Post 3794219 - (Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?)

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Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

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Beck27
Butterfly

Joined: Jun 07, 2011
Posts: 14

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:38 pm Post subject:

I was diagnosed with aspergers when I was 5 1/2 years old. I am now 27. Back then, autism/aspergers was not a very common diagnosis. My parents brought me to many clinicians. They fought very hard to keep me out of a special class because they didn't want me to be considered "different" from my peers. I am grateful for them for allowing me to just be a kid without any special services. I turned out just fine. Perhaps people are quick to make a "self-diagnosis" of aspergers because autism appears to be the new "in thing" to be diagnosied with now. Just like in the early 90's when ADD was the new "in thing" and all of a sudden people were saying they had it. It appears many of these diagnoses can overlap with eachother making a definitive diagnosis nowadys harder than before. Pretty soon the DSM will be full of so many disorders that every single person on this earth will qualify for some sort of diagnosis.

Verdandi
Miss Kitty Fantastico
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Posts: 10365
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:38 pm Post subject:

Beck27 wrote:

Not everyone turns out fine. What works for you may not work for others. My lack of services in school was not helpful to me at all. I don't know whether you are suggesting that what worked for you should be generally fine (you didn't explicitly say so) but many have, and of course we all have different severity and problems.

Incidentally, I am not saying that getting services in school would have helped me - I don't know, since I didn't get them (well, not for more than a year).

Quote:

Perhaps people are quick to make a "self-diagnosis" of aspergers because autism appears to be the new "in thing" to be diagnosied with now. Just like in the early 90's when ADD was the new "in thing" and all of a sudden people were saying they had it. It appears many of these diagnoses can overlap with eachother making a definitive diagnosis nowadys harder than before. Pretty soon the DSM will be full of so many disorders that every single person on this earth will qualify for some sort of diagnosis.

It seems to me that most of the people I've come across who diagnose themselves with either or both ADHD and Asperger's syndrome have a lifetime of problems they are trying to make sense of. I have yet to encounter anyone who does it because they think it's "the" thing to do. Most of the people I've come across who self-diagnose with AS don't even seem to be the kind of people to really care all that much about the "in" thing.

draelynn
Phoenix
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Joined: Jan 25, 2011
Posts: 2304
Location: SE Pennsylvania

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 4:02 pm Post subject:

Yeah - the 'IN' thing... that's what lured me. The fame, the glamor, the perks... The reality looks more like disbelief, derision, exclusion, bias, prejudice and bully, at any age. Someone please explain to me why someone would WANT a disability.

SammichEater
Now 30% Cooler
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Age: 19
Posts: 3823

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 4:10 pm Post subject:

draelynn wrote:

Yeah - the 'IN' thing... that's what lured me. The fame, the glamor, the perks...

The reality looks more like disbelief, derision, exclusion, bias, prejudice and bully, at any age. Someone please explain to me why someone would WANT a disability.

There you go again being reasonable. You really need to stop that, we don't like your kind around here. [/sarcasm]

nemorosa
Ranunculaceae
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Posts: 1121
Location: Amongst the leaves.

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 4:45 pm Post subject:

Beck27 wrote:

I was diagnosed with aspergers when I was 5 1/2 years old. I am now 27. Back then, autism/aspergers was not a very common diagnosis. My parents brought me to many clinicians. They fought very hard to keep me out of a special class because they didn't want me to be considered "different" from my peers. I am grateful for them for allowing me to just be a kid without any special services. I turned out just fine. Perhaps people are quick to make a "self-diagnosis" of aspergers because autism appears to be the new "in thing" to be diagnosied with now. Just like in the early 90's when ADD was the new "in thing" and all of a sudden people were saying they had it. It appears many of these diagnoses can overlap with eachother making a definitive diagnosis nowadys harder than before. Pretty soon the DSM will be full of so many disorders that every single person on this earth will qualify for some sort of diagnosis.

30, 40 or more years ago there was no chance of diagnosis. No help. Nothing.

I feel bad bringing up the issue of age (and I don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush) but you never see anyone over 30 accusing others of being a fraud because it's "cool" or the "in thing".

I usually don't respond to these kind of threads but those kind of attitudes make me angry. Statistically speaking I'm over half-way done with my life and to finally understand why and what I am...words can't describe what that means. I haven't turned out fine. Every day has been so very hard.

Wooster
Snowy Owl

Joined: May 18, 2011
Age: 46
Posts: 136
Location: here

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 5:55 pm Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

NotCrazy wrote:

I've only be on this forum for a day and I am shocked by the amount of people that self diagnose and straight appear to desire having Aspergers. Why is that? Others that do seek a professional opinion end up saying things like "my doctor is an idiot" or "my doctor isn't experienced enough". I even saw a person suggest that an individual see new doctors until they find one that will agree with them.

People on the forum only "appear to desire having Aspergers" to fools who don't take the time to look properly at what's going on. There is no DESIRE to have Aspergers!! - there's a DESIRE to make sense of what is and has been going on in people's lives - and if that amounts to being AS then it is what it is - but that's not the same as having a desire to have Aspergers!

I think you have a fundamental and TOTAL lack of understanding what Aspergers is. Those who end up "latching on" to AS are doing so because they recognise explainations in it's descriptives and information for the REAL - not imagined - not desired - but REAL - things that have been going on in their lives.

Pretenders won't and don't go far - because if they attempt to join the AS "community" they stand out very quickly - and "professionals" are quite good at identifying NT's - tho unfortunately they're not necessarily so good at identifying people with AS... (which explains why so many are hesitant to seek diagnosis - and also explains "doctor shopping" ).

As far as SEEKING diagnosis, your comments about people having motives such as wanting to get benefits etc. and referring to "doctor shopping" are IGNORANT and RUDE. If "the professionals" were as good as you seem to imply they are, then no amount of "doctor shopping" should ever yield an incorrect AS diagnosis, should it?? If you agree with me that "the professionals" are not infallible then you've answered your own OP question haven't you???

IMO if there was ironclad guarantee of ACCURATE diagnosis (EITHER way) AND complete confidentiality if so desired, then the vast majority of those who are currently self diagnosed would be there tomorrow - I would!. There would be those who fear a contrary assessment - because it would take away something that they've found to make sense of their lives - but I think the vast majority of those people would be fearing unnecessarily - as I've said before, those who don't have AS will NOT be making the sort of genuine connections required to feel that they actually have AS. I guess if an associated guarantee could be given that if AS isn't what a subject has then the ACTUAL condition or dysfunction would be ACCURATELY identified, then that would probably mop up the stragglers...
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Last edited by Wooster on Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:01 am; edited 1 time in total

TalusJumper
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Joined: Apr 14, 2011
Age: 47
Posts: 164

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:39 pm Post subject:

nemorosa wrote:

Ditto!

TTRSage
Deinonychus

Joined: Aug 31, 2010
Posts: 360
Location: Atlanta, GA, alone in my Aspie cubbyhole

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:00 pm Post subject:

With me it was an explanation of all the personality quirks I had over 60 years. Knowing the truth enabled me to understand myself so much better... but also brought with it an increased awareness of things that I had probably never noticed that much before. It is a two edged sword.

oldmantime
Phoenix
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Age: 33
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:32 am Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

NotCrazy wrote:

Because it's less stigmatizing than other diagnosis? There's also the issue of it being commonly misdiagnosed as other things. and some docs are stupid. actually, many are. specially the types that advocate dope and surgery a lot.

http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/7/4/310

Wooster
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Joined: May 18, 2011
Age: 46
Posts: 136
Location: here

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:40 am Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

NotCrazy wrote:

Do all of us and yourself a favor and go look thru the "When did you first realise you were an Aspie? " thread - you might start to begin to have a clue.

Those references to "mild, mild" autism are again either flat out stupidity or ignorance - a boil on your arm can be a humdinger huge debilitating bastard of a thing - maybe with fever etc. - or a smaller non debilitating type thing - get the difference?? With many things there are OF COURSE varying degrees!! Rolling Eyes

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"I'm not really a slow learner - it's just that I forget so darned quickly!."
"Never meddle in the affairs of dragons - because to them you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."

Kookygirl
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Joined: Jul 01, 2011
Age: 31
Posts: 165
Location: Wales, UK.

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:25 am Post subject:

I don't think anyone actually aspires to have aspergers but I can defiantly relate to spending your whole life feeling different from everyone around you. I used to cry myself to sleep when I was about 15 because I wanted so badly just to be normal and I didn't know why I wasn't. My mother even took me to the doctor because she was worried about me but the doctor just told us I was feeling down because being a teenager was hard. It's doctors like this without proper mental health/syndrome training that cause people to self diagnose. This meeting with the doctor stopped me seeking help again even though my difficulties were making me depressed on and off. I think a lot of other people are also scared to go to the doctors and ask for help which is another reason to self diagnose. It's only this year after reading a book about ADHD and could not believe how accurately it described me that I sought professional help to see if this was the explanation for being so different from everyone else. I did get diagnosed with ADHD but also aspergers which was a big shock to me as I really didn't know much about it. It's not particulary something I wanted To be labelled with but it's a huge relief knowing there is a difference in my brain and I'm not causing it myself. I think this is also why so many other people search for answer.

Todesking
Suspected Cannibal
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:29 pm Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

NotCrazy wrote:

I had assholes on WrongPlanet tell me I was NT because I was self diagnosed so I went to get an evaluation to prove them wrong. The first psychologist I went to admitted to me after the third visit that he did not believe in titles like Aspergers Syndrome he wanted me to see him for at least 12 more visits before he could make up his mind about me. Rolling Eyes

So people on here told me to dump him which I did. The second psychologist I met with told me he figured I was somewhere on the autism spectrum so he tested me to figure out where. The 7 hour test showed that I had Aspergers. That psychologist refered me psychologist that also has a Asperger's Syndrome he has been a great help to me.
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oldmantime
Phoenix
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Age: 33
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 12:33 pm Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

Todesking wrote:

NotCrazy wrote:

going to multiple visits before diagnosis isn't a bad thing. it gives the guy time to get to know you so that he can be more accurate. many times those types are the most productive.

draelynn
Phoenix
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Posts: 2304
Location: SE Pennsylvania

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 3:56 pm Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

oldmantime wrote:

Todesking wrote:

NotCrazy wrote:

going to multiple visits before diagnosis isn't a bad thing. it gives the guy time to get to know you so that he can be more accurate. many times those types are the most productive.

Yeah - they also rack up alot of fees before they even get to the 'testing' part.

Todesking
Suspected Cannibal
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: Why Do So Many Desire An Aspergers Diagnosis?

oldmantime wrote:

going to multiple visits before diagnosis isn't a bad thing. it gives the guy time to get to know you so that he can be more accurate. many times those types are the most productive.

The man said he did not believe in titles I wanted to know if I had Aspergers it would have been a waste of money and time for him to see me if he was not going to give me a diagnosis. It costed me $20 a visit I was into him for 3 visits. $60.00. He wantred me to do 12 more visits = $240.00. The neuro psychologist who did my evealuation charged me for 2 visits $40.00 + testing $150.00 grand total $190.00 and he diagnosed me with Aspergers syndrome not to mention told me I was not learning disabled my second doctor was more cost effective. My first doctor wanted to get 15 visits then test me.

draelynn wrote:

Yeah - they also rack up alot of fees before they even get to the 'testing' part.

Read above and do the math. He also kept bragging about a book he was writing. He would waste 10 minutes of my time each visit talking about it. Rolling Eyes

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There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die -Hunter S. Thompson

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