what are the benefits of being diagnosed AS?

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i'm terribly sorry if this is a frequently recurring post. I can't seem to find a search function, and i didn't see any recent posts on this topic, so i took the plunge.

anyway, my question is pretty straightforward: if one believes that s/he has AS, but s/he feels like s/he is doing ok without meds or extraneous support, what good would an official diagnosis do for that person?

thanks,
-rob

Apparently, it helps in employment. Having had no first-hand experience in employment, I can't personally confirm this, but if a boss is already aware that his/her new worker has AS before they even begin the job, it could avoid some potentially awkward situations. Of course, not all bosses will be sympathetic, but at least they'll have no excuse for discriminating against you.

Also, it feels good to have an official diagnosis. A written confirmation of something you already know might seem a bit pointless, but at least it shows to you that there's a reason for being an oddball.

ah. i see that you, Hodor, are from the UK. and, many others on this site are as well. here, in the states, i don't know what good it'd do someone in the work place, since it isn't an officially recognized "disability", so they can't write you off at tax time. plus, AS is poorly known in the states, and many employers are unlikely to have heard of it. once they do some research (if they do), they may deem me or someone like me to be a "bad egg" or some other such nonsense, and not even offer the job, on some flimsy pretext not having to do with overt discrimination.

in my line of work, however, it might do me some good. or, it might be disastrous. my coworkers become very uncomfortable when i ask for their input on what's up with me, knowing i think i've got asperger's. it'd probably help a lot at the exact employer i'm at now, but i don't know how it'd be received at a public school.

remember, a key difference between medical history and conditions in the usa versus the uk is that, in the usa, health conditions of any sort are likely to be held against you in a way that is financially and or professionally debilitating. having some sort of neurological abnormality might end up being a preclusion to the acquisition of a government job or even simple health insurance. it may have a lot of inconsistencies and flaws, but the movie "sicko" might help the world's citizens better understand how perilous the american healthcare system can be...

any thoughts?

-rob

I think that basic rights such as Health & Education should not be a private industry.

As for having a DX in my case it's to get my family out of denial about my asperger's and because I want to help more with autism awareness and advocacy. I think it will help if I'm 'officially' an aspie.

Hi there, Hodor, I like your Möbius strip dice.

I finally had to tell my latest boss about my aspieness, so that she would get off my back about the team player nonsense.

I was hired to solve complex computer problems, which I do better than anyone else in this place, but every time the management changes, a bunch of little kids come in with their shiny new MBAs and lecture us about togetherness and groupthink. Then they move me out of my office and put me in a room full of jabbering, heavily perfumed junior programmers and tell me to sit next to them so that they can learn how I do what I do.

It is impossible for me to sit near other people because of my severe sensory issues, since they all bathe in layers of perfume, cologne, and scented everything, and then to be extra certain that no particle of air goes unpoisoned, spray the room with Glade, Lysol, and other air "fresheners".

Also, they chatter constantly about being proactive, and moving things FO'ward, being good team players, and, yeah, they are still dragging THIS old thing out:
Learning to Think Outside the Box (huh, try being an aspie).

So, just to be safe, keep that diagnosis in your pocket, and a copy of it in a vault somewhere - you never know when it may save your life, or at least your job!

That's the point. You can't Think outside the Box, until you Live outside the Box like aspies. They want to think more like us, and yet they keep trying to make us more like them.

well obviously you yourself can know why you are different to people and get the help you need.
My mother didnt even tell me straight away. I was diagnosed at 10. she failed to tell me till almost 12. Seriously she could have just saved me the extra worry if she told me strate away.! !! !! !!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yes, and I'm still trying to find out if we have any rights, not just on the job, but in college. I've probably said this hundreds of times, but I'd like an official diagnosis so people would stop assuming that every unusual thing I do is somehow tied in to my blindness. They really can't think outside the box. But if AS really isn't recognized in the states, will it benefit me in life, or will people just think it's a joke?

I , too, am "in the closet" so-to-speak about my Aspie-ness. There have been so many times I've wanted to scream at my bosses that I'm not just "being difficult" that there is a reason I am the way I am. Then I check myself, realize they'd never even know what I'm talking about anyway, claim I didn't tell them I had AS when I filled out my job application (didn't really know until after that point), then can me for it. (Yes, US job market is about as stellar as its healthcare system.)

I do not have a diagnosis, but know my Aspieness to be a fact. Granted, a dx would be satisfying for my curiousity, but it is not something I can afford anyway, and I would be too afraid to show my employer so what's the point.

I don't think I could hide mine for 5 minutes. When it comes to following the ebb and flow of a conversation, I'm stone blind.

I went in or a DX because I thought if that was why I was having so much difficulty at work...that "experts' would ebe able to access my strengths and challenges and help me find better employment fit. They said ...nope,we don't do that,so I quit the job and got a new one with less social stressors...now it is all sensory issues that are stressing me..dog barking...I love me some puppies but could you guys shut-up for 5 fricken seconds????

Anywhooo....I have looked into the law in US and my understanding is that AS is protected under the disability act and they should make accomidations if they can(some jobs are just never going to work with some AS traits) I wasn't DXed when I got my current job but I have told them now but havent asked for any accomidations(can't muzzle the dogs ) I do think the DX affords me a bit of protection but I would be very hesitent to mention it at a job interview...there is no way to prove that they didn't hire you based on your DX, and prejudice and ignorance usually rules the day in these things.

Some people say you are more liekly to be denied health insurence if you are DXed AS but I don't know if this is true...I have only had coverage through companies I have worked for and there has only been one since I was DXed...guess I will find out soon as I am looking for a different job soon.

After my sensory problems became obvious (because I could not sit near perfume/cologne wearers) one of my lovely co-workers was so angry at me that she said I should have put my problem on my application so that they would have known not to hire me! She also felt that I should also be fired for being deceptive on my job application.

All this rage simply because my boss asked one of her friends, in deference to my problem, to reduce the amount of perfume she poured all over herself every 5 minutes, all day long.

To top it all off, she was a social worker who worked with NYC autism programs - how pathetic is that?

People say Aspies lack empathy, but that's not really true - I have never met anyone colder or more vindictive than these so-called normal people.

Gosh, she must really stink, if she has to keep re-applying scent all day long! Maybe she needs a high colonic? Sounds like she's full of s**t, too.

You know you have it.

Well, aside from the obvious ones people tend to mention a lot (y'know, lie how it helps some people deal with complex abstract concepts and that sort of thing), in day to day life, i've found a few things enjoyable about it. I personally enjoy formulating complex stories and other types of creative output in my head, and I guess I can see Asperger's having a hand in that one. Its also kind of humbling for me, not that I think it's something to be humble about, just that it kind of gives a good perspective on the fact that we all have our limits and can benefit from the unique qualities of others. My friends also think I have a pleasantly offbeat sense of humor.

Well put, in regards to unique perspective. I think "humbling" is a good way to put it-- I feel this way, too. (and my offbeat sense of humor keeps things interesting too!) =)