AS DIAGNOSIS

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One thing that is kinda bugging me is people who may or not have AS* assuming that they have it for just maybe few reasons and with a limited understanding of the condition.
It strikes me that often alot of people who are disatisfied with their social life or general qualitty of life see the label 'Aspergers', and impose it upon themselves.
Of course it is possible for say a person who actually has it and is undiagnosed to read say an article and say 'OH MY GOD, this makes perfect sense!! !', but if you actually think that then the first you should do is not say 'OK, well I aspergers' and use it as like a proverbial comfort blanket and excuse your perhaps anti-social behaviour, instead look to find a doctor (preferably a specialist in AS and ADHD) then try and get an official diagnosis.
Perhaps if you go to a doctor you might find you don't have it, well so what is wrong with you?
Maybe there is nothing wrong with you and you're just searching to fit into a label.
Although if that still isn't the case and you do think you are impaired from functioning in life to the degree which others and yourself think you should be it could be because of a different condition.
For instance not everybody who struggles to fit in has AS, this could be because of something like ADHD, depression, a bad child hood that lead to inadeqaute socialising, living in a town full of idiots, or any combination or variety of factors.

What I am trying to get at is that well it is so very difficult to decide for yourself what is wrong with you and without the help of somebody who has the necessary qualifications and understanding assisting you with finding out whether you have it or how to deal with you having it you may find imposing the label could lead to more problems.

Awhile back I happened to read a NME article about Craig Nicholas about AS, I thought 'Yeah that does sound kinda like me.'
Then reading a few more articles I thought, 'yeah could be me', for a brief period of a few weeks I thought about it then forgot about it.

After leaving school disapointed with my grades I begun at college. At school I had a number of problems with organisation, behaviour and moderate bullying from pupils and teachers.
Assuming that alot of this just was something I could alter with ease, I attempted to make changes. Intially I managed to keep it up, but alot of the old problems were resurfacing.
Mostly involving school work, erractic behaviour, organisation distractabilitty, not doing things that interested me etc.

Speaking to my tutor about my difficulty with sticking to college requirements about deadlines etc I was advised to go to a consultation session with a college student support.
After awhile she concluded I was mildly dyslexic on the count of poor hand writting and organisation.
Responding to her with; 'Well, it doesn't surprise me, I always thought there was something wrong with me.'
Inquiring why I might think this I told her about how people often remark on how i am obssesive and don't shut-up about the stuff I am facinated by.
There and then she then put me down as mildly having AS.

To cut a long story short I went to a doctor and after about a year my problems have all been considered and it has all been narrowed down to pretty much AS, ADHD (mainly inattentive), mood and anxiety, along with some PTSD symptomology.
Having had an indepth analyse I foundout about problems which I never thought I had because i don't see myself the way others do, and the same is true for most people.

ANYWAY the important thing is if you think you have something wrong don't label yourself GO TO A DOCTOR.

The problem with doctors is, they're by far not always the omniscient beings they seem to be (they don't necessarily help one either). Psychiatry is a sphere where there is a huge number of blank spots, so that the specialists themselves may not know what is wrong and what to do about it. The distinctions between different conditions are often unclear, and the same condition may be labelled differently depending on what school of psychiatry the doctor happens to belong to.

I know a number of people who were labelled with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder simply because the psychiatrists themselves were not sure what is wrong with them (and since, as someone put it, schizophrenia is the "waste basket for incomprehensible symptoms", that's the label they usually stick in such cases). People may go misdiagnosed like this (or undiagnosed) for years, get the wrong treatment and end up worse. Then there are those who eventually take their lives because they had major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder that went unnoticed by specialists, and were suicidal and there was nobody around to help.

In the case of AS, in particular, the likelihood of it being misdiagnosed (as anything from schizophrenia to atypical depression to schizoid or schizotypal disorder) is very high. Quite simply, specialists also make mistakes - and specialists in the field of psychiatry tend to make mistakes more often than many others.

Most importantly, there's the question of stigma. Some psychiatry schools don't accept mixed states as part of true bipolar disorder, so in different schools, the condition I was officially diagnosed with could equally likely be labelled "recurring schizophrenia", "schizoaffective disorder", "atypical bipolar disorder" or just "bipolar disorder". It'd still be the same condition, and I don't care in the slightest what it's called - another label isn't going to make me feel any different - but I would NOT want to be labelled schizophrenic, because of the bias that goes with the condition. Manic depression is bad enough. I understand why some people who do clearly have schizophrenia are reluctant to receive a diagnosis for the same reason. And I could see why someone with HFA or AS would not want to be officially diagnosed, either, as there is a TREMENDOUS stigma associated with autism which isn't likely to go away anytime soon.

To add: What if one with AS has uneducated or lazy parents who never bothered to take their "different" child to a specialist to dx AS. (I have known this to happen to a few people) Then, the AS person gets out on their own, and THEN sees a dr, psychiatrist etc, who isn't terribly educated on ASD? Dr's give medicines to treat symptoms. ASD people react far differently to meds than NT's do, creating wacky weird stuff, then a misdiagnosis. OF course, a dr is reluctant to dx AS in an adult. Some could end up with a label far worse.

This never ceases to amaze me how the self diagnosed think that have expertise in Aspergers. People with Aspergers are not commonly treated with medication. They only get medication if they have other underlying conditions such as ADHD or anxiety disorders such as PTSD or are Bi-polar. Of course not all doctors are reluctant to diagnose Aspergers. You can't make blanket statements about all doctors. Doctors vary greatly in how they practice medicine from one individual to the next. Yes they are individuals like us. And in fact there are a number of doctors who are among the most advanced & brilliant of Aspies.

Ok. Look mate, your post makes perfect sense. But as far as I can see this site is also for those who suspect a DX of AS in themselves or a relative.

Was your post basically just a whine to tell the undiagnosed to start every post with "I dont have a diagnose." ?

I do agree with you.

Me. I am gathering up the courage to get evaluated at a neuro-psychiatric clinic where I live. I've talked to health-service people here and they didnt brush it off. But I am fearing another appointment with a psychiatrist where I have to talk about my depression, they will simply prescribe some more meds and ask if I've ever heard voices or seen the TV talk to me. I havent, so relax im not insane.

Yeah, depression is a hereditary illness I have and nothing to be done about it except take the meds, excercise and bite the bullet.

I've only told my parents of my suspicions, nobody else. They didnt object to it either. Infact they've admitted to suspect something was different about me. They just never bothered to put any energy into it.

Let us come here to find out more, we arent taking your DX away from you or attempting to speak for you.

Your thread indicates that you are basically anti-'self' diagnosis. Why? Why would it matter if I, someone who is 'self,' gets a diagnosis? Will my problems UP and disappear?

I don't run around attaching labels to myself, in fact, this is the first one and when I say I'm aspie, I get drilled and nailed for it by everyone with a mouth (so I dont say what I am (think its best no one does as stupid as that is)). I live up to the generalization of what an INTJ is. I'm independent - I dont care about labels and crap. When I went out for recess, with all the other kids during school, I never fit into a group. Could be nerd one day, could play soccer with the cool kids the next day, then fall back to my 'group' which consisted of people similar to me in that they didn't label anyone with anything. We didnt hate anyone unless they DID something.

Labels suck no matter who gave it to you. A doctor, a teacher, another peer. Plain and simple, they suck.

Trust me, nothing in my life will change except the amount of time wasted getting a diagnosis. Everytime someone posts that they are wrong or thinking different (maybe ADD) I think 'Hmm.. maybe I am too' so I click on their links or look it up myself. Everytime anyone has posted anything, from 'anti-social' disorders to ADHD to whatever, I've never fit. I've read peoples stories here since I arrived some 5 months ago and all I can do, more or less, is agree (with the general traits). Then, specific traits, this is more hit or miss (since we're all different) which then makes me think I'm not really an aspie. Then, I read more specific traits and totally agree.

In reality, I dont care. All I know is that everyone here feels the same way I do about life. They discuss things, they share stories, they are people *I* can relate to.

That is a fair point, I wasn't really whining as such, also I am aware misdiagnosis is very common.
Just for some I think it would be more productive instead of them assuming, then moaning, to perhaps think 'OK well this might apply to me, I'll find out more, then find a doctor to talk to it about.'

my doctor had never heard of AS until I broached the subject to him <we're resolving that> I hadn't broached the subject with doctors before this one because I hadn't had a concistent one, each time I went in it was a different doctor which was unimaginably unsettling, before that I hadn't ever heard of AS and just assumed I was a regular run of the mill nerd, I fit the diagnostic critera too well for that to be, but that's where I was, so now, I finally have all the pieces in an acceptable place to get diagnosed, and am working toward it.

Lag time isn't always moaning, sometimes it is simply untenable to get diagnosed.

Makes sense. I took it as applying it to everyone. I consider myself very mentally 'confident' and don't have a large history of being 'wrong.' Now, not to say I'm 'right' all the time, God no; I'm still wrong often and will continue to be - its a great way to learn.

For me, AS wasn't an 'excuse' or even a 'reason' for my behaviour. I mean, yes, we all act like this for 'such and such' reasons, but I didnt stop there. I want to take the 'mind' and expand it to greater lengths. This was merely a small brick on a large path. I know I'm not alone, super, thats good to know, but I can't stop here.

Hmm, yeah actually thinking about it most doctors have a superficial understanding of AS and would probably only suggest such a diagnosis if the person was stereotypically AS.
This ofcourse isn't helpful as having met quite a few people with a diagnosis now and everyone varried.

Have you any idea how difficult it can be to get an adult assessment? I've been trying for over two years. The first psychiatrist I was sent to said I couldn't have anything related to autism because I wasn't ret*d, emotionally blank and am able to live by myself. My current GP, who's been very good to me and doesn't think I have AS, worked hard trying to get me a referral to the Maudsley Institute in London (am currently in London), but due to the labarynthine beuracracy and general complacency within the management of my local NHS trust, I'm having trouble getting my assessment funded (I'm a student so I can't afford to go private). It's been a year since the Maudsley Institute said they'd assess me. And as for using AS as a "comfort blanket" or an excuse, NO WAY! I find the concept ridiculous. I really, really hope my GP is right and I don't have it. I hope I have something that can be cured or at the very least controlled. What the hell is "comforting" about having autism? Why the hell would I go around telling people that I'm socially ret*d as an excuse for behaviours and personality traits that I can probably eliminate or control given a bit of guidance and possibly meds. I don't think the social stigma of autism is a fair price to pay for laziness on my part. I've been labelled a f**king freak all my life, subjected to the abuse, ridicule and loneliness that entails and I want out. The average lifespan in my family is well into the 80's, and I'm only 24. Another 60 years of this is more than I can take. Social acceptance is a joke- just look at the Special Olympics- they're still considered... "special". A foetus with Downs Syndrome has a 90% chance of being aborted if the mother knows it has Downs Syndrome. My mum told me that if there had been a pre-natal test for autism when she was carrying me and it had come back positive I'd have been down the pan too. Outside a few very limited fields, such as computer science, people with AS will always be considered inferior, and I don't want stuck in that ghetto.

P.S. This isn't meant to be a nasty post, am just frustrated with the whole thing, am not meaning to direct it at anyone or troll. I'm sorry if it offends anyone and I'll delete it if one of the moderators asks me to.