I originally started researching autism/aspergers because of my son who has a brain disorder and many other medical problems.
Once I started it, I thought "WOW, this is me" The more I read into it the more answers I got for being the way I am in many many ways.
I brought it up to my Doctor, and she agreed, even though she said I have no insurance so it would be hard to get an "official" diagnosis. Which is something I dont care to have or not to have. My whole life I have felt completely out of place, and different, and I just want tools on how to work around it. I know this sounds insane, but I WANT to have it., I WANT this to be the reason Ive felt out of place. Why I feel so misunderstood. Why I get easily offended. Why people tell me Im being rude and I have no ide why they would think that.
A few weeks ago I went to get an intake to start seeking out patient therapy. I brought Aspergers up to her and she said she didnt see it what so ever. I have a hard time witha lot of things. Directions is something Ive always had a hard time with. On assignments, putting things together, ect ect. I just get soo anxious seeing all those words and letters that I Forget what some of them mean. In conversations I will say the same thing over and over again in different ways, with different words. I hate having people come to my house. I hate it. If my Grandma stops by without me knowing, I freak out. She says Im being mean, but Im not meaning to, it just sends me into panic mode.  Looking into peoples eyes. I cant stand it. I CANT. I Feel this feeling building up through me when I force myself to look at someones eyes. People Im close to its okay.. that "feeling" the "fills" my body doesnt happen as fast, but it stll does.
I just need to see if other people agree with me. I dont want to use this as an excuse not to be able to move on in life, but it will make me feel better knowing I Can recieve treatment and ways to improve my skills.

Welcome to AFF.

A professional diagnosis isn't really necessary, unless you want to apply for services. A lot of people do seek one just to feel a little more certain about it. I don't really have any advice for how to get one. Most people in autistic communities will accept a self-diagnosis every bit as much as a professional one.

A lot of people out there, including professionals, will often tell possible aspies that they seem normal to them. I think there are two main reasons they do this. One is that they want to make you feel like there isn't anything wrong with you and you're okay. Of course, most of them don't realize that most of us don't feel like there's anything wrong with us anyway. The other reason is that you don't fit their idea of what autism or asperger's looks like.

What D_Olson says. Plus that the diagnosis procedure is geared towards autism as a disability. If you don't seem disabled enough to them, people will be inclined to say that you don't have it - even if you are a textbook case.

This post was last modified: 09-09-2012 10:51 PM by 142857.

Hm... If you want a official diagnosis, you might want to find a specialist that specializes in Autism/Asperger's Syndrome.

I was re-diagnosed and lost the label of 'Autism' when this psychiatrist thought I didn't have it, till one day I came into their office in a disorderly matter. She got frustrated and wrote me a referral to another psychiatrist that specializes in Autism. Even when I saw the other psychiatrist, I was relabeled with Autism/Asperger's Syndrome again. Anyways to make a long story short, I went through a few psychiatrists before I finally found the right one.

Basically if you wish to get a diagnosis find a doctor that specialists in Autism. Make sure they are reputable. Also you could stay self-diagnosed unless you need to be diagnosed to get help in college or something.

I hope my post was somewhat helpful.

A professional diagnosis isn't really necessary, as long as you've read a lot about Autism Spectrum Disorders and you've payed close enough attention, that way you can successfully self-diagnose. But remember, even if you've done a fair share of studying up on, say, Asperger Syndrome and you self-diagnose, you still may not have it, you may just have plenty of traits. I myself am self-diagnosed, since I don't think my parents know what Asperger Syndrome is and I know that if I tell them about it they'd do nothing. I have an endless amount of Asperger Syndrome traits, but I still wonder whether ot not I have it.

Self diagnosis implies that you are playing doctor. I prefer "self identify" or "self recognise". It isn't a disease.

I would say it is impossible for a child to be able to self-DX anything, much less themselves.

For the young, professional DX will properly put them in touch with any helpful professional therapy or treatment, that they may need to give them a leg-up in life.

some aspies kids DO self-DX before they receive a professional DX.

Like Rosie from the BBC special on autism...she was 9 and reading a book about autism (because she wanted to relate to her little brother who has classic autism), and then she figured out that she had asperger's and told her parents, and they got her tested and she did.

yes but most people miss-dx

Yes probably ...although I wonder if there was more (correct) awareness about autism, and other things like add then maybe more kids would self Dx and get tested...that would be interesting...

Correct, but I self-diagnosed for good reasons. I show almost every single trait, "symptom" if you will. My parents most likely do not know what Asperger Syndrome is, and even if they did they would probably get me tested, as I've told them about other disorders and they have done nothing to help me, nor have they taken me to get an official diagnosis.

All in all, yeah self-diagnosis is, of course, not completely accurate unless you yourself have a career in psychiatry, or, especially, in Developmental Disorders.

I know an individual who has a severely Autistic friend; thanks to studying up on Autistic Spectrum Disorders in addition to the Autistic friend, she can detect Asperger traits and can detect Asperger Syndrome in others. She was the only person I've met who was able to notice my bounty of Asperger traits.

and...............you are still self-dxing.

self -dxers are always welcome here

but still, it is a self-dx and not to be confused with correct labeling.

I stand by my statement that children cannot correctly diagnose themselves as far as their personalities go.

I was labeled by professionals and am an older adult, and still dont understand my own personality and its quirks.

That is because I am inside me and dont see what others see.

You as a person who states that they are 12 years old, have many years of growing to do.