Hello

An official diagnosis for an adult, according to my husband, is helpful in some ways.

1. Getting diagnosed allows you regular visits to a psychiatrist, who can further help by teaching you how to cope with AS. (Of course, the point is moot if you don't have insurance or your insurance wouldn't cover these visits.)

2. If your AS is severe enough that you cannot hold a steady job, an official diagnosis can help you apply for disability benefits. It's impossible to get disability without an official diagnosis.

3. A diagnosis may help you with college admissions and scholarships. I knew an Aspie in college who got a special dorm room, free tutoring, and a disability grant because of his AS. His AS was pretty severe, though.

So, if you cannot afford to visit a psychiatrist, have already been through college, and do not need disability benefits, there aren't many tangible benefits for an official diagnosis. There's the intangible benefit of knowing that your suspicions were correct, but the value of that knowledge varies by person.

From what I know about AS (which is mostly from pestering my in-house Aspie and online research) there is a push from outside the Autistic community to "fix" or "cure" people within the Austistic spectrum. Any psychologist worth going to won't try to fix you, though. The idea that people with AS can be somehow cured, or that they would even need to be cured, is widely rejected among those who know the topic well. It seems to be the people who know very little about AS who think Aspies should be "fixed."

You are perfect exactly as you are. Your way of thinking is different, but it isn't inferior. In many ways, it's superior to NTs. We as a society need the innovative thinkers who see things differently than the norm.

I heard Einstein may have had AS as well, but it's very difficult to prove one way or the other so long after the fact. Still, it's interesting to consider how many geniuses have been Aspies. Silicon Valley is absolutely full of people with AS, for a very good reason.

the bad part is Many aspies are treated differently because of social skill or habit issues. some people love to rip them apart becuase thier vonrable . just remember if you have it. the diagnosis is not a label. Like with me, i feel god made me that way, He doesnt make junk, and i trust him on that.

In the UK where the health system has been Stalinised, autistic people with or without 'diagnoses' get discriminated either their symptoms reports are ignored (poor communicating skills on part of doctor as well as patient) or their health is ignored because they are 'mental cases'

No profession has a conception of taking action baesd on 'diagnoses' at all.

I scored 27. Considering I'm an aspie, I don't think it's very accurate.

Thanks for the link to the autism test. I scored 35, which is well above the NT levels, and a typical result for HFA/aspergers. I've done a similar test which gave a similar result.

I've just written a reply to another post which describes my road to a diagnosis, so I won't repeat it here. But I've concluded that I'd avoid psychologists and physciatrists (spelling?) because they could do more harm than good. Trouble with AS problems is that if the causes are unknown, all sorts of wild theories abound and "experts" are pretty much in the dark, treating the symptoms. The best of the latest research suggests that AS problems are the result of a brain disorder, which explains a lot to me, yet is not very helpful from the perspective of gettting help to live with it.

The plain truth is that the condition is not yet understood, so medial science cannot help, nor can counselling. Sadly, the church often falls short as well. But if that is the down-side, the great news is that this is a really opportunity for God. He knows me from the inside out. He is with me constantly. He has directed my paths. Even without my knowing what my problems are, he has been teaching me how to cope. So, he is the best help you can get - follow him!

One of the problems with these tests is that I could answer a lot of the questions in different ways; they do not have clear-cut responses. This is mainly because I've developed coping mechanisms.

For instance, do I enjoy meeting new people?
- I've learned to 'enjoy' it to a degree. I've worked hard on learning this over many years. So I could answer yes.

However, the truth is that I still find meeting new people a scary thing and a terrific strain. Underneath it all, being true to who I am on the inside, I have to answer NO.

So, I've tried answering the questions several ways - what is the best answer I can truthfully give? and what is the worst? To give the best answer, I think more of my response today. To give the worst answer, I think of my response from 30 years ago (say), which is often a truer reflection of how I feel inside. The spread of responses gives some indication of how I have progressed over the years, but it also gives a feel where my true score lies.

The fact is for me, that even the lowest score I can muster is well above NT levels. On the other side, the highest score places me well short of Autism. So, I fit somewhere on the autistic spectrum.

Finally, don't place too much weight on the results. They are indicative, but not conclusive.