Self-diagnosis

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Hi,
I have posted here in the past regarding my son, who is ten and has Asperger's. I recently took an online test (Leif Ekblad's 160 question test at http://www.rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php) and scored pretty high. I could have been unconsciously selecting for Asperger's, but the questions in the test brought to light a number of behaviors that, in retrospect, seem a little atypical.

Should I bother to go see a professional?

There are many factors to consider, of course, but if you have a child might want to read this:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt134777.html

If you're already doing fine in life there's really no need.

I have nothing against people, who self diagnose themselves.

That's one of the reasons I'm not going after a diagnoses. I learned my lesson after my depression, anxiety, and mood disorder NOS diagnoses. I don't need people sticking their heads in my life and trying to control how I live it.

Anyways, a diagnoses won't do much that you can't do already OP. If you see sure signs of ASD, you can learn how to help/accommodate your son in the best way possible. It's already a great thing that you know about Asperger's and have the chance to help him. I think when he's older, you can let him make the decision whether or not to get a diagnosis. Here are some suggestions if public school gets too hard for him - online schooling or home schooling. Good luck, I wish you the best.

Up through my late thirties, I thought I was doing relatively 'fine' - I was fairly functional and working for a living, though I was fired on a regular basis and never managed to find a way to build any security for the future. By my late forties, I was unemployed, out of options, destitute and would have ended up homeless without SS Disability. Just because you don't need a DX now is no reason to rule it out or assume that you never will need it.

Just the fact that you've even considered that you may have subconsciously thrown the test off is good thinking. If I were you, unless you have some urgent reason to know, I would hold off for a while. I began suspecting three years ago of myself, a little while after two sons were diagnosed on the spectrum (years after we first suspected it in one of them and gave up getting anyone to listen). I took the online tests too, and scored fairly high. But I suspected the same thing you did, so over the next couple of years, I took them again, just to see if current moods, what was on my mind at the time, or anything else might be affecting the score. Well, they stayed pretty much the same, except for one where I tested really high.

The important thing is whether or not you believe you are being truly honest when you answer the questions. Sometimes, when I take tests like that, on questions I'm unsure of I will intentionally answer in a way that I think is NON-Aspie. That way, if I am throwing it off, it's not the way I think it should go. So far, even when doing that, I still score well within range.

I didn't bother seeking a diagnosis (in progress now) until two and a half years after I became convinced, and only after realizing several different reasons it would help. Assessments are not cheap, and most insurance companies will fight like crazy not to cover them. I wouldn't recommend it until you are really sure you have it, and have a solid reason for needing it.

I will encourage you not to trust just any professionals so easily.

The Professional I do recommend is Dr. Tony Attwood. Read up and learn about what it means to be on the autism spectrum. This is best self-empowerment you can harness; if you are an aspie it will quickly become apparent to you. You may share some traits, talents, or specific struggles without feeling fully identified by the idea of aspie. That's ok too. The whole process is about self-understanding and self-acceptance. Once you've got that, it's so much easier to move along if you then need to seek a clinical opinion, as willard stated there are some certain benefits that may be more relevant later on.

Thanks for all of the good advice. I apologize for not responding sooner, I thought I had email alerts set up and actually didn't, complicated by the fact that email alerts are going to a secondary email address because I'm not ready to "come out" yet. It's also surprising how many people have no idea what Asperger's is.

There are also a lot of people in my area, who don't now what Asperger's is. I try to explain to people and than I have to say the word, autism. Once they hear that word, they think about ABA and Autism Speaks. No I wasn't in ABA and I've made it through life, just fine. I don't want a cure. I've made it this far, with my extra large brain. I wouldn't feel like myself.