Actually, a good friend of mine overcame lymph node cancer by herself (which is thought of being impossible by the medical guys).
Psychologists are just only people as well, and real competence is in the medical field as rare as it is in any other.
Diagnoses are as good as the knowledge, as the description of a phenomenon. The spectrum is far to iridescent to be easily described and too much in the flow to be grasped. And, each discovery of a new characteristic modulates the definition itself.
However, having a 'working title' for a bunch of 'syndromes' may help. And having an official diagnosis may be helpful in some ways, too.
Only a psychologist is competent to diagnose Asperger. And he or she has to do it in person, not over the Web.
We can't give you anything better than an opinion. Certainly not a diagnosis.
I do not believe in self-diagnosis any more than I believe in self-cancer-surgery.
In my case, I am AS because three separate evaluations, a year apart, said so.
Psychologists and specialists are people too (like yourself!); in the end an Aspie or an NT knows himself best. If you do all the research and you think you might be an Aspie and you talk to other Aspies (in real life and online) and you find striking similarities, I don't find a self-diagnosis egregious or redundant, and as you will find about 30-40% of folks on AFF are self-DXed. And many more are self-DXed before officially DXed.
We don't need a boot-camp kind of attitude about something the profile page in AFF provides a user (am I officially or self-DXed).. both options are there for a reason.
Thanks to everyone for the replies! You've been really helpful.
I know self diagnosing isn't the best thing to do, but after my parents researched AS they realised I had a lot of the characteristics. Things they thought were just me being eccentric or just awkward or just being rude.
I'm going to go to my GP and ask about it.
Thanks again everyone
Take care
It's a good place to start from.
We're all human, and so to some degree, we can all relate inwardly to multiple diagnoses. Sometimes I wonder if having the media of the internet doesn't do more harm than good. On one hand it could create more awareness, on the other, it seems that young people should have better things to worry about.
Not if you're self-absorbed and self-obsessed, which seems to be pretty common among some folks with Asperger's.
Only a psychologist is competent to diagnose Asperger. And he or she has to do it in person, not over the Web.
We can't give you anything better than an opinion. Certainly not a diagnosis.
I do not believe in self-diagnosis any more than I believe in self-cancer-surgery.
In my case, I am AS because three separate evaluations, a year apart, said so.
Psychologists and specialists are people too (like yourself!); in the end an Aspie or an NT knows himself best. If you do all the research and you think you might be an Aspie and you talk to other Aspies (in real life and online) and you find striking similarities, I don't find a self-diagnosis egregious or redundant, and as you will find about 30-40% of folks on AFF are self-DXed. And many more are self-DXed before officially DXed.
We don't need a boot-camp kind of attitude about something the profile page in AFF provides a user (am I officially or self-DXed).. both options are there for a reason.
Totally agree with what Batman said.
I wonder if the three separate evaluations were done by three different people? I have read of cases where three different diagnoses were given to the same person, by three different experts.
I have also read Echo Fling's account where she had three diagnoses of AS for her son only to realize he had NLD.
Cancer is not analogous to AS. You can be 100% sure you have cancer, whether diagnosed by one or ten specialists. The DSM is written by a committee.
Only a psychologist is competent to diagnose Asperger. And he or she has to do it in person, not over the Web.
We can't give you anything better than an opinion. Certainly not a diagnosis.
I do not believe in self-diagnosis any more than I believe in self-cancer-surgery.
In my case, I am AS because three separate evaluations, a year apart, said so.
Psychologists and specialists are people too (like yourself!); in the end an Aspie or an NT knows himself best. If you do all the research and you think you might be an Aspie and you talk to other Aspies (in real life and online) and you find striking similarities, I don't find a self-diagnosis egregious or redundant, and as you will find about 30-40% of folks on AFF are self-DXed. And many more are self-DXed before officially DXed.
We don't need a boot-camp kind of attitude about something the profile page in AFF provides a user (am I officially or self-DXed).. both options are there for a reason.
Totally agree with what Batman said.
I wonder if the three separate evaluations were done by three different people? I have read of cases where three different diagnoses were given to the same person, by three different experts.
I have also read Echo Fling's account where she had three diagnoses of AS for her son only to realize he had NLD.
Cancer is not analogous to AS. You can be 100% sure you have cancer, whether diagnosed by one or ten specialists. The DSM is written by a committee.
Thanks for agreeing with moi.
What is NLD?
Is it Nonverbal Learning Disorder?
Ok, that's good but I don't understand exactly what it means. Does it mean they are non-verbal or is it something else?
I know almost nothing about this, but . . .
I think it's called non-verbal because the verbal part is OK, i.e. can learn verbally, but has trouble learning non-verbally. Like Aspies, we're fine with words, it's the gestures, body language, subtle eye cues, and other non-verbal things that we have trouble with. So we have a non-verbal learning problem.
Jargon!
Ok, that's good but I don't understand exactly what it means. Does it mean they are non-verbal or is it something else?
It is a learning disorder that affects your ability to understand things presented visually as well as motor skills and balance, and as a result affects maths skills, co-ordination, spatial skills, and in particular reading nonverbal communication (tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions etc.).
People with NVLD tend to have much higher verbal IQs than Practical IQs, often get lost (can only navigate using "landmarks" because they have no sense of direction), misinterpret body language and tend to withdraw socially as they get older, preferring solitary activities and interests to social ones. They are clumsy, have difficulty with reading comprehension (although their verbal skills and ability to read/decode are very high) and tend to be good at categorising information.
Several studies have found that in comparisons between AS and HFA, the AS group showed the NVLD "learning/skills" profile of high Verbal IQ and low practical IQ (and shared all other aspects of NVLD too), whereas with HFA it was either the opposite (low verbal IQ and high practical IQ) or, since HFA kids tend to catch up language, similar verbal and practical IQs (but with strenghts in visual and spatial skills)
However since these studies usually use language delays and language problems as a difference between AS and HFA, and since they usually use people "matched by IQ" (i.e. they only use people who have similar overall IQs), it is hardly surprising to find that the HFA group had a lower verbal IQ and the AS group a higher verbal IQ.
For an Aspie, why should NVLD be considered a separate disorder if it is exceedingly common among those who have Asperger's, anyway?
The logic I'm using here is like this: Since attentional/executive dysfunction is often part of Asperger's anyway, it doesn't always need to be isolated as ADD (especially for some folks who have no academic difficulties). But even those who have no classic inattentive/distractible difficulties in school will probably have executive dysfunction (poor multitasking ability, etc.) in other ways.
I was diagnosed this morning with AS, which was no huge shock, but to have a professional tell me face to face I have Asperger's Syndrome was weird.
Also, I now don't feel as bad that I can't handle 'normal' jobs, like working in an office, and don't feel such a loser. He said that with my difficulties with people, that it just isn't an option for me. Which I'm glad, because now I can find my own way in the world, without having to do boring office jobs and do what everyone else does.
I've also learned that I have synesthesia. I just thought it was another weird thing about myself, but to know it has a name is weird too!
I'm not sure what to feel about it all, or what to do. I'm going to read up a lot, and prepare myself to do things I enjoy. I just have to accept that this is my life and try and use my abilities to the best I can.
I know almost nothing about this, but . . .
I think it's called non-verbal because the verbal part is OK, i.e. can learn verbally, but has trouble learning non-verbally. Like Aspies, we're fine with words, it's the gestures, body language, subtle eye cues, and other non-verbal things that we have trouble with. So we have a non-verbal learning problem.
No, the rest of the world simply refuses to speak properly.
Then why did nonverbal communication develop? It almost seems counterintuitive to me.
Is this a case of women choosing charismatic men as mates, over time, and that's where this damn annoying prevalence of nonverbal communication arises from?
Then why did nonverbal communication develop? It almost seems counterintuitive to me.
Is this a case of women choosing charismatic men as mates, over time, and that's where this damn annoying prevalence of nonverbal communication arises from?
Erm... do you think animals talk to each other or what? How do you think our ancestors and other animals communicated before verbal language developed?
Well I know all that. But I was speaking from the perspective of one who is quite puzzled by a lot of nonverbal communication.
I believe I came off like a complete idiot by saying that, though, which only helps to prove my theory that my intelligence is really not up to par.
Well I know all that. But I was speaking from the perspective of one who is quite puzzled by a lot of nonverbal communication.
Oh I do understand that. I think you made the false assumption a lot of Aspies make, e.g. that nonverbal communication is somehow something that NTs do deliberately and that they can switch on or off on command. They can't - you can learn to read it and analyse it but it all happens subconsciously.
And no you didn't come across as an idiot.
I still think I come across NTs who are "more nonverbal" than others, though. It's usually these people who I can "detect" something about from afar... without even being near them. There's like a "negative vibration" that goes on with them, which I can feel.
It seems that the narcissistic/impressive NTs (those dressed or built to impress others) are the ones I find this quality in, the most.
If non-verbal communication is unconscious, how can we learn it? We would be doing it consciously and so it would seem forced and stilted.