If you are self diagnosed/found out on your own how did you?

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A psychologist at my HS told me, I orginally thought I have OCD (At this point I think I have both AS & OCD.) she didn't say it was a fact that I have AS and should go to another place to find out for sure (Don't have heath insurance so I couldn't do that).

After doing a lot of research on my own I feel like I have it, I obsess over certain topics, I don't look at people in the eye when socializing, a loaner, I talk funny, I untentally stare at people, Special interests, I can't relate to normal people at all and my social skills are completely screwed up.

Not to mention I'm so awkward and doofy in real life.

First off I would think you are an exception to the rule that Wolfheart was illustrating, especially if you have other conditions previously diagnosed. You seem to be misdiagnosed. If you are disabled in no small part to your three diagnoses, I don't see why you wouldn't be motivated to seek disability relief. How does assurance and security not make a difference in handling the stress associated with your symptoms, comoribidities, and consequently the impairments that go alone with that? That just doesn't make sense to me.

This is not about whether or not you should self diagnose. But how you did or figured out on your own. So can we please stay on the topic?

I think my post was kind of off-topic as well, at least in terms of intent...I haven't actually self-diagnosed myself, just researched the possibility of having the condition.

The only thing I might have a diagnoses for is the Depression, but I am not even sure I got an official diagnoses of that....I figured I had because I was in counseling for depression after I attempted suicide when I was 15 and the therapists I saw also thought I had anxiety but again I am not sure either the depression or anxiety were made official or not but I certainly was and still am depressed and anxious. As for the PTSD I had a traumatic experience and then the symptoms started becoming obvious no matter how much I wanted to not be effected and just push through it. I was never able to get that officially diagnosed either.

I am not one of those people with a decent income...and my parents weren't either and still aren't though my mom is doing better now. So self-diagnoses with confirmation from a therapist/counseler is the closest I've gotten to official diagnoses. Also being on disability would probably help a lot but.......I've already been denied and it would take months to get approved and I cannot wait months for any sort of income and I can't go back to college because I know the PTSD will just screw it up like it already did the past 3 attempts. So I feel it's job or nothing.........I mean I even need a job to afford to talk to a psychiatrist to get officially diagnosed with some of these things I struggle with to have the proper paper work to get on disability. The system just sucks.

right, so can we keep this thread on the topic of how people were self-diagnosed, as opposed to arguing the merits of self-diagnosis vs. official diagnosis? thank you

Sorry I was just responding to a post directed at me, didn't realize responding would be off topic.

I"ll just PM next time.

I don't know I thought it was on topic as it certainly pertains to diagnoses/self diagnoses.

I have a number of psychological problems (officially diagnosed): chronic, clinical depression; PTSD; social anxiety. I have been under treatment for many years, and have spent much time trying to deal with these issues. I've spent a lot of time soul searching, a lot of time in therapy, and a lot of effort working on self improvement. Ultimately, though, I came up upon a dead end. I explored the roots of my problems, but it seemed that there was something fundamentally different about me, something that separated me from the rest of humanity.

I came across AS many times, and I noticed that I fit the profile, but I'm uncomfortable with self diagnosis and I know how easy it is to fool oneself. As time progressed, as, little, by little, I learned about AS, each time, my suspicions grew a little stronger. Eventually, I spent some time really researching the AS, and, slowly, my suspicions turned to near certainty.

I still have some doubts, but it seems to make a lot of sense to me.

I know that I'm not completely off track. I have discussed the issue with my psychiatrist. He won't confirm the diagnosis, but he won't deny it either. From past experience, he is very quick to tell me when I am completely off track.

I'm self-diagnosed. I simply relate to everyone with Asperger to a T


I never been diagnosed because I never been followed really. My family couldn't care less and attributed my ills to laziness or shyness and thought I deserved everything happening to me.

My brother was himself diagnosed by a psychiatrist as Manic-depressive, and since then my mother gave him all the attention to my detriment. Exemple: The psy told my mother that he "needed private space", I was denied a room to "make room for him". I never had a room and my personal development suffered greatly let alone the asperger.

That psychiatrist warned afterward my family that the fact my brother was getting all the attention might make me turn "into a Schizoid". My family couldn't care less.

I haven't really self-diagnosed because I might just have social communication disorder or something like that (I think I'm just too mild in some things). For a while, though, I was almost sure I had it, and here's why.
I met a nice guy and after a period of awkward flirting he became my boyfriend. We were relaxing one day and opening up with random facts about our lives and he told me he had asperger's. I had a very vague idea of what it was (I read about it researching Dan Aykroyd ) but he seemed perfectly normal to me.
I went home and I started reading about it, and I haven't stopped since (that was 4 months ago).
The fact that we're so similar in some things made me think about it, and he suggested it too at some point (but I don't know if it's because I started complaining more about some problems with him because I just realized I have them, like I thought my idea of "too loud" was normal until i went for the first and I hope last time in a disco this year).

I will be 70 in the spring. But six years ago I came down with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and went through chemo, and then a couple years of Rituxan. My scans have been clean for five years. But, a few years ago I had an anxiety attack. I had no idea what had happened to me... so I Googled it. I thought I might have PTSD. So I looked that up and started reading through the DSM. I took some online psych tests that pointed me towards Asperger's. I came to WP and read, and took the tests that are above. "You are very likely an Aspie." My self-diagnosis makes many major elements of my little life fall into place. But I would never go to a "specialist" to get a "proper" diagnosis. There is nothing they could do for me.

My first hint was about 2 years ago. I read 'the speed of dark' by Elizabeth Moon. It is about Lou Arrendale, an autistic guy who eventually gets 'cured'. I really identified with him and that sort of stuck in the back of my mind. Last year I got very depressed and anxious after some investments went seriously wrong. When it got bad enough to start affecting my health I decided enough was enough and I had to sort myself out. I gave myself one month to get my act together otherwise I would seek professional help.

At the time I had been feeling bad because I have never been in a relationship so I started researching people with similar issues and AS popped up. Once I looked into AS a light went on in my head - this felt right. Like many others I did a few on-line tests and scored fairly high. I showed some Youtube documentaries on AS to a friend of mine and he agreed with me. I saw a counsellor as well and she also agreed Aspergers was quite likely.

I'm not sure about seeking a dx. While I am pretty convinced, as are several people who know me there is still the lingering doubt in the back of my head - what if I am just making it up? Discovering AS was a lifeline at the time. Losing it now would be pretty scary.

Edit: Wow, I didn't realize how stongly I felt about that last statement until I wrote it. It nearly brought me to tears and I almost never cry.

I saw a counsellor for something unrelated, she suggested I might be AS, spent some time with her colleague who agreed. I've done a lot of reading and it explains/fits me very well.

Its very useful to have identified AS and I'm benefiting lots from better understanding myself, however I won't seek actual diagnosis as I see nothing to gain from it and don't want the label officially.

Hmm. Let's see. I think I first guessed I had some form of autism a few years ago when I was reading a book (don't recall the title). One of the lead characters had Asperger's, and I could totally relate! I've had to train myself to "fit in" with others my entire life. Especially the "looking them in the eye" while talking with them. So a couple weeks ago I came to this site and took some of the tests. Inconclusive. To me, that the tests are inconclusive, means that I am. But just my oppinion. I'm quite sure I'd have a really hard time finding a doctor to diagnose me. But then, I really don't need to be diagnosed. Wouldn't benefit me either way. So I'll just hang here and read what y'all write, and throw my $0.02 in. I include my test scores in my signature so that you can decide for yourself whether you want to consider me to be in the spectrum, or not. Either way, it seems like a very nice bunch of individuals gathered here. Awesome!