Why are many people happy to be diagnosed with AS?

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I am not saying you are wrong, I am just curious. Usually, people don't get happy when they are diagnosed with a mental illness or a disability.

This is such a common question. It depends on whether you thought there was something wrong to begin with, or not. People who had no idea tend to take it harder, I think because they don't know anything about it. People who suspected before the DX and already know what it is tend to accept it as an explanation, and are better prepared to move on with it.

Don't confuse being happy with a DX with being happy with having AS either. Some do eventually embrace their AS, and are happy with it. Many, though they may be glad they got a DX, are not happy at all they have AS. There's a big difference.

Because they're wierd.

Then again, when I was first told when I was 11 I was pretty excited, don't know why though since I'm not exactly psyched about it now.

I'm fourteen and I was officially diagnosed when I was ten, but I know that people who are diagnosed later in life (thirty or forty years old, maybe even later) are 'happy' to be diagnosed because it explains why they were ostracized and bullied as children, or why they were so different from peers, etc.

Most people have been wondering what is wrong with them for years, or in turn parents who are being blamed for bad parenting skills when in reality their child is just autistic. It's good to be able to understand the problem and help obtain services to help, I don't see any other reason to be happy over it however.

when a person is diagnosed with AS, they usually already suspect they have it, and it answers many suspicians and questions and problems they may have had for years. for some its a great relief, even for self-diagnosed people.

Because often it is a defence against the "you're doing that on purpose" allegations, and the uh, "treatment" which comes along with those claims.

Last edited by Invader on 21 Aug 2010, 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I think it's because it explains everything and it means they aren't a jerk and they aren't dumb.

I was never happy about the diagnoses when I first got it.

I think people are releived to find something which explains their experience, and aswell releived to find out its not something else.

I was happy when I was diagnosed then felt very down about it when people did not react to it as I had expected. I had expected people to suddenly become tollerant of me, for example I would imagine if I made a social mistake, if I said "oh, I have aspergers" they would say "well thats ok then, I know you didnt mean to be rude". The reality was so far from there.

If I could back in time I wouldnt bother with a diagnosis as people either dont believe I have it or use it as an excuse to deny my perception/feelings.

and I still worry its somthing else which is wrong with me so the 'initial high' of finding aspergers did not last long. and its depressing to think I will always be different/inadequate no matter how many 'self help' books I read.

There can be some reasons. I'm not good in Psychology, but I try to imagine something. So:
- they want to be tr00
- they get some benefits/money (depends on country)
- they can go to therapy and learn some social skills

When I was diagnosed I initially didn't tell anybody, and even now fewer than 20 people I know personally know about it. I was happy that I finally had a framework that described me so that I could better understand myself.

I was happy that I finally knew what was wrong with me. I was happy that I wasn't the only person on the planet that felt the way I did and that I wasn't broken or defective. Also, it's become one of my major interests so I was happy to have something new to research and obsess over. I wasn't happy that it was something permanent and had been affecting my life in a lot of ways I never realised.

Well, it explained a lot and at the time and I thought I'd finally get the help I needed. 6 years later, I'm pretty much on my own, so much for that. I'm not one of those AS pride sort of people but I am who I am.

I think in my case, being diagnosed removed a lot of confusion and clarified to me what was wrong. I discovered that I was not behaving and reacting in certain ways because I was fundamentally abad person. There was a definable reason for the actions. Especially the meltdowns. It was a relief to know I was not some sort of psycho who was going to do something terrible every time the "autistic werewolf" showed up.

I don't understand why the OP has 6 posts and declares people are happy to be diagnosed as autistic. Where did you gather your assumptions from? The internet or actual people you've met? Did they say that they were happy or did you come to the conclusion that because someone openly admitted they were autistic that it must mean they have no shame and are happy? Why should any of us feel ashamed? I also hear that more autistic children are out in the open playing at the playgrounds with other children, eating at restaurants, going to stores with their parents and going to the zoo with all of the non autistic children. Do you feel parents should hide those kids from public viewing? If so, what are your reasons?

^This^

Dumbass, idiot, lout, freak, jerk, weirdo, oddball, schmuck, lazy, senseless, stubborn, out-of-touch, emotionally ret*d, unfeeling, callous, selfish, whiny, useless, weak, standoffish, shy, socially inept, snob, elitist, dreamer, brain damaged, different, procrastinator, nut, eccentric, eclectic, crackpot, scary, overgrown child, stupid, head-in-the-clouds, sh*t fer brains, strange, clumsy, loon, user, rebel, problem child, odd-man-out, goofball, douchebag, card, character, oaf, throwback, insubordinate, uncooperative, @ssh*le..

Just a few of the terms used to describe me over the course of my life by people I've known, including my parents, many of my teachers and almost all of my employers to name a few, and not one of them was smiling when they said it.

After all that, to realize that what they were all describing was not me - it was their reaction to my Autism - was a tremendous and cathartic relief. Not happy that I had Autism, but happy to discover that my differences from the rest of the world HAD A NAME AND A CAUSE, and others were having these problems, too.