why are self-diagnosed aspies considered "posers?"

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i see that there are a lot of responses from people who understand and can relate to people in my situation, like WhoAmI and LeeJoseph. Thank you for that.

A lot of the other people who responded have just reassured me that i don't need anyone else's opinion to justify me as a true aspie, especially people who have never met me. I have indeed gone through many of the things other diagnosed aspies talk about on this site, such as being made fun of all 12 years at school, being told that i have strange facial expressions, losing jobs because of meltdowns, having nobody want to hang out with me because i would go on and on about things noone else wanted to talk about, embarassing myself by correcting my professor in class (okay this only happened once but still...). After years of looking for someone who was like me, i gave up and started learning what was considered "strange," so that i could keep it to myself in order to get jobs, then fit in at the jobs.
Furthermore, Aspergers is still a fairly new condition to everyone, but in the black community, it is basically nonexistent. i was raised by a mother who refused to believe anything might be wrong with me, and was made to live up to normal standards even when at times i honestly could not. my strange behavior in school was blamed on me, and i was told not to act stupid.

now i'm not asking for anyone's pity, but currently at 27 years old, i am just learning the keys to holding and keeping a job so that i can move out of my parents house and support myself. i worked at a fast food restaurant for almost 2 years and i'm currently working a retail job in a mall. if anyone was to meet me in person, they'd be hardpressed to find traits of aspergers in me because now my special interests are things that are considered "normal" for a female: fashion and weight watching.
i'm sure that my case is pretty mild, but i believe that a lot of aspies would be surprised at what they could adjust (at least as much as necessary). to me, living off disability is a way of giving up on yourself and saying that you can't and never will be able to do what is needed to support yourself. a lot of younger aspies who are high on the spectrum probably have the potential to be self-sufficient, but were diagnosed early in life and/or sent to special schools have been wallowing in their disabilty and using their diagnosis as a crutch. fortunately, i grew up before aspergers was widely known and was forced to adjust. yes, aspergers is a disability, but it shouldn't rule your life. just my opinion, hope somebody takes the time to read all of this, LoL.

I self diagnosed. I have every symptom. It explained my whole childhood and young adulthood. There was no point in getting a diagnosis but insurance covered it. So I got a diagnosis and I have Asperger's.

Before the official diagnosis my psychologist believed I had Asperger's but wanted to have a family meeting before giving a diagnosis. This was 6 years before the official diagnosis. I didn't want the family meeting.

I ate chicken and I had all the symptoms of salmonella. Sure there could have been several other things that could mimic the symptoms of salmonella; however, I ate bad chicken so it made sense for me to have salmonella. I didn't need to go to the doctors for him to tell me that. I knew it.

As far as diagnosis's go.

With some psychiatrist if you make eye contact, speak in a non-pedantic way, have ONE friend, or don't have a strict routine then you don't have Asperger's.

To others if you are clumsy and don't like being around people, but don't have any other symptoms of Asperger's, then you have Asperger's.

Diagnosis's are so touchy. You have to get the perfect psychiatrist or psychologist, just to get a credible diagnosis.

Getting a diagnosis doesn't make it real, it makes it medically official. That is all. It was always real beforehand.

We're all not like that.
Just don't mention mild AS around me and you'll be fine. Well I don't mind if you mention it, just don't b*** and moan like it is the worse thing in the world. At least you still have legs.
I self diagnosed too but had to get an official dx for support and stuff.

I'm a bit envious of people with "Mild AS" as I'm pretty severe at times. No friends but one. Horrible social skills. Sensory overload of every sense, even taste. Headaches, stimming, hitting. List goes on.

The Social Deficits of Aspergers are difficult, but I believe in many cases, adaptations can be made, and a person can be successful in the working world if they are lucky enough to find a job, find one they can do, and persevere the inevitable hardships for anyone that is significantly different than what is considered the norm.

I think this addition to some of the more physically disabling aspects of Aspergers mentioned in Pensieve's post is what makes it almost impossible for some people to enter the work force.

I was fortunate to find ways to accomodate verbal delay, speech problems, social problems, motor coordination problems, heightened senses (particularly touch), and issues with executive function. In my case my long term memory and ability to laser focus, along with a loving and supportive family were the things that outweighed the factors that reduced my functionality. I was also fortunate to find jobs that I could handle most of my life.

My Sister and I, were diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum in our late forties. In our childhood the Doctors called us hyperactive, and in my case the reason they gave for not speaking until age 4 was that my mother was so attentive that I didn't need to ask for anything. At this time in my life, I am glad I was not diagnosed and I'm glad that there were no drugs for ADHD or special classes for me. If I look back, today, on the pictures of me growing up, I would judge that child as not having a chance to make it in the world. Everyone except my family told me I was defective, but I would not believe it, and found ways to adapt. For me the adversity was a motivating factor all my life.

The problem both of us have now is that sensory issues are becoming much more severe with age. There is research that indicate forms of Autism can get worse with age and the accumulated stress it takes to make it in the "real world". In my case it got so bad that I could no longer use my corrective lenses and the sound of a bird was like being under a freight train.

The bad part is denying there is anything wrong with you for so long that it almost kills you. I sympathize with any adult that has gone through the difficulties to get diagnosed. If you have lived a successful life, you can get diagnosed with Aspergers, but in most cases it will not be considered a permanently disabling condition that will allow you to get Social Security Disability. However, if the Aspergers condition has resulted in Chronic Severe Depression this can be considered as permanently disabling.

The positive advantage I can see in getting diagnosed with Aspergers, if you are still working, is that you will be protected under the Disabilities Act, so if you can't tolerate the loud music in your office, etc., an adjustment will have to be made to accomodate you. I know a person who has benefited from this. It appears that healthcare will be extended soon to those people that cannot currently afford the cost of a diagnosing pschiatrist.

There is no doubt in my mind that todays world is much more difficult for a young person born with what may be considered to be a mild form of Autism. From what I have seen on this internet site it seems like many of the young people have more of the severe issues that I did not encounter until I was in my forties. It seems reasonable to me that they may have accumulated as much health threatening stress in their 20's as I did in my 40's.

It is possible that those who consider themselves to have "a form of mild autism/apergers" now may experience it as a more disabling condition later in life.

I don't consider self-diagnosers to be posers. I give them credit for trying to know and understand themselves. Self knowledge and awareness is a good thing.

According to one of Tony Attwoods books I was reading, 20% of people diagnosed as children would not be diagnosable as adults. So there can be 'posers' the other way. People who have the formal diagnosis, but no longer fit the criteria.

do you mean people that 'pose' as NTs? I think i'm at that end of things - i have the diagnosis but i doubt even a professional would be able to tell. it was obvious when i was a kid tho

I'm not self-diagnosed by any means, but I've been wondering the same thing, as well. I don't think that you guys are posers, at all. It costs a lot of money to get diagnosed, and a lot of people can't afford that sort of testing.

I asked my counselor about AS. The mental health clinic I go to is a pretty good outfit, especially for rural Kentucky. Diagnosing an adult with AS is way out of their league. There's no facility in the entire state that will diagnose adults. There's another thread about the cost of a diagnosis and the estimates range from $1,000-$4,000. I know my insurance won't pay (they wouldn't pay for anesthesia for my colonoscopy either...bastards), and I don't have that kind of money. I already qualify for vocational rehabilitation job placement services for my other mental illnesses, and I wouldn't file for social security unless I was starving or homeless or something, so the benefits of a dx are not worth the price tag.

If we had national health care like Canada or Britain, I'd definitely go. If I ever have the money, I'll definitely think of going for an official dx.

Why? Do the narrow obsessions/interests, sensory issues and executive dysfunctions generally get worse/more pronounced as you age?

I've been diagnosed with HFA, but I don't think I've ever seen a member with "self diagnosed" or "may have it", and thought differently about them because they weren't diagnosed. Diagnosis is expensive. I was diagnosed by my therapist after seeing her for over 2 years. I see her once a week so the cost adds up even with insurance technically.

Really when I'm here on WP I just look for people I relate to. I could care less if they payed money for a diagnosis. If they think they have it... maybe they do? What's the worst thing that happens if they find out they don't later on? At least they find help here now when they need it the most

The only place where I fall guilty of feeling odd around another member on WP is when their status says Neurotypical. It's not that i think anything less of them when they post, but sometimes I sense probing in their messages. Like they are just doing research without really caring about the community. I understand sometimes NTs are here for family members or are friends of Aspies and whatnot, but I wish they would put that in their interest category or something. It's not that I discriminate against them... I just can't help but wonder why they are here sometimes unless I know more about them. I've come to notice a few NTs here and have no problem with them... they are quite nice actually. I've however noticed a few NTs probing and I'm not so keen on that unless they mention it specifically in their posts.

Overall though that's probably just paranoia with me and the NT status thing. With self diagnosed members though I don't think you should let diagnosed members keep you down. If you've done the research and honestly believe you have it that's good for you. You can use the knowledge to help yourself. The only true reason for a proper diagnosis is if you need help from your country. Then they expect you to have documentation or they wont help you (At least that's the case here in America). Also I really just thought about it but it's not like you need a diagnosis to say you've been diagnosed... so there are probably members among the diagnosed who are not

As an end note as well, I just remembered a few interesting members here who are self diagnosed and I've never thought less of them or thought they were being fake... I'd mention them but that would sound awkward

Yes, for some people, they do:

http://www.autistics.org/library/more-autistic.html

I think this may happen, depending on how severe your condition is when you are young, and what coping mechanisms you use in life to adapt. The more you find yourself in fight or flight mode to cope with life, the more likely it is that your nervous system, mental health, and health in general, will suffer from the damaging effects of the stress chemicals in your body. This damage can have a cumulative effect as you age. The link below does a pretty good job of explaining the "hows" of this process.


http://www.autistics.org/library/more-autistic.html

There is no point in my getting a diagnosis. I have survived this long (with the help of my family) without it and there is nothing to be gained. But that doesn't stop me from being sure within myself. I didn't hear about AS and then imagine I had the symptoms. AS describes how I have been all my life. I joined WP to gain some insights from others who felt the same way and maybe along the way I can share some of my own.

Some people who think that are Aspies may have some other form of NLD.

ruveyn

I generally agree. I only got a diagnosis when I saw a psychologist for something else. I have to say it was helpful for my own understanding, and for helping my family to understand, but it is very expensive.

~Kate