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What are your views of self diagnosis?

Southern Discomfort

Smarter than the Average Bear
V.I.P Member
PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT. This thread is in no way designed to create fractures in this community between those who are diagnosed by professionals and those who are self-diagnosed. Word your comments carefully and respect other people's opinions. I realise that getting a bunch of people who have difficulty in being tactful at times might be hard but please, do your best. Moderators, you don't need me to tell you that if this thread becomes nasty to lock it.

I feel this is an important topic to discuss that deserves it's own thread. With the rise of awareness of autism and Asperger's, especially this theory that symptoms of autism looks differently in women than men, people are not seeing doctors about possibly having some sort of Autism Spectrum Condition and instead end up self diagnosing for various reasons.

What are your views on self diagnosing? Do you think that more can be done by professionals to recognise and provide more accessibility for people who suspect they might have a form of autism? Do you think that autism as a defined condition is in danger of becoming less significant because of a blurred perception of it? Or do you think that it's good to show that autism can be seen in seemingly allistic (non-autistic) individuals and therefore helps break the stereotype of certain perceptions of these conditions? And does a self-diagnosis carry the same weight of importance as an official diagnosis?
 
Or do you think that it's good to show that autism can be seen in seemingly allistic (non-autistic) individuals and therefore helps break the stereotype of certain perceptions of these conditions? And does a self-diagnosis carry the same weight of importance as an official diagnosis?

The problem with an official diagnosis is how it is still more "art than science." All kinds of clueless professionals act like fools about it. Like I have great social skills and eye contact that looks like NT. If I had not sought out a specialist in diagnosing females I might not have "made the cut." I would still be baffled about the mystery illness that has been making me variably functional for the last five years.

That is the bottom line for me. I had self-diagnosed myself with utter confidence, and then what I did that was supposed to help Aspies, worked.

Self diagnose and self treat. Go ahead. It's not like there are so many people really qualified to help, sadly.
 
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PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT. This thread is in no way designed to create fractures in this community between those who are diagnosed by professionals and those who are self-diagnosed. Word your comments carefully and respect other people's opinions. I realise that getting a bunch of people who have difficulty in being tactful at times might be hard but please, do your best. Moderators, you don't need me to tell you that if this thread becomes nasty to lock it.

I feel this is an important topic to discuss that deserves it's own thread. With the rise of awareness of autism and Asperger's, especially this theory that symptoms of autism looks differently in women than men, people are not seeing doctors about possibly having some sort of Autism Spectrum Condition and instead end up self diagnosing for various reasons.

What are your views on self diagnosing? Do you think that more can be done by professionals to recognise and provide more accessibility for people who suspect they might have a form of autism? Do you think that autism as a defined condition is in danger of becoming less significant because of a blurred perception of it? Or do you think that it's good to show that autism can be seen in seemingly allistic (non-autistic) individuals and therefore helps break the stereotype of certain perceptions of these conditions? And does a self-diagnosis carry the same weight of importance as an official diagnosis?
I think that many remain undiagnosed for a long period of time, although they realise that they struggle in society for various reasons. Some eventually stumble onto something that leads them to self-diagnose, but choose not to be professionally diagnosed because they have lived with themselves for so long anyway. They have developed coping mechanisms.

Sometimes self-diagnosis remains just that because the choice is not to reveal the reality/possibility to anyone else. Whether it is as important as professional diagnosis is irrelevant, unless the diagnosis is needed for some reason.

I still think that there is a great deal about autism which remains unknown, and the ones who know a great deal about the condition, certainly much more than 'professionals' do, are those on the spectrum. There is much more that each individual knows that a professional simply cannot put a finger on, or put into a commonality or category. Certainly there are common symptoms, but professionals do not know much of that which makes up the whole.

There is always a problem with diagnosis, and that is that it lends itself to a deepening of defined behaviour sets, i.e. once diagnosed, there is a tendency for autistic behaviour to become more accented and accepted by the individual who has been diagnosed. Similarly, if a person is diagnosed with cancer, that person may quickly die, whereas he has lived with the problem for years, but it just was not diagnosed as cancer.

The human being and behaviour are incredibly complex, and I feel that it is a pity that we have such a strong tendency to categories everything and everyone. That in itself leads to problems, even though it is sometimes necessary.
 
I'm formally diagnosed, but only because I happened to have a chance encounter with just the right person who knew just the right people and the correct order in which to jump through the right hoops to get me there.

My point is, with the current infantile understanding of autism you cannot count on the mental health system to either diagnose or not diagnose you accurately. You're much better off using your brain and coming to your own conclusions; either way, it's mostly up to you to help yourself due to an almost total lack of services for adults so a diagnosis actually matters very little in the end.

So, I'd say either way is just as valid as the other.
 
I was under some misconceptions that makes me realize that maybe I should not have sought a diagnosis:

I thought I would have more job protections than I do. (Essentially, none.)

I thought I would get more help than I did. (Very little is available at all, and none in my area.)

I didn't know the insurance company would refuse to pay for the diagnosis (how can they refuse to pay for it when I "tested positive"?!?!?!?) and also they refuse to pay for any help I sought, like a weighted blanket, because there wasn't enough "medical necessity."

Considering I had to pay for driving, food, and lodging for two days to get to where the diagnosis was done, and then I had to pay for it, and then I had to pay for my weighted blanket, and I still have no help with the nutritional supplements that are letting me hang on to my physical and mental health; in the end I did not get anything more than I would have from just researching myself on the Web.

While it is good to know my own diagnosis was scientifically accurate (I am an Aspie, after all) and I can "prove" it should that be useful in the future, the net gain was less than zero.
 
I was under some misconceptions that makes me realize that maybe I should not have sought a diagnosis:

I thought I would have more job protections than I do. (Essentially, none.)

I thought I would get more help than I did. (Very little is available at all, and none in my area.)

I didn't know the insurance company would refuse to pay for the diagnosis (how can they refuse to pay for it when I "tested positive"?!?!?!?) and also they refuse to pay for any help I sought, like a weighted blanket, because there wasn't enough "medical necessity."

Considering I had to pay for driving, food, and lodging for two days to get to where the diagnosis was done, and then I had to pay for it, and then I had to pay for my weighted blanket, and I still have no help with the nutritional supplements that are letting me hang on to my physical and mental health; in the end I did not get anything more than I would have from just researching myself on the Web.

While it is good to know my own diagnosis was scientifically accurate (I am an Aspie, after all) and I can "prove" it should that be useful in the future, the net gain was less than zero.
Ow, that was not a nice experience. Talk about being stung by the very people who are supposed to be there to help you!
 
It seems to me that if anyone could diagnose themselves and be right, it would be a Aspie. I had not heard of Asperger's until I was 60, much less thought that I had it. I knew that I was different than everyone else, just not how or why. After I found out about AS, I researched it for two years. By that time I was convinced that I was a Aspie. It was not going to make much difference in my life because I already had a wife, family and career. I got the diagnosis when I was 62, just because I wanted to know for sure.

I believe that if you think that you are a Aspie, then you probably are. A diagnosis is not going to make much difference, unless you are seeking assistance of some kind. However, there does not seem to be much help for adults.
 
Before i was diagnosed i had a suspicion i had aspergers, then again i convinced myself i had all sorts of conditions but aspergers seemed to make sense the most, three years of seeing different doctors then finally i was diagnosed, so i think self diagnosis is maybe a gut feeling where we know somethings wrong then we have to wait and wait until we are proved right or wrong by a professional ....!
 
Professori said:
Some eventually stumble onto something that leads them to self-diagnose, but choose not to be professionally diagnosed because they have lived with themselves for so long anyway. They have developed coping mechanisms.

This is me. My son is officially diagnosed and over the last few years especially I've noticed how much he's actually like me. I don't see a point in a diagnosis although I don't believe 100% I am either because I think the diagnosis of autism has been blurred with other co-existing conditions and is one of the reasons why more are diagnosed now than before.

Southern Discomfort said:
Do you think that autism as a defined condition is in danger of becoming less significant because of a blurred perception of it?

I was literally just trying to talk to one of my sisters about this yesterday and she doesn't believe in labels at all. She also believes that too many people are diagnosed with autism that probably don't even have it because why would there all of a sudden be so many people diagnosed? I replied that that is a part of it, but mostly it's because it wasn't so well known before and now that it is the people who have it are being diagnosed. Especially since they are trying to diagnose really young now instead of later in life. She thinks that most people are just fine and have quirks and either they grow out of it or learn to deal with it.

For me, I never grew out of it, I learned to deal with it. I don't know if having a diagnosis at a young age would have helped me or not to be honest. What if what I think is autism is just all the many repercussions from living in a traumatic environment as a child and teen? I've never been able to voice this because I'm immediately shot down one way or the other. I'm glad this board is so friendly.

rainfall
 
IMO the bottom line is not the diagnosis itself, but rather what you intend to do with it, and the help that one actually receives if warranted. We can all argue over the merits of self-diagnosis, yet we all pretty much can acknowledge that it takes a formal professional diagnosis to pursue government entitlements.

However the irony in pursuing a formal diagnosis is that we have competing and contradicting mental health protocols and healthcare "professionals" who may have anything from a degree in psychology or social work, to MDs in neurology and psychiatry to implement an alleged "diagnosis". And all the malpractice insurance fees that go with them. Then you have to factor in the interference of politicians and insurers who by and large have only fiscal concerns in limiting or eliminating the cost of such healthcare whether for ideological reasons or their own bottom line and responsibility to shareholders. Not to mention the input and influence of pharmaceutical manufacturers competing for doctors to prescribe their products and line their pockets in the process. So that "formal" diagnosis that many rely on so heavily may be inherently tainted.

All which IMO serve to "soil" the best of professional medical intentions outlined by the modern Hippocratic Oath.

For myself, I'm only interested in the satisfaction of determining who and what I am, and how it has influenced my life. I never had any intention of seeking any kind of entitlement or subsidy for a condition I have lived and struggled with my entire life. So the diagnostic process in my case is a moot point altogether, apart from existing in a body politic which doesn't seem to sincerely want to help its autistic citizens anyways.

One thing for sure. Whether one is formally diagnosed or self-diagnosed, either way it is neither a "badge or honor" nor a membership in any "club".
 
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PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU COMMENT. This thread is in no way designed to create fractures in this community between those who are diagnosed by professionals and those who are self-diagnosed. Word your comments carefully and respect other people's opinions. I realise that getting a bunch of people who have difficulty in being tactful at times might be hard but please, do your best. Moderators, you don't need me to tell you that if this thread becomes nasty to lock it.

I feel this is an important topic to discuss that deserves it's own thread. With the rise of awareness of autism and Asperger's, especially this theory that symptoms of autism looks differently in women than men, people are not seeing doctors about possibly having some sort of Autism Spectrum Condition and instead end up self diagnosing for various reasons.

What are your views on self diagnosing? Do you think that more can be done by professionals to recognise and provide more accessibility for people who suspect they might have a form of autism? Do you think that autism as a defined condition is in danger of becoming less significant because of a blurred perception of it? Or do you think that it's good to show that autism can be seen in seemingly allistic (non-autistic) individuals and therefore helps break the stereotype of certain perceptions of these conditions? And does a self-diagnosis carry the same weight of importance as an official diagnosis?
I diagnose people myself more than they ever self diagnose haha. It makes it easier to be myself around them. I have heard of incredibly nuerodiverse people adopting it recently as they see it as a trendy quirk -.- that's the self diagnosis I'm sure we all despise. I think the ones who are struggling in life deserve to identify with being autistic. It helps them explain to other people why they act a certain way however, because it is not official people can disregard them as attention seekers. That's really upsetting for those struggling people to be dismissed like that and really they should get a diagnosis. Some people can live knowing they most likely have it until they clearly need it to be acknowledged by the world to be eligible for help. Like myself, I've always thought in a different manner but I only needed it to officially stated at Univeristy when I struggled with their thought pattern. If I met someone self diagnosed I would assume they're too scared of going to a doctor or that they are capable of getting on with life perfectly fine without a piece of paper certifying it.
 
Nice thread. Based on all of our personal experiences with doctors, therapists, and medical professionals, the one thing we have learned is "If things do not seem right, feel right, and look right, regardless of one's credentials, it is ok to question that, and look deeper or elsewhere."

Medical professionals are no different than any other service profession. Incompetence or agendas can come into play, or rigidity in practices, policies or procedures can take precedence over doing the right thing. Individualizing things, analyzing deeper and listening is often not a priority.

"Time is worth money" they say. And so in the medical profession, you can often either have one of three things. A great doctor that does all the right things, or a quick inaccurate diagnosis, or a desire not to screen and diagnose, the latter two because of impatience or a lack of time.

Our family has received the latter two the most, and so only through our own proactive efforts and research did we get direction. In other words, our philosophy regarding the medical profession is: "Trust and respect needs to be earned." We do not care how great a doctor was in the past or to others, but how they react to our specific situations.

My wife was diagnosed her entire life with numerous different conditions like Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar, in that order spanning twenty five years. Yet, something did not seem right, so I researched further. Instead, ADHD explained everything.

So, those who diagnosed and treated her in the past looked at things superficially, or too quickly, seeing she was a woman and focusing on the depression and anxiety components and putting her in a category that they specialized in, or so as to promptly treat with medication or because of condition urgency or to satisfy insurance.

None of the medically diagnosed conditions explained my wife's lifetime of feeling disorganized and scatterbrained, her extreme inability to focus or concentrate, her interrupting persons when they talked, her lifetime of fast talking, regardless of situation, her jumping over steps, her not finishing all tasks or timely, and the like.

So, we had my wife take nine hours of neuropsychological testing recently, and the psychologist himself said all those other doctors were incompetent or negligent as she had a severe case of ADHD based on all the testing results. So, yes, we feel it is ok to have self-diagnoses, as patients and/or their families can be just as wise from seeing daily things, without agenda. They are dealing with things daily.

ADHD is seen as a male condition, and certainly stereotyped too as not a part of my wife's race, so that could have factored into these misdiagnoses too. Gender and race bias regarding diagnoses. Each misdiagnosis she was given was carried to new doctors, who would diagnosis the same, until a new doctor who specialized in something else or with other incompetence or agenda diagnosed another, which would repeat then that cycle.

So, my wife suffered for twenty five years with wrong psychiatric drug treatments, the last ten years which I was trying to find solutions to after marriage, when those treatments kept failing. It was only through our recent willingness to question all the diagnoses, did we finally get the right answers. This brought us relief, and knowing how to proceed.

Our youngest son Dylan, age five, was equally misdiagnosed because of incompetence, agenda, rigid policies, or to satisfy insurance, or because of pressure to delay diagnostics by other systems, even after knowing our older son had Autism and us detailing how he had many of the same core symptoms as Aaron, but showing in different ways.

Many likely saw his eye contact, smile, and very small size and had the let's wait til age four or longer to diagnose. Others likely thought because he refused to eat hardly anything, did not sleep much or could not talk that must be because of our environment, while other services wanted to give a general diagnoses so as their treatments could be covered, with them saying to us the diagnosis was not important.

Well, speak for themselves, as wrong treatments can be given for wrong diagnoses. Also, persons can pressure caregivers for the child to act typical in absense of a diagnosis. Heck, parents can be turned in if their child has certain behavioral issues or eating difficulties that seem out of the ordinary. The parents have a right to prompt diagnoses. If medical people cannot or will not, and their peers refuse to do the same in a reasonable time, by all means the parents can do the doctor's homework for them. They often have more insight anyway.

All of Dylan's doctors had said to us: 'We are not trained to test for Autism.' So, family doctors and pediatricians cannot test for a condition becoming more and more common? They seemed more interested in looking up his nose, in his ears, and checking his height and his weight, than listening to our desires to screen, and our concerns. They go for many years of medical school and are not educated about core symptoms of major conditions?

We had to drive Dylan to a specialist four hours away at age four, when all those doctors did nothing, despite symptoms being there at age eighteen months. We supplied videos supporting our position, and one hundred of pages of evidence, as we worried that doctor would know what to do either. Luckily, he was a competent one who agreed Dylan had Autism. He needed our evidence though, as on that day Dylan refused to budge from his chair or cooperate. He was scared of the new environment and could not be totally himself.
 
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It seems to me that if anyone could diagnose themselves and be right, it would be a Aspie. I had not heard of Asperger's until I was 60, much less thought that I had it. I knew that I was different than everyone else, just not how or why. After I found out about AS, I researched it for two years. By that time I was convinced that I was a Aspie. It was not going to make much difference in my life because I already had a wife, family and career. I got the diagnosis when I was 62, just because I wanted to know for sure.

I believe that if you think that you are a Aspie, then you probably are. A diagnosis is not going to make much difference, unless you are seeking assistance of some kind. However, there does not seem to be much help for adults.
i totally agree,people with classic autism or aspergers are THE specialists about their own condition,they often become extremely educated on autism or aspergers and can detach themselves from the traits and symptoms logically unlike NTs who tend to use emotion before logic,so i personally see undiagnosed spectrumers as autists who are yet to have a formal label placed on them,i dont see them as any different to myself.

i faced a similar situation to most undiagnosed autistics with my mental health,i suffered from bipolar from a very young age but i was never diagnosed with anything other than severe combined ADHD,i was non verbal so couldnt give my side of the story and i had attempted many suicide atempts but they were put down to 'challenging behavior'.
when i was around 25 and living in a specialist severe or profound complex autism residential home,i was suffering from an extreme pyschotic breakdown due to not having my mental health supported and an online predator/bully who targeted me,some of the staff and managers in the home said 'people with severe autism cannot have mental health issues' and left me neglected,so i did a lot of things i regret i cant even mention here but i was so deeply psychotic.
i only got diagnosed with bipolar about two months ago and it was a massive relief to me to finally have the name to my condition and for people to finally understand me.
its the same for people undiagnosed with autism, they know how frustrating it is to not know for sure so we should do everything we can to support them as our own really.
 
I diagnose people myself more than they ever self diagnose haha. It makes it easier to be myself around them. I have heard of incredibly nuerodiverse people adopting it recently as they see it as a trendy quirk -.- that's the self diagnosis I'm sure we all despise. I think the ones who are struggling in life deserve to identify with being autistic. It helps them explain to other people why they act a certain way however, because it is not official people can disregard them as attention seekers. That's really upsetting for those struggling people to be dismissed like that and really they should get a diagnosis. Some people can live knowing they most likely have it until they clearly need it to be acknowledged by the world to be eligible for help. Like myself, I've always thought in a different manner but I only needed it to officially stated at Univeristy when I struggled with their thought pattern. If I met someone self diagnosed I would assume they're too scared of going to a doctor or that they are capable of getting on with life perfectly fine without a piece of paper certifying it.

I like diagnosing doctors or service professionals to see if that is why they are having troubles diagnosing and treating, and because of the difficulties doing the right things. Two of my wife's former doctors clearly had some condition. The signs and symptoms were so obvious not to notice. I wondered if they knew what they had. If not, then that would also explain why they could not diagnose her accurately.

Whereas one had nearly the exact same disorganized and scattered general thinking as my wife. with extremely fast faced talking and interruptions, and with a mind wandering to issues not even relevant to the visit, and with fidgety state, the other doctor seemed overly perfectionistic, organized, detailed, and technical, but with an overbearing attitude he was too important for us and busy.

I hate to disrespect those that have worked so hard to be where they are in life, as that is admirable, and as there are so many great professionals, too, but those persons that succeed often can have a condition undiagnosed or diagnosed as well, just as those who cannot work. Few talk about that, but that large ego, stress from the many responsibilities, wrongs committed, and need to achieve at all costs could indicate some condition.
 
I like diagnosing doctors or service professionals to see if that is why they are having troubles diagnosing and treating, and because of the difficulties doing the right things. Two of my wife's former doctors clearly had some condition. The signs and symptoms were so obvious not to notice. I wondered if they knew what they had. If not, then that would also explain why they could not diagnose her accurately.

Whereas one had nearly the exact same disorganized and scattered general thinking as my wife. with extremely fast faced talking and interruptions, and with a mind wandering to issues not even relevant to the visit, and with fidgety state, the other doctor seemed overly perfectionistic, organized, detailed, and technical, but with an overbearing attitude he was too important for us and busy.

I hate to disrespect those that have worked so hard to be where they are in life, as that is admirable, and as there are so many great professionals, too, but those persons that succeed often can have a condition undiagnosed or diagnosed as well, just as those who cannot work. Few talk about that, but that large ego, stress from the many responsibilities, wrongs committed, and need to achieve at all costs could indicate some condition.
Ahaha I love this! I agree that doctors must have some sort of condition!
 
I support people who don't have an official diagnosis because even in progressive countries it can be hard to get a straight-forward diagnosis. However I'm not sure about "self-identifying" as having AS. And just to be clear, I'm NOT talking about people (many of which are on this forum) who think/know that they're Autistic but have been denied access to a diagnosis through no fault of their own. Instead I mean those who outright refute the diagnostic process. That sounds as if Autism is just a fashionable choice rather than a medical fact. You can think that you may have Aspergers, you can suspect and strongly believe you're an aspie and I'll hold your hand every step of the way but never presume to throw away our science, as without science we are nothing.
 
I am self diagnosed and currently, unless by chance, I see no hope of being formall diagnosed.

The benefit of professionally being diagnosed is that I will be taken more serious, but, as it happens, the more ones are in my company, the more they see the aspie in me.
 
Ahaha I love this! I agree that doctors must have some sort of condition!
Us Aspies are good at spotting others on the Spectrum; my psychiatrist is definitely on the Spectrum and the fact that he works in Mental Health Clinic I'm sure others have noticed. He, like me, has an obsession with the blues (music) and we spend more time discussing that than my mental health. He exhibits very little eye contact, not good at greetings and goodbyes (usually just walks off absorbed in his thoughts). I also get a big kick out of this and think, "Kudos to you, doc, you made it through medical school."
I still think that there is a great deal about autism which remains unknown, and the ones who know a great deal about the condition, certainly much more than 'professionals' do, are those on the spectrum. There is much more that each individual knows that a professional simply cannot put a finger on, or put into a commonality or category. Certainly there are common symptoms, but professionals do not know much of that which makes up the whole.
Someone once said something to the tune of "When you meet one person with Aspergers--you've met one person with Aspergers." I agree that we are a diversified group and that developing tests that can definitely assess that one is on the Spectrum may be difficult when evaluating some of us. Also the fact that it is not unusual for an Aspie to have a comorbidity which can make a diagnosis more difficult and subject to error. Yes, they can pinpoint certain traits however I fully agree that we are much more complex than that. A blessing or curse? I say both however as I grow older and know/accept myself so much more than I did when younger. I find my journey more a blessing.
 
I would of never been comfortable just being self-diagnosed, my mom still thinks the whole thing is a scam and I couldn't imagine anybody else having believed me without that packet of papers from the doctor. Going through another pregnancy I'm glad I could prove what was wrong with me with it, in the past when I didn't know people assumed I was just extremely ****ed up, or on loads of drugs (before I ever did any kind of drug, smoke or have a drink). My dad for a long time thought I was on meth, wth. Cops are terrible, I've never been in a car pulled over without being searched (why I dedicately don't ever ride dirty) cops have threatened to take me to the hospital to have me drug screened right there because I was acting weird (all before I ever did anything, they've actually treated me more normal, I guess I come off as more normal since partaking in substances, which for me is just hilarious.) So finally having the answer and having it backed up by a credible source for everyone else has been a great relief from my perspective.

Oh and don't forget my favorite question people would always ask me, "what is wrong with you??" :( So irritating. Nice to finally have an answer.

I've only been diagnosed about 16 or so months back, Feb 2016. I found out myself the summer of 2015 through mass research, I had every single autism and aspergers book from the library for about 2 months, at one point I had over 100 books out.

The whole reason I actually had the insurance to pay for my diagnosis was because I was still on Medicare from when I was pregnant with my son. It would of been too scary to have to drop 500+$ on the testing on a maybe.
 
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I support people who don't have an official diagnosis because even in progressive countries it can be hard to get a straight-forward diagnosis. However I'm not sure about "self-identifying" as having AS. And just to be clear, I'm NOT talking about people (many of which are on this forum) who think/know that they're Autistic but have been denied access to a diagnosis through no fault of their own. Instead I mean those who outright refute the diagnostic process. That sounds as if Autism is just a fashionable choice rather than a medical fact. You can think that you may have Aspergers, you can suspect and strongly believe you're an aspie and I'll hold your hand every step of the way but never presume to throw away our science, as without science we are nothing.

I know what you are saying, and ordinarily I might agree further, but I could easily make a case for those who may disagree, as my thinking is divided here.

First of all, regardless what condition one has, we cannot assume the nature of their condition is such they could get diagnosis or treatment or that they could trust another to do that, or open up to anyone about any limitations, and especially if they heard how tough it is to find a doctor to accurately, promptly and fairly diagnose.

Secondly, what is the diagnostic process? Dylan went through ten doctors and service providers and none of those attempted to diagnose, despite us pressuring them to do something as core symptoms were there. They wanted to be patient, play ignorant, or just want to push him off to feeding, behavioral or occupational therapy without a diagnosis first.

So, people are just supposed to go through the medical system and process hoping they get lucky and find the perfect doctor to do the right things in a timely and reasonable way? Their conditions could be worsened by rejection, delays, incompetence, a lack of listening, arrogance, misdiagnosis, pressure to get treatment before diagnosis, etc.

If it were not for my strength, patience, and ability to see through all the medical wrongs, and my abilities to research and analyze, then our one child and my wife could have never been diagnosed properly. So, many caregivers and afflicted could be at the mercy of the medical establishment who is in no hurry to do things, or who cannot do things reasonably.

It is not caregivers or those with such conditions' fault the medical community does not have all their things in order. There is no consensus of what to do to diagnose Autism. Do they have a mandated screening for that, at a certain age, or when a certain number of core symptoms are met? No. Most would not even screen, unless it likely fits a perfectly stereotypical very severe image, or if a parent threatens them of lawsuit. In our case, nicely asking to screen went nowhere.

What is the standard test or diagnostic criteria for Autism? A simple Mchat, an ADOS test, the ADIR, or about six other tools that can be used, to screen for that condition. Or the DSM? If family doctors and pediatricians will not screen Autism by any of those items, that means specialists must, like a psychologist, psychiatrist, or Autism specialist that can involve very long waiting lists, higher costs, or more fears.

Dave, you mention we need Science. From what I understand, medical science is an inexact science. As well, there is yet to be a cure for Autism and related conditions, and no widely recognized treatment that helps all that have those conditions. So, perhaps many that choose self-diagnosis too do not want the pressure of long treatments? Or perhaps many love who they are, and feel a need for acceptance?

So, these persons may just want to off the record know what they have, without additional pressures or formal stereotype. Or maybe others fear a doctor will give the wrong diagnosis, and so worry of a lifetime of being seen as someone they are not? There are so many variables that come into play, so I cannot unfairly judge why any one person might rather self-diagnose, and as we had to too for Dylan before his diagnosis.

I am not arguing, but just showing another side to this. Personally, I commend anyone who is willing to research things on their own and admit they could have a condition. This society is often in denisl of things, or wanting to hide things, or wanting to wait to determine important things. I love those who are proactive and use their wisdom, too, and can sometimes question things.

Yes, I do feel a medical diagnosis would help in the long run, so if that is possible through submitting evidence and asserting oneself and demanding a prompt screening I am all for that, if that family wants that or is able to do that. I am not into though dragged out or medical agendas, or putting rigid protocols above the immediate needs of the one with that condition and their families. Too often that is the case.

The fact that more cases of Autism are reported though could mean some hope in the right direction in terms of more diagnostics, so I would not discourage anyone from trying to get a formal diagnosis, like we did, without giving up until another listened. However, for all the reasons given I certainly could understand why one would not want to go through such a process. We had to, as to us the condition in Dylan was obvious, and we had to protect our children's future rights.

Nice post though. It caused me to think of the other side to things.
 

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