About wanting a diagnosis without requiring real assistance

Post Reply New Topic

You have a very valid point. Certainly many Aspies do not need/want assistance or support and seeking a formal diagnosis is not, and should not, be a means to this end.

Seeking a formal diagnosis can be for one's own personal enrichment......and there's nothing at all wrong with that.

For instance, I've known 'mature' adults who do not need another college bachelor's degree. But they may choose to do so simply for their own fulfillment. If they have the means and the time, why not? Or the need to find one' genealogy, which is mostly for one's own personal insight.

Yours is a personal choice. You've clearly stated your own valid motivations. In private to you, I did tell my PhD supervisor of my AS and not because I *wanted* anything special - the contrary. Only because it is indicated and just makes sense. In actuality, I don't receive support from my university because of my AS. (OK, except for meeting with NAS periodically, but that's not via university anyway).

CocoNuts, if anyone tells you it's wrong, then (1) it's none of their business, and (2) there are certainly more than one (or two) reason(s) to seek a formal diagnosis and no one need judge someone else about this personal decision.

"How are you impaired if you don't need help?" is a moot question!! ! Really, don't even know where to start with this - geez. Misses the point entirely. Ignore that nonsense.

I do understand there's many ways one can receive help, mine was sort of a joke
But still, I don't think one has to require assistance in order to have an impairment, want a diagnosis and especially profit from it.

I agree that nobody should judge anybody else for anything (in the limits of respectful behaviour), that's why I'm interested in hearing what other people have to say, even though I know it's probably not going to change my mind

If someone needs a diagnosis to qualify for treatment programs or insurance coverage, or they just want an official confirmation of their condition, then they should get an official diagnosis.

I am self diagnosed. I am too old for the kid programs, not in college, so not eligible for the adult school assistance, and disabled and unable to work, so I don't need the work assistance programs. I don't need socialization programs, as I am an introverted, hermit type of person. I socialize when absolutely necessary, but see no need for more than that, and I have no need for a program to "fix" my socialization skills. Being an introvert is not a mental illness, unless you are unhappy being an introvert. Part of the disability money is for housing expense. I rent a trailer from my parents. I also have validation and self confirmation of my condition based on personal research, online testing, and a relative's research. We are both completely convinced that I have Asperger's Syndrome based on these and the "Rule of Duck": If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, it's a duck. I meet the Aspie criteria, so I'm an Aspie duck.

Please define "assistance."

"Assistance" can come in many different forms for many different problems. Technically, I'm currently getting "assistance" from the military on account of my inability to perform the job I was originally assigned (they moved me into an office where I mostly get paid to surf the internet all day). And (among many other issues I get "allowances for) several people in my chain of command have also been notified that I don't always have the greatest sense of what is and isn't "appropriate" to say, so I don't automatically get disciplinary actions against me if I blurt out something boneheaded at the wrong moment.

However, I don't have a social worker come to my house to brush my teeth and do my laundry. I'm capable of handling life's basic necessities and living on my own.

In conclusion, my personal feeling is that Aspergers is defined as a mental disorder that causes impairments. If you are not experiencing "impairments," then you do not technically have "Aspergers" as it's currently defined. I do not agree that it's just a "difference" or "personality type." But the nature of those "impairments" and the "assistance" they require can vary widely between individuals.

If something is impaired, it simply means that it's diminished or weakened in some way. I have a bad knee and a bad ankle. My ability to go up and down stairs is, at times, impaired. That doesn't mean I am unable to walk up and down stairs, it means that I sometimes have to ascend or descend them at a slower pace.

Impaired doesn't mean 'not working at all.' It means 'working poorly.' No, I don't require any assistance to get through my day. Sure, things are more difficult for me, but I manage to get by, just as I don't use a knee brace or walk around on crutches.

There was a poll recently that asked us to respond if we considered ourselves disabled. I responded that no, I do not. Being disabled implies being incapable; in my knee/ankle comparison, being disabled would mean I couldn't walk up and down stairs. I CAN walk up those stairs, though, with some effort. That's what impairment is.

I'll give an example of an impairment that I work through, without assistance. At my job, I answer the phones (yeah, me, who HATES talking on the phone!). I also register people for programs that we hold, and generally answer any questions they have. When someone calls, I have a script to answer the phone with. For most of their questions, I have a set answer, or I have a brochure or binder with the answers they need quickly available (this binder is for everyone, not just me). However, if someone answers me something off-script, I fumble. I'll be on the phone saying "uhhhh, ummmm, let me think, yeah, I'm not sure, uhhhh...," until the person either says "oh, that's ok" or asks "can you find out?" I've always felt self-conscious about this. However, I began to watch my co-workers, and if they didn't know the answer to a question, they had a response ready: "You know, I'm not sure, but let me place you on hold and I'll find out." Wow! So, that's what I started doing. No one TAUGHT me to do it, I watched and observed on my own, and learned it.

So, for a time, I had an impaired ability to respond properly to things to which I didn't know the answer. I would go from a professional sounding, rehearsed response to completely fumbling and sounding like a complete moron. Honestly, it would feel as if my IQ were dropping 30 points in that split second. However, I took it upon myself to observe and learn how to do it properly.

If someone has an impairment that becomes a disability, because they can't fix it themselves, then they will need support. Impaired and disabled don't mean the same thing, though, and it seems that the people arguing against diagnosis for those who don't need assistance believe that they do.

That doesn't make any sense. If it's causing a problem, you're seeking assistance with that problem. Assistance doesn't mean you need someone to wipe your bum, it can be as simple as a bit of guidance and direction in managing the problem.

Theoretically the diagnosis itself could be considered assistance, if it's being used to resolve problems in relationships with family and friends. It's a kind of support and recognition from society, and support, even it's not concrete support, is a sort of assistance.

I just don't see what would be the point of getting a diagnosis if you're not going to use it to get some form of assistance, even if it's just that last type.



I wouldn't say it's wrong, it's just silly. It doesn't exist to resolve identity crises ... its a medical term and its used to determine treatments that will help people become more functional, that's its function. It's an artificial concept, developed and used for a particular purpose. Why you'd want a label - especially one that can subject you to discrimination - just for the sake of having a label is beyond me. Labels are always inaccurate.

Last edited by edgewaters on 05 May 2012, 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't think people take into consideration the types of emotional and/or mental abuse that some people experience who are on the spectrum, but undiagnosed. I did not seek a diagnosis because I needed physical assistance to deal with AS, I got it because I needed people to understand what my difficulties are and work with me.

I have been hearing, since I was a teenager, that I shouldn't have to be told to do certain things. "I shouldn't have to tell a teenager this," "I shouldn't have to tell an adult this," "I shouldn't have to tell a 26-year-old this." People, parents in this case, only have their own experiences to reflect on. They think of when they were 26 years old, and they think, 'hey, I could do this just fine, without having to be asked,' and they automatically assume that anyone else who has to be asked is lazy or defiant.

Once I told my stepmom about my diagnosis (who works for our state's special education department), she immediately got it. She put up little notes for me around the house, and guess what? I started doing all of the things that I was previously accused of ignoring and purposely not doing. Unfortunately, my dad doesn't believe in doctors (yeah, one of those), so we were unable to explain to him why I needed the notes, and he made my stepmom take them down.

With my boyfriend, I tried to explain to him early on, once we'd had some troubles, how my brain worked. He simply told me "people's minds don't work that way." For him, he can't imagine someone reacting to change the way I do. He's a go-with-the-flow type of guy, and he was completely unable to accept my highly negative and emotional response to things changing. However, once I received my diagnosis and he accepted that, yes, my brain does work differently, we sat down and started creating solutions for the troubles we have...meeting half way between his NT needs and my AS needs. Guess what? Our relationship has been better than it ever has!

Sometimes it's not enough to simply accept self-diagnosis or to be aware of your traits, and not seek a diagnosis. I do believe the DSM mentions impairments in social interactions, and if no one around you understands why you behave the way you do, that creates a serious impairment to your interactions with them!

You have no idea who you're talking to!



So you were seeking assistance with discrimination. It doesn't have to be physical to be assistance.

I think this is all just wrong thinking here, like people are trying to separate themselves out from the stigma of people who do need physical assistance. I can understand it, cause, who needs even more discrimination, right? But it's wrong. Impaired or disabled, physical or not, we are all in the same boat and we need to reject the idea that there's something shameful about it. We need to be in solidarity, not "oh, I'm not one of those cripples" or "oh, I'm in a wheelchair but at least I'm not one of those crazy people".

That sort of shame has prevented me from getting assistance, and I do need it pretty bad. That is to say, it directly harms people.



The bolded part says it all.

Many things can impair social interaction. Garden-variety introversion can muck-up social interaction. When your impairments in social interaction are interfering with your everyday life, and it's coupled with a spectrum of other specific traits that are also interfering with your everyday life, then you meet the criteria for Aspergers Disorder. If you do not posses those traits, and they are not actually interfering with your everyday life, then you do not meet the criteria for Asperger's Disorder.

A person shouldn't be diagnosed with a mental disorder to "increase self-understanding" or for "comfort."

That's the primary distinction between something that is just a "difference" and that which is a "disorder." Aspergers disorder is the latter. Oddly, I never hear people say, "Well, I've always known my brain works differently. I can see connections others can't see, and I'm really creative, but I've always felt out-of-place. So, I went to a psychologist and got diagnosed with schizophrenia. It's not a disorder, it's just a difference. I'm proud to be schizo! People finally understand me."

It can be difficult to cope with finding out. my diagnosis came about from seeing a specialist to shut a social worker up about her thinking i had aspergers.

It backfired and apparently i do have it but yeah, i stil have alot of trouble dealing with that

If diagnosis itself is assistance, then yes.

I am not trying to separate myself from those who do require assistance. Just the opposite. It seems the people on this board with an AS diagnosis who do not require assistance in their daily lives are stigmatized, and told by those with more severe difficulties that they don't have AS...they just have 'traits,' and not a diagnosable disorder. No one on this board is in any place to tell anyone else if they are 'worthy' of their diagnosis. I am attempting to be included, not trying to separate myself from those more impaired or disabled than myself. I often relate as much if not more with those diagnosed with classic autism as with those with Asperger's. I'm not afraid of the stigma of being associated with 'disabled' people. But, here, on this board, people like myself carry their very own stigma...not disabled enough.

I think that people who meet the criteria for ASD and have impairments caused by ASD should be diagnosed with ASD, if they think that having the diagnosis would help them function bester to be able to do what they want to do in life.

Functioning bester can mean getting official assistance, like accommodations at school or work, from the official diagnosis, like I can get for graduate school. Or functioning bester can mean working with a therapist on verbalizing thoughts and feelings and understanding social-emotional idears, like I have been doing for the past couple of years. If I had not gotten this help, then I would not be posting here, because I would not know how to write my thoughts and feelings. Or functioning bester can mean figuring out ways to learn or do things, from menial tasks to intellectual subjects, that work well for autistic cognition. I would like it if someone who was good at cooking wrote a picture cookbook showing all the steps of making dishes and what each step looks like and what each step is for, because I hate using verbal cookbooks and following vague cookbook directions, and I have no idear what I am doing for each step or why I am doing it or what it should look like, sound like, touch like, smell like, taste like. I think that an autistic person would be bester than a typical person at writing this kind of cookbook. So functioning bester can mean buying and using this kind of cookbook instead of a standard cookbook from which I can learn nothing about cooking. Can someone please write this cookbook?

No, diagnosis itself is not assistance. It could be assistance if you're facing discrimination and it provides you with a practical tool to overcome it, but in and of itself, the diagnosis isn't assistance.



The term is nothing more than a shopping list of dysfunctions. You can't be diagnosed without meeting the criteria for those dysfunctions. It is NOT an identity.

I'm perfectly aware that there are many things that can impair social interaction. I was using one example. I have all of the traits/symptoms that are required for diagnosis, which is why I was given a diagnosis.

I'd really love someone who is on the side of "must be disabled in order to qualify for AS diagnosis" to explain to me what exactly they define as 'interference in daily life.' Just because I don't require assistance doesn't mean my AS doesn't interfere with my daily life. If it didn't, I wouldn't have gotten a diagnosis. You can have all the opinions you want as to the 'valid reasons' for diagnosis, but once someone has been given a diagnosis, you no longer have an opinion.

I don't go marching around with an 'Aspie Pride' t-shirt or boast about how I'm the next step in evolution or anything like that. But, guess what? There's nothing wrong with people who do, because that means they are approaching their diagnosed disorder with a positive attitude. That's like telling a Down's Syndrome person not to be proud of who they are. Just because you have a disorder, doesn't mean you can't be proud of the positive aspects of that disorder...which ARE part of AS. If AS was nothing but a disability, there would be no positives to it. There wouldn't be so many gifted individuals with AS. Just because one person doesn't see any positive to their disorder, doesn't mean someone else can't.

As far as I know, there are no positive secondary symptoms associated with Schizophrenia. It's a disorder that provides only negative aspects. Asperger's disorder can often present with positive secondary traits, like intense focus, high vocabulary, logical thinking and a unique perspective. Many people value those traits about me, and so do I.

Some people also have a valid point that Asperger's wouldn't be a disability in a world with social rules created by those with AS. Our impairments are a direct result of our inability to match up with the NT social and cultural structure. Even sensory issues could be controlled if we were the ones making the rules. I don't think something like Schizophrenia would be less disabling, regardless of social construct. Again, I'm not denying that Asperger's is a disorder, but it seems silly to ignore the fact that many of our difficulties are based on our failure to match up with the established norm. One of my worst AS traits is an inability to deal with changes in plans. I have panic attacks, cry, stim, etc etc. However, in a world full of Aspies, it would be less common for a set of plans to change, because we only make plans if we intend to follow through with them.

In as Aspie world, NTs would be seeking diagnosis for a disorder because they can't seem to stick to plans that they make.

Last edited by fragileclover on 05 May 2012, 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, that's my point. You can't be diagnosed without meeting the criteria, so regardless of the reason someone set out to be diagnosed, if they do in fact receive a diagnosis, are their reasons for diagnosis not validated? Who cares if you sought diagnosis in order to be better understood or because you can't cope without assistance, so long as you receive the diagnosis. The reasons don't matter, only the end result.

'Personal Reason for Seeking Diagnosis' is not a part of the diagnostic criteria for AS.

You said this before: So you were seeking assistance with discrimination. It doesn't have to be physical to be assistance.

I sought diagnosis because of discrimination. The diagnosis has helped me work out solutions in my daily life, because it helps break down the 'people don't think that way' barrier. Aside from my diagnosis and my own strategies for coping, I do not receive assistance.