCD. Thats what I had for many years. Then back around 1996 my psych basically said he was changing me to AS. (Now in 2012 they may change me again to autistic.) Its funny how my diagnosis can change but I have remained the same. So its the medical profession that hasn't been consistent. I guess they are still trying to figure it out.

To me the AS diagnosis didn't mean much. Whatever they want to call it this decade is fine with me. Its not like their label changes me one way or the other. Its just a label.

I think a diagnosis as an adult opens up some doors for state benefits. Though I have never collected so I am not sure how or what?