the issue of self diagnosis

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April 2012 was when I started to suspect I was on the Autistic Spectrum I got an official diagnosis in March 2013.

My realisation of my ASD came after a large upheaval in my life and I believe I suffered a nervous breakdown in 2010.

My family back in 2012 says there was no way I was autistic.
They all now accept I am.

I find it hard to believe that any significant number of people would want to fake the condition.

When new members join this site describing their traits and asking the question are they on the spectrum I think in most cases they most likely are.

I believe there is a lot of fake ADD cases because the drug companies make loads of money putting children on medication.

Autism as such has no treatment that will turn a profit for the big pharmaceutical industry thus there is little motivation to diagnose it.

Aspergers is Autism and it sucks I do not think it is cool trendy or the next stage in eveloution.

the problem with self diagnosis is that conditions can look a lot like other conditions,it isnt just about the idea of people faking it,its that people can sometimes self diagnose wrongly to.
am not against self diagnosers however as long as they dont speak for people diagnosed with the condition as if they have had profesional assessment to,we have had members here who spoke for the whole spectrum,also said it wasnt a disability because they did not feel disabled in any form and they eventualy got assessed;turned out they had mental health conditions instead,they had the balls to come and tell us that -there are probably many others who havent.

I agree with you in that regard.

You siad they came back and admitted they had mental health problems well like you I say fair play to them.

There are people with mental health problems who think they are God and I am not being funny this is quite common.

Posters like yourself have helped me to understand the uneven spectrum better.

I can hold down a job but I can not do friendships or relationships to save my life.
I have also never lived independently.

You without a doubt have a much deeper grasp of the Autistic spectrum then me and you have the writing skills to really express it.

I moved recently to supported living, but before I lived with a housemate, he got inofficially diagnosed with mild ASD and he truly is different from "normal" people, even with mild ASD, he is unemployed for almost all his life and struggles in many areas, very much socially.
He found in the last past years some people he hangs out with, mostly friends of his brother and he joins when they meet, and he told me there are three of them telling that they are "some kind of autistic", which is really not true, he knows the diagnostic criteria very well, and he says they do not fulfill any of the criteria in any clinical sense, but they tell to other people that they are "some kind of autistic".
So I think some people who suspect themselves as being autistic might be mistaken, but I think if someone stays on this website for a longer time the person is probably autistic because if the person relates to the experiences of autistis people than they probably are, because I don't think it is interesting to stay on a forum with people you do not relate to, but some might not be autisic as well, but I am not to judge about it, the best advice is always to get assessed for it if possible, but I know it is not possible for everyone for different reasons.

well I tend to assume that people coming on here and asking whether there is a high chance they are autistic there is probably a good reason why they feel that way.

I doubt its common for hypochondriacs to start imagining things like autism, its usually physical illness isn't it?

anyone who has enough symptoms to list probably has a high chance of having it, if that's coupled with high online tests and that they have studied about autism enough.

There's a Cracked article (yeah, I know, it's Cracked, but...) listing aspergers as trendy among teenagers because of it's occasional positive traits like logic and high IQ, because teens for some reason don't think people away from the ASD have these? Additionally, I'd argue teens like having a "condition" to fall back on as an excuse for their social failings.

What I'm proposing here is that the number is the number of "fakers" is only significant among teens... But I believe a very small amount of these people do this intentionally.... And I don't see it as too much of a problem for the autistic community.

I strongly agree with your bolded point. Pharmacy + capital makes for a delusional combo and we all need to be aware of it. Any person who simply tells their therapist that they are sad opens the door to diagnosis of depression, and I've seen that first hand.

I also don't doubt there are loads of people on the spectrum who will never figure it out.

Right. But I bet it won't be long until a term for mental illness paranoia will be coined. Peoples' brains really can mess with them in one way or another, ha.

OvnR in 2010 when I hit the rocks I went to my doctor I was prescribed antidepressants.

I read the inlay sheet and one of the side effects was an increased risk of suicide.

I threw them in the trash without ever taking a single one.

I agree. I have been careful online (and elsewhere) to say that I haven't been diagnosed, but have been screened as very likely having Asperger's Syndrome (AS). Others have tried to be diagnosed, but were told that there is no accepted standardized diagnostic AS test for adults in the United States, that the diagnostician doesn't diagnose adults, or simply that the cost is prohibitive. Unless AS and ASD simply no longer exist in people after they turn 12 (childhood diagnoses are advised up to age 11), or they do exist and certain people with AS and ASD just have a harder time convincing diagnosticians (and others) that they really do exist. The result is that a few do succeed in a diagnosis, while most others make do with one or more of several screening tests. Still others just "know" after studying long and hard about their own characteristics and other factor diagnoses. The individual who lacks a diagnosis might not have one available, or might choose simply to forego getting one for any number of reasons. So, I don't believe that it is fair to: 1) split the AS/ASD community along diagnostic lines, and 2) expect a diagnosis from anyone who might have very personal reasons why he or she doesn't have (want or need) an official diagnosis. For every individual who misdiagnoses his or her self's AS or ASD, there is likely a diagnostician who misdiagnoses another individual's AS or ASD. When the deck is currently stacked against people who seek diagnoses, should we judge their motivations or ability to share their own experiences as a person with AS or ASD?

had wondered the same thing when was first prescribed cymbalta [an SNRI] a while ago upon googling the drug.
the possibility of increased suicidal behavior isnt a direct side effect of the anti depressant,it is caused by the early days of the drug allowing the person to develop enough motivation to do something whilst the depression is still at a uncontroled severe level.
if were not severely depressed [suicidal,or catatonic, in constant mental agony etc] woud not suddenly become severely depressed by taking the anti depressant.

if are depressed still sharkattack it might be worth trying them again but asking those around self to be a bit more supportive during the first few weeks when are most vulnerable to being motivated and depressed at the same time from the drug.

To be honest Kingdom Of Rats an uncle I was really close to committed suicide in 2010 on top of that I was being bullied in my job at the time and one of my tormentors put in a complaint against me.
It worked out in my favour and the place shut down the next year.

In my new job I get on a lot better thanks to a lot of help from people like yourself.

reactive depression is even harder to deal with than biological depression as the medications dont really work well for it so can understand the situation,even though are better now dont ever feel afraid to take ADs if need to,think of them as giving life back.

That good advice again thanks.

I think if someone has really done their research and still believes they are then they probably are. So much of my assessment was based on my talking about my own experiences, and you so rarely here about people thinking they have it and then not getting the diagnosis, basically makes me think adult diagnosis is often based on an individuals opinion on themselves (that they obviously have to back up with evidence). I think it would be quite rare for someone who identifies as self diagnosed to not get a diagnosis if they went for one.

I think when people come on here enquiring, treat them with an open mind, point them towards resources to learn more as it is how a lot of us started the road to diagnosis. If someone goes as far as to identify as self diagnosed I would respect that. I do think though, I do think people should seek an official diagnosis before they starts speaking on behalf of others with this condition, but obviously that is easier said than done especially in some country's.

I disagree. It's not so much self-diagnosis that I have a problem with as much as the general over diagnosis. Here's why:

I believe that over diagnosis is on the rise. I think that loads of 'aspies' who have been diagnosed by psychiatrists are not, in fact, in the least bit autistic. I believe that they are simply introverted. I also believe that MOST people are introverted, it's just that there are varying degrees in introversion and extroversion.

Personal story real quick-
I was 15 when my mom 'diagnosed' me with AS. I firmly believed that I had AS and for awhile loads of stuff started making sense. Then I think that I started subconsciously conforming to the common traits of aspies. The traits that I might have had just a hint of were suddenly even more prominent. This only strengthened my believe that I had AS. I wanted to get a diagnosis from a psychiatrist but my mom was against it. Later I started reading about all the over diagnosis of AS, ADD, Bipolar disorder, ADHD, etc in America. I then re-examined my past and realized that there's a difference between autism and my personality. I mean really, I'm not unhappy, I'm not oppressed or discriminated, I CAN interact with people almost as well as the next guy. The sound and touch sensitivity is just another matter that is unrelated to AS. I then decided that there are probably lots of diagnosed aspies who are in the same boat, they just got a diagnosis for their personality in essence. Getting a diagnosis would not have helped me in the least, if anything it would have hurt me. I would have conformed even more to the list of traits that aspies have, I may have told select people that I had AS and then they would have viewed me differently. After I concluded that I was an NT I started really working on eye contact and socializing more and guess what- I improved a lot!

I'm just saying that it's probably very much over diagnosed and just because someone shares a few traits doesn't mean that they're an aspie.