I'm self-diagnosed and not seeking an official diagnosis. I am sure enough to not need it in that respect. Since it's only been a few weeks since I self-diagnosed (my sister, brother-in-law think I am AS and my husband is sure) it's too soon for me to really know what I want to do but at 41 I've adapted to NT society to a large degree and don't see where it would help at this point to be officially diagnosed, especially considering the narrow-mindedness and lack of ability to understand that most people have (even the nice ones)--I don't trust society in general. I would consider it if I thought it would help other Aspergers or Autistics.
Official diagnosis has helped me a lot, since I'm at a student age and between things so Disability Living Allowance from the state (UK) has been extremly useful in helping upkeep (I'm not a big spender anyway thankfully).
I was actually diagnosed out the blue, I'd never heard of Aspergers, it was after several years of intense bullying at school, followed by a nervous breakdown at only 13 I was given a psych evalutation and they said I had "Aspergers Syndrome", which is the first i knew of it.
Official diagnosis I think is for the better, you don't HAVE to tell everyone around you, for example I completed a Multimedia College Course, and didn't tell the examiner til right at the end when I was leaving on the last day, and he was suprised as he knew of it but never suspected it, and would've probably treated me differently had I told him. But conversely, when you need it, you can get assistance.
Also it helps for your own piece of mind and your family, instead of saying "I think I might", everyone knows for sure, yes or no. And one thing I've found is Aspie's are good at worrying/anxiety :wink:
About a month ago I happened to mention to the ADDdoc that I though I had mild Aspergers. He responded with "of course you do."
Oh. Ok.
Is that official diagnosis or self?
In a sarcastic way you mean or?
I think if you want to get diagnosed, maybe you should first explain your symptoms to your GP, but NOT mention Asperger's, people saying they're Aspie seems quite common in many circles and he may think you just want a diagnosis out of convenience.
(I'd never even heard of Asperger's til I was diagnosed, seem's I'm an odd one out)
Oh.
He wasn't being sarcastic. I've been seeing the guy for five years. He has quite a case of ADD himself.
It was more like he'd been taking it for granted that I knew I had asperger's.
Apparently I had a professional diagnosis but did not know about it until after I'd done a self diagnosis. In light of this the poll question has become one of epistemology (aspistemology?), something I find amusing.
I can play the Dr. game fine. I'm not worried about any of that.
No written report, but I haven't asked for one either. It was somewhat offhand in that neither of us thought it was that big a deal. He'll write it up if I ever need one, but I don't see why I would. He's not big on formal diagnosis, at least not in DSM terms, somthing I strongly agree with. He's much more interested in brain states than mental states. This is probobly why he never thought to mention that I met the criteria for an AS dx. He doesn't work that way.
My biggest concern upon having the dx confirmed is how being an aspie might effect my observations on the nature of metaphor, a topic I've been obsessed with for quite a while now.
Freud wasn't exactly NT either - he tried blame half the worlds problems on all males wanting to kill their father and marry their mother.
I wonder if he was self-analysing a bit there?
I voted self diagnosed and not seeking diagnosis, but I am considering seeking it. Although I agree with sentiments that a hertible trait should not be diagnosed as a "disorder" and at my age I've gotten through life pretty well and don't NEED a diagnosis, there are a few reasons I'd like one:
1) I feel like a liar when I say I have it, because I don't know for sure (well, I'm certain, but it's not official, and who am I to diagnose someone?). I feel like people think I'm crazy or a hypochondriac when I say I think I have it.
2) Things are fine with my current job, but I don't plan on being there forever. I'd like to be able to tell my current or former employers (at least if something comes up that it would explain.)
3) I want people to know I have it. I want to help with autism awareness. I want people to know that I am happy the way I am, and that I can live an independent life, and that many many other people are like me. We are not idiots, and we are not crazy. (My whole life people just thought I was crazy or "weird, but in an endearing way.")
(Now I'm going to read what the rest of you wrote.)
I think if you want to get diagnosed, maybe you should first explain your symptoms to your GP, but NOT mention Asperger's, people saying they're Aspie seems quite common in many circles and he may think you just want a diagnosis out of convenience.
That's a very good point! But also, you need to know how to express your symptoms. It seems I can never say the "right" thing to a doctor, whether it's Asperger's or a sinus infection or anything. Also, isn't it important to have someone around who can say what you were like as a child?
I saw so many doctors for the ages of 15 to 21. They all just ended up "conselling" me, and prescribing me antidepressants for my "social anxiety." But it's not just axiety, and since my self-dx, I've realized my depression was not my DISEASE (as it is for some people), but it was a result of feeling outside the world, wondering why I can't make or keep friends, and being bullied for being weird, or naive, or taking things literally.
I'm a relic of a bygone age - there was no Asperger's Disorder nor any "spectrum" when I was a child. There was either "Kanner's Autistic Psychopathy," or "Childhood Schizophrenia."
I was born in the 70's, and there was still much of that growing up in the 80's. When ,in grade 10, I told a friend that I thought I had mild autism, she replied "Oh, Crystal, don't be silly. There's no such thing as mild autism. Either you have it or you don't, and you don't. Autistics are freaks. You're weird, but you're not a freak."
Why she thought she was such an expert, I'll never know.
Also, when I've told other people about things I went through as a child, I've gotten "sounds a little like childhood schizophrenia." But here's the kicker. All those things I was seeing and hearing weren't hallucinations. The were just things most people know how to tune out.
I noticed a link to such a group, up in Canada. That would be a bit of a commute from NYC...
What kind of group? I know that Ontario shares a border with New York State, but I don't know how far from the border NYC is, or the city in Canada where this group is.
I've posted earlier in this thread on my quest for diagnosis. I had a diagnostic interview on Tuesday, with Dr Carpenter, a consultant psychiatrist from the local Learning Difficulties team (although this was a private consultation arranged by my employers through the Priory Hospital), he was very understanding, approachable and clearly very knowledgeable about ASD. He spoke to me for about 1 and half hours and did a few tests. He then spoke to my wife for about an hour and intends speaking to my mum by phone.
His provisional finding is that he doesn't feel I've Aspergers, but a condition, which I'd not heard of before. DAMP: Deficits of Attention, Motor Control and Perception.
this is in his words 'two prongs of the Autistic Triad' the missing prong is that whilst I have difficulties in non-verbal messages from people, once I've got the message I can empathise. DAMP is a relatively newly identified condition, outlined by a Swedish Psychiatrist, Christopher Gilberg.
I've done a google search and most of the results which are not in Swedish are brief passing references to it as either a co-morbidity or even virtual synonym with/for (in roughly equal proportions)ADHD, Aspergers and Dyspraxia and not terribly helpful. The most useful thing I've found is a summary of a paper by Professor Gilberg at:
http://www.addiss.co.uk/4thproceedings.htm#4
If anyone else can point me in the direction of material please do so.
I’ve asked Dr Carpenter to let me have more information. Previously on here people have discussed PDD NOS my suspicion is that in effect DAMP 'otherwise specifies' a large part of the territory currently occupied by this diagnosis,
I’ve written the following to Dr Carpenter, which I feel sums up how I feel about what he said:
“Whilst I understand that I probably don't have diagnostically significant problems with empathising (which is reassuring) i do feel that the difficulties i have in perceiving/understanding what people are feeling and the subtexts and subtleties in what they are saying can often feel tantamount to this, and whilst i talked about work being a major source of anxiety, I do feel that I experience, and always have experienced, a distinct level of 'background' stress about personal interaction on many levels for this and other reasons (I suspect that you di pick that up from things I said, but I could probably have made it more explicit). I do also wonder to what extent I have learned to empathise and whether you would have found it as easy to reach that conclusion had you seen me 40 (or even 20) years ago?”
This begs the question of whether I should continue to post on here? My current feeling is that I’m still the same person as I was 48 hours ago, and Dr Carpenter has confirmed my strong feeling that I have many of the features of an autistic personality. I’ve lots of important friends here with whom I share a lot in common, and some of you have said that you also feel the same about your ability to empathise. I still feel that I belong here and want to stay, but I’m happy for people to disagree and if anyone wants to post to that effect or PM me
Wow another briliant cat AV! Is it your cat Adversarial? We have one just like it lives up the the road. Its beautiful.
Do you mean this Energaia?
4.14. With ADHD, there is a 50% likelihood of DCD. It is also likely that 7-10% will also meet criteria for Asperger's. 10-15% will meet criteria for Tourette's syndrome and many more will meet criteria for tics. If you need criteria for ADHD and DCD, you are likely to need criteria for Asperger's. So if you have DAMP you are also likely to have an autism spectrum disorder. And if you have Asperger's you are likely to have Tourette's syndrome. We need to be aware of these links in clinical practice so that if anyone comes across a child with ADHD one should think about all the other possibilities
I think what he's saying is that if you have DAMP
and AS then you are 'likely to have Tourettes' (and think this may be ar reference to his, rather limited, sample) but it is confusing (confused?)
For more on DAMP see the following:
http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/88/10/904
especially the contrary view, including some sharp critiques of his methods, in Rasmussen's letter available right at the bottom of the article (below the references).