How important is formal diagnosis?

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Not meaning to be a buttinski here but it seems to me that the 'not wanting to drawn attention to myself' is something that is coming from inside yourself and not an outward manifestation that would draw unwarrented attention from bystanders.
I don't really see how this realates to being somewhere along the Spectrum at all as it's a very common perception among regular people.

I guess I´ll be a "buttinski" too and take a crack at your question: on one hand, you´re right, many "regular" people also don´t want to draw attention to themselves either. However, in my case- and maybe this is also the case of the person who wrote this- after years of being teased and bullied in school, being perceived as "weird" or generally causing other negative reactions in people, I have also been known to do certain things that help me "blend" better, simply because I prefer to avoid those difficult interactions. For instance, I "dress down" now- (apparently, in the past I used to wear odd clothing, out of fashion, etc. Eventually, I became more aware of what I was wearing, even became more fashion conscious as the constant ridicule was too much). I realize that even when I try to appear "normal", I´m still going to say some off the wall things that confuse people. But blending externally, even somewhat, has helped in that I am more often left alone. So, for these reasons- as well as many others, I am sure- this could be a common perception of many on the spectrum, depending on past experiences, personality, etc.

Yes, and it is unfortunate as it leads to artificial hierarchies that destroy communities. I made an innocent observation about having 'aspergers - diagnosed' and 'aspergers - undiagnosed' in the profile option rather than just combining the two into 'aspergers' .... and wound up in the middle of a flame war about self-diagnosis.

I have noticed this kind of thing too, just from reading some of the threads...and until now I haven´t commented much, as I find this attitude strange! An undiagnosed person may be just as autistic- (or even more so!)- than a diagnosed person, the only difference is that in the second case, the person´s AS has been acknowledged by a doctor. People from my generation (and many others) never even got diagnosed. I find these opinions to be totally irrational, and...dare I say it?...reminds me of the social systems and cliques of the NT world, which I just don´t understand. Was surprised to find that kind of thing here...

There also seems to be a common belief that there are many "Asperger wannabees" out there; i.e., NTs that would like to think that they have AS. I find this notion somewhat ridiculous as well. From what I know of NTs, most of them seem to be quite horrified with the idea of autism: okay, I don´t understand that attitude either, but this is just something I´ve observed. I think most people know somewhat instinctively where they "fit", so to speak.

I found it strange too. Once I started wondering if I had AS everyone I talked to enthusiastically agreed that it described me. I could go on and on about why I think I have it, but just the facts that I was both diagnosed as hyperactive and classified as gifted when I was a kid (plus being an epileptic) would be enough to trigger someone to consider the possibility of other mental conditions. I just have yet to see someone with the right combination of letters after their name who can wave the "you are official" wand over me. I do wonder where, if people are so concerned about diagnosed/undiagnosed on that form, we are supposed to ship our medical records to prove we are diagnosed if we say we are.

As you say, is an undiagnosed AS person who has it more severely than a diagnosed person less qualified to talk about AS than a diagnosed person? If so, why is that the case?





I read one doctor quoted somewhere who said "if you think you have Asperger's you probably do". I know I can't prove a mental diagnosis by myself, I went through that with something else -- even though the diagnosis largely depended on my claiming it I did not take it as completely correct until an impartial observer (ie, a therapist) could double-check my figures so to speak. Anyways, even though I may not be able to fully self-diagnose, I can sure bring enough evidence forward that there is a 99.9999999999% chance of my being correct.

Love that!

Yeah, when I win the lottery (ha!) I´ll look for someone to wave that "you are official" wand over me, too.

I wonder if they sell those wands in Diagon Alley? (Harry Potter reference)

If they do, does that mean I can buy one and wave it all over myself?

Sure!

This entire debate wasn't nearly so heated back in the old days, prior to 1994 as back then nobody much cared what you 'had' since if you were on the spectrum you were autistic and that was that. Once Asperger's became a so-called official diagnosis it put a typical NT type 'social' divide between what had before been a monolithic group of people. You see it today for sure in the 'whose better than who and whose smarter than who type of threads'. It unfortunately became 'fashionable' to be an Aspie because of supposed 'superior intellilect' they had. In other words if you were an Aspie you were okay but if you were autistic you were ret*d. You can imagine what this situation created. Hopeful parents were biting their nails waiting for the diagnosis and young undiagnosed people held off not wanting to be be thrown into the 'bad' catagory or finding out that they had some other PDD altogether.

this is only common for introverts. as most aspies appear to be.

Though I appreciate Garyww's comments about the dangers of self-diagnoses, I don't think it is applicable here because we are not treating ourselves. For me, at least, it is mainly a matter of understanding why I am so different, why I have never fit in; this knowledge would not have much effect on other people.

Even if other people did understand why I am so strange, it would not change the fact that I am strange. I actually did tell my boss my opinion, a while ago, and regretted having done so when he used the word "crutch."

While it makes sense for kids, I wonder what the logic is for adults? Aside from any disability paperwork, we are essentially talking how someone sees themself. Right?

One of my friends suggested I just say I am eccentric and leave it at that. For me, it is largely about self-understanding. While I have a self-diagnosis (admittedly backed up by a lot of facts, including what other therapists have observed about me on something unrelated) I can not feel truly a part of the aspie community I have found without someone independent reaching the same conclusion.

You can not feel a part of it, or you are afraid that the community will not accept you?

If they will not accept me because of the lack of a professional diagnosis - so be it. This has been my life.

More the former. I have run into outright hostility from the "only those with a formal dx are Aspie" crowd, but I am not looking for support from those types anyways. I am concerned about their attitude influencing others who just want an excuse though.