I've looked at Asperger's in the DSM-IV a few times (bearing in mind some people here don't see it as very accurate) and can easily fit the criteria, until I get to...
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
Asperger's Disorder is not diagnosed if criteria are met for another Pervasive Developmental Disorders or for Schizophrenia. Asperger's Disorder must also be distinguished from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Schizoid Personality Disorder. Asperger's Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder share repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour. In contrast to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Asperger's Disorder is characterised by a qualitative impairment in social interaction and a more restricted pattern of interests and activities. In contrast to Schizoid Personality Disorder, Asperger's Disorder is characterised by stereotyped behaviours and interests and by more severely impaired social interaction.
Okay, so as I understand it, if I want to do a self-diagnosis based on the DSM-IV, I need to rule out:
- Schizophrenia
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Schizoid Personality Disorder
- PDD-NOS
- anything else?
(all these as defined in DSM-IV, even though OCD is often described as a co-morbid to AS)
It's that PDD-NOS that confuses me. Is that a catch-all for anything that doesn't easily fit the other conditions listed above? Is this one item in the DSM-IV or is it several?
ADD/ADHD, Obsessive & Avoidant Personality Disorder, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, Tourette's (many with ASD have tics also), Bipolar, Borderline Personality Disorder (since the identiy disturbance makes people prone to "identifying" with other disorders)... I'm sure there's more.
PDD-NOS has nothing to do with the other disorders you listed, PDD-NOS means you're on the autistic spectrum but don't fit the AS or Autism, Rett or Disintegrative diagnosis.
I've read several sources that say all of those in the bold print can be comorbid to Asperger's. Personally I have the first two on the list, with little doubt, and I have seen countless posters on AFF claim to have ADD with AS or Bipolar with AS... so I don't see why you'd have to "rule these out" first.
*Can* is one thing but in many cases they explain a person's symptoms and thus should be regarded as the sole/main diagnosis. Also as I pointed out, according to DSM-IV you cannot diagnose AS and ADD together (because the exclusion criteria for ADD include all pervasive developmental disorders*) so unless you are diagnosing according to ICD-10 ADD must be excluded also.
(It always depends which tools a diagnostician uses - both ADD and Tourette's can't be combined with AS and other autism spectrum disorders if diagnosing using the DSM-IV)
* Exclusion Criteria for ADD: "The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of a pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorder and are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, or a personality disorder)"
ADD and Avoidant Personality Disorder explain my symptoms almost perfectly, but I am still 100% positive I have Asperger's.
What now?
That depends on how big this "almost" is I guess! If it's a big gap then these two explanations aren't enough, it it's a small one then it's likely these are what you have. (Personally I think your ADD symptoms are more down to rapid-cycling Bipolar than ADD, this also explains your psychosis and moodswings)
PS: Could well be that you have ADD and rapid-cycling Bipolar or at least traits of both, though. Both of these plus a dash of Tourette's seem to fit you well (with or without AS), and would explain your "AS-atypical" traits quite well.
In the book I started a thread about in the News Section, the type that fit you best was Tourette's (mild, and tics often abate in your early Twenties) with its "unusual creativity", "emotional and temperamental reactivity", and "imitiation of others' actions or words" (which you said you used to do a lot) mixed with either Bipolar and/or ADD.
All of those are also known for social skills problems, sensory integration problems and other AS-typical things, so it's hard to say whether AS plays a part.
Mind you this line had me rolling on the floor: "exhibited behavioural difficulties including aggression and being victims of bullying"
So being a victim of bullying is a behavioural difficulty now? Um... Well I guess so being beaten up is unusual
[quote=Batman55]In your next message you might as well tell me to leave AFF because I lack convincing evidence that I have Asperger's. Goddamn it. Why do I even bother anymore?[/b]
This thread isn't about you, why don't you keep your constant demands for appraisal and confirmation to your own threads instead?
I don't have f*****g Tourette's either.
That's a classic! I know coprolalia isn't as common as people think but that's just hilarious!
A last bit of advice to Batman55: I was trying to come up with reasons why your "AS" (I'm sorry I refuse to give you "diagnosis" online, you cannot demand people confirm something about you that they have NO way of confirming from what tiny bits of info we have on you!) is so atypical. Bipolar and Tourettes traits seem to explain those atypical aspects of you very well. If you deny having anything other than AS then I am not sure how else you explain the fact that you barely show any more COMMON AS characteristics at all?
Mind you this line had me rolling on the floor: "exhibited behavioural difficulties including aggression and being victims of bullying"
So being a victim of bullying is a behavioural difficulty now? Um... Well I guess so being beaten up is unusual
I intend to bully anyone who places me into a category I don't agree with, like Tourette's/ADD without Asperger's. Point me to a combined type Tourette's/ADD forum ("I'm sure they exist") then, and I'll go there and leave this place behind for good. I'm here for a f****g reason, and that does not include insinuations by others that "I don't fit."
Batman55, you start thread after thread asking for input (or, as in this case, you take over someone else's thread for the same purpose), then you become belligerent when people don't tell you what you want to hear. You are not entitled to "bully anyone who places you into a category you don't agree with." If you are satisfied with your self-diagnosis, there is no need to argue about it with anyone else.
I really think that would be best because then you would have something official.
Well, you have a lot of the same things as I do and I'm officially diagnosed with Aspergers and Dysthymia, so I would not be surprised if you have at least the Aspergers. It makes it so hard though that there is no-one affordable in your area who you could go and see to be properly checked.
So if I can see that, why can't Noetic and some of the others?
I've printed out the copy of the DSM entry that Amy provided in a locked thread. When I get a chance, I'll go through and mark off items, then add them up... and then do the same for everything I have to rule out.
Trouble is, I've been having a hard time finding a decent copy of the DSM online. There are bits of it on Wikipedia, but for all I know those could be tampered with. The ones on psych sites don't look very well indexed.
The biggest one I'll be looking at is OCD, as per the DSM. (That one I've obviously got, double-checking locks, etc.) That will probably be the one I have the most questions about after I've had a chance to read through it.