the indiscriminate diagnoses of asperger's and h.f.a.

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Uhm, in my opinion, I think it really depends on the person, on family, on the society. There are so many people that can tell about the same difficulties, other difficulties and difficulties that nobody else seems to have. But then, taking into account the population of the whole earth, there sure must be someone and more one can always relate to. Not a 100% for there's everybody unique, but then maybe 90%, 50% or only 30.

I for one, I'd have as much to tell as probably almost anybody here has. But I don't. I don't do so, because about two years ago, I realised, this is life. I can't choose whether I panic, be an outcast and nobody can choose whether he has seizures, a heart problem, an abuseive childhood, a lonesome life- of course, I sometimes think, why? You know, the why, that asks why there were so miserable things in past or in present and maybe there will be lots of them in future. But I'm alive. This has to be good for something and for me, I've come to the conclusion, that it is good for something. What I don't like, I'll have to understand and try to change, often that's not working. But I wouldn't know dasness if there's nothing that makes me happy would I? So, my sense in life and my response for everyone asking me that, is, that I try to enjoy life as best as possible. I am curious about my strengthes just as I am about exploring my weaknesses and difficulties.

Autism, as a spectrum, maybe shouldn't be named without the fact that it is poeple who are autistic. And people are never quite the same, nor are their attitudes.

And, I think I just missed the point about what I was to say because I had to answer the phone... sorry. Damn!

I have an appointment coming up in the near future with a specialist in adult autism, who will hopefully be able to confirm to me one way or another whether he thinks that I meet the criteria for AS. I'm prepared to accept the possibility that I don't. All I know is that after many, many hours spent reading to try and work out what it is that's wrong with me, why as long as I can remember, I've felt that I was somehow different and 'apart' from other people, why I do some of the things I do, AS is the only thing I can find that appears to cover my behavior and way of thinking. Things that I *wasn't* looking for, that I thought were just personal pecularities and nothing to do with any 'condition', have turned out to be peculiar to or common among people with AS.

The discussions on this board make sense to my brain. I feel as if, for really the first time, I understand other people here. Sometimes I read a thread and think, "That's exactly what I do." Sometimes I read one and think, "I don't do that personally, but I can understand the pattern of thought behind it," - it still makes sense. If I have a need or desire to be diagnosed, I think it's because this is the first year that I've been able to realize that I'm not mad - that there may be a reason I am the way I am.

due to the overwhelming absence of 'reading comprehension' evidenced by many of these posts, i'm not even going to bother to respond. after all, it doesn't really make sense to respond to something i didn't say.

Octavian, you're clearly offended and I'm sorry for that. But please don't give up on explaining yourself. I for one am reading closely.

en un isla,

my apologies for the tone. actually, i very much appreciate your response and anbuend's response: careful, considered, and reflecting 'actually having read the post'. i'm sure there's a few others, but the fact is, i get extremely frustrated with people who seem to be responding to some imaginary poster who said such-and-such. tolerance and patience are not my virtues. that said, i honestly don't appreciate this particular forum very much - there seems to be a whole lot of indiscriminate posting (perhaps, echoing the indiscriminate diagnoses - that is intended as a joke), almost as though people are competing for the shear number of posts. and so, i don't personally find much value in it. but thank you and anbuend for your posts, they are much appreciated.

I think when you said:

People interpretted this to mean that, unless one is prepared to say that their life f-ing sucks, then they must be faking something. Maybe it was a misunderstanding on one part or another.

I am in the long process of DX for "something"....I chose an AS specialist because I thought it was the only way to "rule it out" if it doesnt fit my issues.I have had other DX that I believe are often co-morbid with AS but didnt address many of my "other traits"which have caused problems for me over the years.I have not been to a Psychologist since AS became a DX(the past 12 years).

I am leery of being misdiagnosed because my DX will give focus for the best form of "treatment" for the issues which I believe are causing problems in my life.I think the best "methods" for dealing with my "issues" will be more effective if they are based on a correct DX....maybe I am wrong,but it does seem logical to me.I am leary about "trendy DX's".......I was in therapy when the trend was "repressed sexual memories and Traumatic Stress Disorder"....I could not seem to convince the therapist that I was not sexually abused(it was very frustrating),You could not deny it without being labeled.."in denial"...arrrggggg.....Anything that didnt fit this label was put in the "adoption/abandonment"category......Lack of friends,little emotional connection to adopted family..
Many of the traits that fall under AS DX were never even asked about(stemming,sensory issues,lack of expression,etc).....

Personally,I cant really see why someone would want to be in the AS club....it's not that flattering...
Not all are "genueses",or creative masterminds.....though a lot seem very kind,interesting,and individualistic(many other positive traits which are not part of the DX and even contridict it)Even if my DX is other then AS....I will still come here because I relate to more people here then I have with any other group...and I like to relate....I am tired of feeling like a lone alien..

I also wonder about this idea because diagnostic labels alter throughout time and are not as static as some believe. So theoretically it could be that some who were diagnosed with AS could be shuffled into another catagory 20 years from now because they have redefined what autism is supposed to be. Does that really make anyone "different" than who they were or just the classification - which just naturally has the potential for error about those who are labeled regardless of what the label is. If someone is looking for services than accuracy and the need for a proper label may be necessary but that is not something that everyone needs.

I HAVE a formal diagnosis of OCD and dysthymia (chronic depression) and sensory overloads - kind of sounds like AS which was not a diagnosis when I was a kid. Initially when my son was diagnosed with autism I could see (along with my parents) the definite similarities between how I used to be as a kid and some of my son's "autistic" behaviors. Of course there were things that I did not remember but had apparently left an impression on others (lol). However, I don't have the need to "change" my label (ie try to convince a professional that I have AS) because alot of that is very subjective to begin with now that I am an adult. I however do KNOW that my behaviors began when I was very small - my mother said I would not eat as a baby and they took me to several doctors about that. I would also do plenty of things like wear the same outfit for over a month (having my mom wash it every day) and hid in the closet screaming on Christmas morning because I was frightened, not talking to anyone because I was very "shy". At that time though everything was labeled under anxiety. Now that might be different but does it really matter if I can still relate to experiences to other people who have been "labeled" and they can understand what I am talking about. I have mentioned this before, but I wonder if there is going to be such strict boundaries in the future regarding diagnostic criteria or if there is going to be some sort of bigger spectrum seen with people with varying kinds of labels under different areas of it.

Walk-in-the-rain, that was what I thought I was saying. Now, I wonder as Octavian has decided that most of us didn't even read his post thoroughly-are any of us really understood?
I do think there are indiscriminate correlations with ASD/Asperger's and the community at large. But I think NTs are behind a lot of those assumptions, such as the "geek syndrome" discussed in Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley in CA). Some people make crazy connections and causal relationships with the dx.
But that is different from the trend among those who consider themselves in the spectrum.

Can I just throw in a historical point that shows there was originally
only a nominal relationship between classic autism and Aspergers.

Both Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger were working independently
in 1944 on 2 different conditions.It was only a coincidence that they
both came up with the same word Autism (from Greek autos=self)
to describe the general characteristics of the separate conditions.
Due to the similarities in the type of symptoms if not the severity,
both Autism and AS were eventually grouped under Autistic Spectrum Disorders. No one doubts that classic Autism is more debilitating while at the other end of the scale people with mild AS can even appear light-hearted about it.
I had a terrible adolescence but that was in the 1970s before AS
was even public knowledge.Due to the fact I wasn't autistic I was
simply diagnosed as shy and awkward.I only heard about AS
earlier this year and I'm 99% I've got it after studying the symptoms in great detail. I'm glad I know why I've always been different and can now learn to compensate if possible.

Yes, historical accident, but there was considerable overlap: Some of Kanner's patients talked and went on to resemble Asperger's patients, some of Asperger's patients had a speech delay (and may have been diagnosed with "Kanner autism" when young enough).

Regarding light-heartedness I think you can be light-hearted about anything.

The autism (or Asperger's) must be present in childhood but it does not logically follow that the diagnosis itself must occur in childhood.

I've had seizures since childhood which were never diagnosed beyond "seizure disorder." I self-comforted and/or stimmed by rocking, knee bouncing, nail biting, and hand flapping to name a few. I was physically too uncoordinated to learn to ride a bike or swim. I had frequent digestive complaints. I startled easily and would retreat from reality under too much stimulus. I refused eye contact and "freaked out" when touched. I was taken to the family GP for these things which just got me labeled as a sensitive child with a weak constitution. No one ever connected these things with any form of autism - I think because I was not just doing ok in school, I was excelling except in social interactions. In fact, I was a chess prodigy and read at an adult level prior to reaching school age and most people just decided my other weird behaviour came from being "eccentric" or from having a strange family. School counsellors figured I must be an abused child or something.

I suffered many attacks by classmates and was labeled with PTSD after a particularly vicious assault left me with open fractures. I'd already had the behaviour prior to any of the attacks though admittedly I withdrew further from social contact after having other children break my bones. I spent most of my school years staring at walls or out windows reciting pi, historical addresses, famous chess moves, or mathematical theorems - sometimes loudly to block out communication attempts. Some attempts at communication with peers ended violently, either on my part or theirs.

When I was a child the idea of HFA didn't really exist and Asperger's wasn't even on the plate. It's not logical to assume these things didn't exist before the nineties simply because there was no diagnostic criteria for them. There must be a large number of adults out there who were not diagnosed as children.

Getting an AS diagnosis as an adult is freeing and very helpful to me. I've often been physically ill and can only compare it to knowing you are sick and seeing doctors but no one knows what's wrong. Then suddenly a doctor finds the right diagnosis and you begin treatment. By knowing the origin of my problems I can discard the ineffective attempts at treating it and seek more logical pathways.

I agree.Sometimes it's probably the case that if you didn't laugh you'd
cry.I'm sure all our friends on this forum who now appear relatively
relaxed about Aspergers have no doubt had to deal with their share
of distress before reaching that stage

That's certainly true for me! I want to enjoy myself now that I know what my 'self' is!

I know I have it. I am just like my uncle who IS autistic.

Yep, I was in therapy around that time too, and got the same things shoved onto me. Another "trendy" one around the same time period was Multiple Personality Disorder/Dissociative Identity Disorder, and they tried to peg me with that one too. Though I can actually see how my "aspie-ness" contributed to them thinking that. I would often tell the psychologist that the other girls were mad at me sometimes for no good reason. And when I asked about it, they would say "Oh, you know what you did, don't pretend you don't!" and I would have absolutely no clue what I had done to make them mad.

I guess since my social skills were pretty craptastic back then, I just must have been saying things that made them mad and had no clue that it was rude. Unfortunately, the therapist came to the conclusion that I had another "personality" that was insulting people and then going away, and that's why I didn't know why they were mad.