|
Source: (consider it)
|
Thread: Another Aspie?
|
Gracious rebel
Rainbow warrior
# 3523
|
Posted
I had a bit of a lightbulb moment yesterday.
In the library where I work, I was flicking through a book on Asperger's Syndrome that a customer had reserved. Saw a little bit about the sort of problems that people with AS might have in their relationships in the home. It suddenly seemed rather familiar.
Last night I looked at an Aspergers website, printed off some stuff, highlighted the sorts of things that applied to me, did a test, later showed it to my partner who tended to agree that I did indeed have many of the traits described.
For some reason it had never occurred to me before. I've always known I was a little odd and different, with certain preferences for doing things in a set way, and a need to constantly ask questions to understand properly what is going on (eg when watching a film) or what is expected of me.
And I'm fascinated by characters on the spectrum in drama and fiction (my favourite comedy is 'Big Band Theory', I LOVED 'The curious incident of the dog in the night time' and I've just finished reading a great new Australian book called 'The Rosie Project').
But I'd never put two and two together and thought that my own little oddities may be symptomatic of the same thing.
For those of you who identify as possibly AS, how did you become aware, were you properly diagnosed, what impact does it have on your life?
For me its almost a liberation. Now the way I want to live my life makes more sense, not just to me, but also to my partner, who now perhaps understands me better, and will try to be more tolerant of my quirks.
--------------------
Fancy a break beside the sea in Suffolk? Visit my website
Posts: 4413 | From: Suffolk UK | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
|
Posted
I had a similar experience to you -- reading about other people discussing the symptoms, I realized that they could be talking about me -- that I fit uncannily well.
1. I have always had difficulty making friends, and could (and can) count my really close friends on the fingers of one hand.
2. I have always been awkward in social situations, meeting strangers and knowing how to make small talk. I dread parties that are full of people I don't know, and tend to sit silently in a corner.
3. My motor skills have always been poor. I'm terrible at sports that involve catching and throwing things.
4. Although I understand emotional states that people might be going through, I have trouble empathizing.
5. My sense of humor is rather literal.
6. There is a very small number of things I know a lot about and am good at, but other than that I am not a textbook illustration of savoir faire.
7. I thrive on routine.
8. I'm prone to tics, finger tapping, foot tapping, leg wiggling, etc.
Although I've never been officially diagnosed, there's no doubt in my mind that I'm an Aspie -- and that my mother was, my nephew probably is (although his mother, my sister, doesn't think so), my brother may be, a cousin definitely was, probably a great-aunt too -- in short, it appears to be rampant in my family!
And like you, the knowledge has liberated me. At last I have an explanation for why I am so strange!
[ 26. February 2014, 23:31: Message edited by: Amanda B. Reckondwythe ]
--------------------
"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
I have had a similar run of thought regarding ADHD. I have always really gotten along with people with ADHD, and finally took the test online. I basically lit up all its dials, and think I should talk to my GP as soon as Obamacare gives me one.
[ 27. February 2014, 00:14: Message edited by: Kelly Alves ]
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
|
Posted
I'd be very, very, cautious about diagnosis by internet.
It is OK just to be eccentric !
--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Chorister
Completely Frocked
# 473
|
Posted
It's worth remembering that these things are on a continuum, so many people are going to exhibit some signs to a greater or lesser extent. I'm happy to go with the diagnosis 'eccentric' and have already started to wear 'Purple'.
--------------------
Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.
Posts: 34626 | From: Cream Tealand | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
|
Posted
I used to be able to recite that by heart !
--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
Can't speak for Gracious Rebel, but I have been a teacher for 20+ years, have studied about ADHD and Aspergers, have been asked to do non-diagnosis observations of kids suspected to have learning differences, took my first informal ADHD quiz back on 1990 or so,and every time I examine the issue, stuff resonates. I don't think I am jumping to a self-diagnosis, I think I have reached the point where I should act on my concerns by talking to a professional. Is that appropriate?
And being thought of as "eccentric" is wonderful-- however, undiagnosed Aspies might be written off as "tactless" and undiagnosed ADHD sufferers might be written off as "careless, scatterbrained." And it might affect their work/ social life in ways that aren't fun.
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
no prophet's flag is set so...
Proceed to see sea
# 15560
|
Posted
Be careful of the Forer Effect.
Also be cautious if you cannot tell who published the online test you're using. It may be material from a pharma company who makes the medication they would like to sell. I'm thinking more of ADHD here.
This article is in this week's Maclean's magazine, which is the largest circulation news magazine in Canada.
quote:
Is ADHD a mental health crisis, or a cultural one? The reasons behind the rapid rise in diagnosis rates.
Finally, it is worth noting that the latest edition of the DSM (diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders), DSM-5 does not contain Asperger's any longer. It is "Autism Spectrum Disorder" of ASD. It reminds me of the change that eliminated "mental retardation" years ago.
In the UK, I think they use ICD (international classification of diseases) more often than DSM, so the rates of diagnosis for ASD and ADHD differ because the criteria differ.
--------------------
Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.
\_(ツ)_/
Posts: 11498 | From: Treaty 6 territory in the nonexistant Province of Buffalo, Canada ↄ⃝' | Registered: Mar 2010
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
Again, is it appropriate to bring one's concerns about the possibility they might be suffering from a learning challenge to talk to a professional?
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
And being thought of as "eccentric" is wonderful-- however, undiagnosed Aspies might be written off as "tactless".
I'm certainly eccentric, and I've been written off as "gruff", although to people who know me well I'm a teddy bear.
--------------------
"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
Again, is it appropriate to bring one's concerns about the possibility they might be suffering from a learning challenge to talk to a professional?
Yes, but diagnosis of ADHD in adulthood is difficult - you would need referral to a psychiatrist with a special interest.
The thing is, so many symptoms can be found in multiple different types of mental health condition. High energy levels, poor concentration and emotional volatility are features of many conditions; bipolar II, some forms of personality disorder, some forms of anxiety disorder - for example.
Alot of online screening tools lead to high rates of false positives. Also, they compare symptoms to no symptoms - so an online test would probably not distinguish well between mild OCD, social anxiety and ASD for example. It is important, because the first two can be treated - whilst ASD requires a different type of approach.
--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
MSHB
Shipmate
# 9228
|
Posted
I first came across one of the online Asperger's tests because of a discussion on the Ship back in 2009. I tested up in the Aspie range - and I also have a history of unusual sensory sensitivity issues and needed a degree of support in my teens and twenties.
So I eventually found a clinical psychologist who directs a practice specialising in autism spectrum disorders and who used to work with the leading Australian expert on Asperger's (and was recommended by him). I went through a proper diagnostic assessment with him and he concluded that I do have Asperger's. At first I felt weird going to a psychologist, but soon I thought it was great and wished I had gone years ago. I learned quite a bit about managing emotions and sensory sensitivity (and mindfulness). He also picked up on quite a few Aspie traits that I hadn't noticed - they were just "normal" things to me.
One positive outcome from this journey is that I now do voluntary work coaching other (diagnosed) Aspies. Instead of feeling unable to understand most other people, I now feel able to contribute to some other people precisely because my personality.
Self-diagnosis can be the start of a journey towards a formal diagnosis - and that can lead to finding one's place in the world. Finally.
PS: Gracious Rebel - if you like "The Rosie Project", you might also try "Stim" by Kevin Berry (I think he actually is an Aspie himself), and also "The Stages: A Novel" by Thom Satterlee (about an expatriate Aspie living in Copenhagen and caught up in a murder mystery). When I went shopping for "Aspie literature" these three were my short list of most likely novels to try.
--------------------
MSHB: Member of the Shire Hobbit Brigade
Posts: 1522 | From: Dharawal Country | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by MSHB:
Self-diagnosis can be the start of a journey towards a formal diagnosis - and that can lead to finding one's place in the world. Finally.
It certainly seems a lot more efficient than just sitting with things you actually find problematic.
I am aware that here are "crossover" symptoms of various ailments, which is why a talk with a GP-- who would make a referral to the appropriate specialist-- was the next logical step.
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
|
Posted
Utterly skeptical about this sort of thing I'm afraid. The autistic people I know are all so different from each other that I don't really believe there is a simple spectrum from "normal" to "autistic".
As for ADHD, well the descriptions of that you see online or extracted from the various DSMs (though not always their non-American equivalents) seem to me to describe a personality well inside the normal range. It looks like a make-work exercise that's trying to label a huge chunk of the normal population as in need of diagnosis and labelling and bottling and fencing off and categorisation and some sort of pop-psychological "treatment". No doubt expensive.
I'm not saying that loads of people might not benefit from the various interventions, just that its dishonest and controlling to talk about it as if it fitted into the bacterial model Oxford disease and could only be "cured" by the right government-approved drugs. Over-medicalisation meets social control.
--------------------
Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I am aware that here are "crossover" symptoms of various ailments, which is why a talk with a GP-- who would make a referral to the appropriate specialist-- was the next logical step.
I appreciate that, but I was thinking of the OP too - it does worry me when people take on a diagnosis without the opportunity to explore it with a professional.
--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Leaf
Shipmate
# 14169
|
Posted
no prophet: it helps to think of the DSM as an American insurance company payment schedule. If it isn't in the DSM - or gets removed from the DSM - insurers no longer have to pay for treatment. Simples.
It doesn't mean Asperger's isn't a "real thing" anymore. It's just much more convenient for insurance companies to minimize or eliminate anything they might have to pay out for. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Conversely, anything that (very profitable) drug companies would like to see added to the DSM mysteriously become ailments which need covering. Asperger's has no such drug associated with it.
[ 28. February 2014, 15:04: Message edited by: Leaf ]
Posts: 2786 | From: the electrical field | Registered: Oct 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
|
Posted
I think it is not so much removed as absorbed into the ASD diagnosis - so should still be billable ?
--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Callan
Shipmate
# 525
|
Posted
My nephew was diagnosed as autistic a few years ago. He's a creature of ritual, wants the world to make sense and for everybody to stop shouting. Which, as an Anglo-Catholic, makes me wonder why he is the one who has been diagnosed with a synodrome - clearly the rest of the world is bonkers. In the light of this I discovered a diagnostic questionnaire set up by Simon Baron-Cohen (the autism guy, not Ali G.) The national average is around 8, Autistic is 36, I scored 28. I'm not autistic but neither am I normal which explains an awful lot. I suspect that there are a lot of us who are not clinically autistic or aspergers but have more in common with them than we do with mundanes. Which is fine. As long as we don't take ourselves to seriously and remember that internet diagoses are not infallible.
--------------------
How easy it would be to live in England, if only one did not love her. - G.K. Chesterton
Posts: 9757 | From: Citizen of the World | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Caissa
Shipmate
# 16710
|
Posted
Our 17 year old son was diagnosed at the age of 5. Heis just beginning to come into his own in grade 11, building a friendly group of peers and advocated for his own academic needs at school.
Posts: 972 | From: Saint John, N.B. | Registered: Oct 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Zacchaeus
Shipmate
# 14454
|
Posted
I had the same experience with dyspraxia, it was when my daughter was diagnosed that something clicked with me...
Posts: 1905 | From: the back of beyond | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
I'm not saying that loads of people might not benefit from the various interventions, just that its dishonest and controlling to talk about it as if it fitted into the bacterial model Oxford disease and could only be "cured" by the right government-approved drugs. Over-medicalisation meets social control.
I think this is what has made me afraid of broaching the subject, TBH.
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
quote:
Originally posted by MSHB:
Self-diagnosis can be the start of a journey towards a formal diagnosis - and that can lead to finding one's place in the world. Finally.
It certainly seems a lot more efficient than just sitting with things you actually find problematic.
I am aware that here are "crossover" symptoms of various ailments, which is why a talk with a GP-- who would make a referral to the appropriate specialist-- was the next logical step.
I don't have ASD nor ADHD, but I do have lots of other health issues. Sometimes, self-research, self-diagnosis, and self-care are the only ways you're going to get help. It can be a long time (if ever) before you a) find a likely professional; b) establish whether they take you seriously; c) establish whether they'll listen to you; d) establish whether they'll honestly try to help, rather than going into a "wait and see" mode for years on end; e) establish whether they'll actually try to treat you; and f) establish whether or not they'll stick with you.
Plus there many not be an appropriate medical person in your area...and then there's insurance. And whether many people believe in the particular illness in the first place.
The late comedienne Gilda Radner is a good example. She had mysterious symptoms, and actively sought professional diagnosis and treatment. She was repeatedly told it was all in her head, or was otherwise dismissed. She wound up dying of ovarian cancer.
--------------------
Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
MSHB
Shipmate
# 9228
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
I think it is not so much removed as absorbed into the ASD diagnosis - so should still be billable ?
Yes. In fact, recent research in the US suggests that a high proportion of people diagnosed with Asperger's would also fit the criteria for ASD, while 22% of their Autistic Disorder sample and 70% of their "PDD-NOS" sample would not qualify for an ASD diagnosis. PDD-NOS is sometimes called "atypical autism", and applies to people who meet only some of the criteria for Asperger's or autism, but who need similar services. The 22% "failure" rate for people diagnosed with autism might reflect people who would be better diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID). The ID diagnosis rate dropped noticeably when the autism diagnosis rate increased. People with ID are much more rarely diagnosed with Asperger's. Asperger's usually implies average or above average IQ.
In general, if you have an existing diagnosis of Asperger's, you are considered to have ASD. You don't have to get a new diagnosis. It is a kind of "grandfather clause".
--------------------
MSHB: Member of the Shire Hobbit Brigade
Posts: 1522 | From: Dharawal Country | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by MSHB:
In fact, recent research in the US suggests that a high proportion of people diagnosed with Asperger's would also fit the criteria for ASD, while 22% of their Autistic Disorder sample and 70% of their "PDD-NOS" sample would not qualify for an ASD diagnosis. PDD-NOS is sometimes called "atypical autism", and applies to people who meet only some of the criteria for Asperger's or autism, but who need similar services. The 22% "failure" rate for people diagnosed with autism might reflect people who would be better diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID).
Emily Dickinson, an Aspie if there ever was one, would have something to say about the above.
With apologies to her:
Atypical autism is its other name;
I'd rather call it eccentric.
--------------------
"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Gracious rebel
Rainbow warrior
# 3523
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I am aware that here are "crossover" symptoms of various ailments, which is why a talk with a GP-- who would make a referral to the appropriate specialist-- was the next logical step.
I appreciate that, but I was thinking of the OP too - it does worry me when people take on a diagnosis without the opportunity to explore it with a professional.
Please don't worry about me. I'm not so much 'self diagnosing', as acknowledging that facets of my personality and make up suddenly make more sense when viewed in the context of possibly being at least a little way along the spectrum. Note the 'possibly' and the question mark in the thread title.
If it makes my life (and the life of those close to me) a little easier if we acknowledge that this seems to be the way that I function, what harm has it done? My 'symptoms' are not severe enough to warrant any 'treatment' anyway (whatever that would involve), so what purpose would be served by getting a professional diagnosis?
I don't really see much difference between accepting that this is how one seems to be, and taking on a Myers Briggs personality type etc. It's helpful in some aspects of life, and irrelevant in others.
--------------------
Fancy a break beside the sea in Suffolk? Visit my website
Posts: 4413 | From: Suffolk UK | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
MSHB
Shipmate
# 9228
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
I'm not so much 'self diagnosing', as acknowledging that facets of my personality and make up suddenly make more sense when viewed in the context of possibly being at least a little way along the spectrum.
There is a broader category than ASD: "broad autism phenotype" or BAP. It includes people who score fairly high on ASD tests, but who do not necessarily qualify for a diagnosis. The category is useful in ASD research, as many relatives of people with ASD are themselves BAP - they display some autism-like characteristics without necessarily having ASD.
Some references:
http://www.okcupid.com/tests/the-broad-autism-phenotype-test - this test has a link to the journal article from which it was copied.
http://autism.about.com/od/autismterms/g/phenotype.htm
--------------------
MSHB: Member of the Shire Hobbit Brigade
Posts: 1522 | From: Dharawal Country | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
|
Posted
OK, I took the first test and scored "above the cutoff on all three scales." So what else is new?
I have to agree with what was said above: knowing that I am (or think I am) an Aspie explains a lot, even absent a formal diagnosis. It helps me to understand, and helps me to cope going forward. I really don't want to be "helped" or "cured" at this stage in my life. I'm happy to live out my days being thought of as an eccentric old thing.
--------------------
"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I am aware that here are "crossover" symptoms of various ailments, which is why a talk with a GP-- who would make a referral to the appropriate specialist-- was the next logical step.
I appreciate that, but I was thinking of the OP too - it does worry me when people take on a diagnosis without the opportunity to explore it with a professional.
Please don't worry about me. I'm not so much 'self diagnosing', as acknowledging that facets of my personality and make up suddenly make more sense when viewed in the context of possibly being at least a little way along the spectrum. Note the 'possibly' and the question mark in the thread title.
If it makes my life (and the life of those close to me) a little easier if we acknowledge that this seems to be the way that I function, what harm has it done? My 'symptoms' are not severe enough to warrant any 'treatment' anyway (whatever that would involve), so what purpose would be served by getting a professional diagnosis?
I don't really see much difference between accepting that this is how one seems to be, and taking on a Myers Briggs personality type etc. It's helpful in some aspects of life, and irrelevant in others.
Just to let you know, Gracious Rebel, I was trying to craft my comment to include you (and in fact anyone else who might have concerns in this arena.)In re-reading it, I still think it applies that way.
If I can be specific, the problems I am having seem so consistent and ongoing and problematic that I feel like I have to cry uncle and ask someone for help for this.
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
|
Posted
This maybe a better place to start taking the tests. You should be able to see from that as well that there is some dispute over what is Aspbergers.
Jengie
--------------------
"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
Yes!
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Doublethink.
Ship's Foolwise Unperson
# 1984
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
quote:
Originally posted by Kelly Alves:
I am aware that here are "crossover" symptoms of various ailments, which is why a talk with a GP-- who would make a referral to the appropriate specialist-- was the next logical step.
I appreciate that, but I was thinking of the OP too - it does worry me when people take on a diagnosis without the opportunity to explore it with a professional.
Please don't worry about me. I'm not so much 'self diagnosing', as acknowledging that facets of my personality and make up suddenly make more sense when viewed in the context of possibly being at least a little way along the spectrum. Note the 'possibly' and the question mark in the thread title.
If it makes my life (and the life of those close to me) a little easier if we acknowledge that this seems to be the way that I function, what harm has it done? My 'symptoms' are not severe enough to warrant any 'treatment' anyway (whatever that would involve), so what purpose would be served by getting a professional diagnosis?
I don't really see much difference between accepting that this is how one seems to be, and taking on a Myers Briggs personality type etc. It's helpful in some aspects of life, and irrelevant in others.
That depends, essentially, if you are right. Unrelated example, symptoms of low thyroid and depression can be very similar - treatment and outcomes are very different.
So if a self-diagnosis means you don't seek a second opinion - you could be lifting a burden you don't have to carry, or may be not getting support that would help.
I am going to bow out of the thread at this point, because I think my posts are being perceived as blaming - which is not my intent.
--------------------
All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell
Posts: 19219 | From: Erehwon | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie Jon:
This maybe a better place to start taking the tests. You should be able to see from that as well that there is some dispute over what is Aspbergers.
Jengie
Hmm.
Image
(Edited to fix code)
[ 01. March 2014, 21:33: Message edited by: Firenze ]
--------------------
Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
|
Posted
That link may not be there after an hour, the site does not store results.
The result says, "You are very likely an Aspie."
Which does not surprise me at all. My clinical psychologist suspects the same, unfortunately testing for ASD for adults is not available in my NHS area and out of area funding is not available. So whether or not I have Asperger's remains undiagnosed.
I took another test a while back, in the AQ test a score above 32 is considered as having Aspergers, a score of 26 -31 is borderline — I got 44.
--------------------
Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
ken
Ship's Roundhead
# 2460
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gracious rebel:
I don't really see much difference between accepting that this is how one seems to be, and taking on a Myers Briggs personality type etc. It's helpful in some aspects of life, and irrelevant in others.
Sounds a good analogy to me. If you treat Myers-Briggs as a sort of jargon to talk about differences in personality mixed with a fun game it might be useful. Or at least interesting. But if you take it too seriously as if it represented some fundamental truths about human development, it is bollocks. Its one thing to say "I gave answers A B C D in the test therefore MB assigned me to category WXYZ" which provides you with a convenient shorthand for telling MB fans some things about yourself. Its quite another thing to say MB tells me I am a type WXYZ and that is the reason I choose A B C D." That's putting your arse before your elbow.
Its a pity the screwed-up US insurance system required DSM diagnoses to pay for interventions. Forces people into slots based on a few impresssionistic criteria, and encourages them - or their doctors - to assume that they therefore have or might develop the other behaviours of that category.
FWIW the old DSM 4 Aspergers criteria pretty much describe the opposite of my adult behaviour. (I had a few of them as a child). So if they recognised an anti-Aspergers syndrome maybe I'm it! Also the ADHD behaviours seem quite normal to me.... I suspect I'd qualify. But so what?
--------------------
Ken
L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.
Posts: 39579 | From: London | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Sober Preacher's Kid
Presbymethegationalist
# 12699
|
Posted
quote:
Doublethink said:
That depends, essentially, if you are right. Unrelated example, symptoms of low thyroid and depression can be very similar - treatment and outcomes are very different.
That's why I was tested for Low Thyroid before I was diagnosed with Major Depression; it's standard practice around here. I was pretty sure it was the later as I was an emotional basketcase but I had to have the bloodtest anyway.
--------------------
NDP Federal Convention Ottawa 2018: A random assortment of Prots and Trots.
Posts: 7646 | From: Peterborough, Upper Canada | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged
|
|
balaam
Making an ass of myself
# 4543
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
Also the ADHD behaviours seem quite normal to me.... I suspect I'd qualify. But so what?
So what indeed. Who wants to be average.
I have survived 60 years without a diagnosis, so I can't see what difference an ASD diagnosis would make now. I have learned to cope. (Ateacher sent me to a osychologist at the age of 10, so there was something noticed back then, but an Aspie diagnosis wasnot available in the mid '60s.
A diagnosis could be counter productive. I could take the tack that I'm Aspie so I can't help being tactless, but there is a real world out there that we have to live in and we need to learn to cope without special treatment.
--------------------
Last ever sig ...
blog
Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged
|
|
Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
|
Posted
Some people it helps, some people it doesn't. Like pretty much everything, I guess. ![[Biased]](wink.gif)
I self-diagnosed Ehlers-Danlos in my family after years of having my mother creating major emotional sturm & drang because she was convinced I had a much more dangerous disorder that would lead to my death in childbirth, oh noes. (Yes, I know, but when you're on the receiving end of that much emotional dump for that long, you take your relief where you can.) The self-diagnosis was confirmed later by a geneticist, but I didn't really feel the need to get a confirmation of it until my son was late walking. There's nothing to be done about it, anyway. But it WAS a comfort to have a name for why my joints kept dislocating and realize it wasn't fatal or anything.
Names can be comforting. They at least say, "Your situation is recognized as real in the universe at large. You are not imagining things, and you have the right to verbally smack any idiot who tells you you are."
On the other hand, a crappy diagnosis (self or otherwise) creates more problems than it solves. Which is why I was utterly freaking out on the Ship when my son's old school diagnosed him as autistic last year. He doesn't freaking fit the profile, and they were using the term to pigeonhole him as "too bad, so sad, nothing to be done about it.". He's not neurotypical, but we don't know what the hell he is. And sometimes I think having a name would be comforting. (Other than the family diagnosis of "weird," which was always applied to me as well. Whatever it is, we probably both have it.
--------------------
Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
rolyn
Shipmate
# 16840
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
I'd be very, very, cautious about diagnosis by internet.
It is OK just to be eccentric !
Entirely agree DT .
I'm not doubting that a range a psychological disorders , great and small, do indeed exist .
Yet, given the age we live in, it wouldn't surprise me if some clever IT person couldn't now invent a completely bogus mental disorder and get a heap of folk believing they have it.
--------------------
Change is the only certainty of existence
Posts: 3206 | From: U.K. | Registered: Dec 2011
| IP: Logged
|
|
Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sober Preacher's Kid:
quote:
Doublethink said:
That depends, essentially, if you are right. Unrelated example, symptoms of low thyroid and depression can be very similar - treatment and outcomes are very different.
That's why I was tested for Low Thyroid before I was diagnosed with Major Depression; it's standard practice around here. I was pretty sure it was the later as I was an emotional basketcase but I had to have the bloodtest anyway.
I turned out to have both. FYI, some doctors will treat for "sub-clinical" thyroid problems--i.e., you've got the symptoms, but your blood work is within normal clinical parameters. So you may be started on tiny doses of medicine, to see how you react. Some people's normal is different from the standard.
FWIW.
--------------------
Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged
|
|
Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
|
Posted
... and there's a bit of a fight between the endocrinologists and everybody else on exactly where the cutoff point for "normal" should be.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
(I can sepell, me)
[ 02. March 2014, 23:05: Message edited by: Lamb Chopped ]
--------------------
Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged
|
|
Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
|
Posted
Over the years a few people in the know have suggested I may be on the spectrum and I suppose I might be but, hey, I'm retired and living in paradise and I seem to get by day to day. I gather that I'm viewed as mildly eccentric but I get on with most of the neighbours most of the time.
I think I'll leave things be.
--------------------
I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
| IP: Logged
|
|
Piglet
Islander
# 11803
|
Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
... I'm viewed as mildly eccentric but ... I think I'll leave things be.
Wise words, Wodders - we wouldn't have you any other way. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
--------------------
I may not be on an island any more, but I'm still an islander.
alto n a soprano who can read music
Posts: 20272 | From: Fredericton, NB, on a rather larger piece of rock | Registered: Sep 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
I had a neighbour whom I suspected of being on the spectrum, but not knowing it. (His behaviours which were making my life very difficult, and are the reason I moved, were a little suggestive of it.) I came across a document on the school server with lists of characteristics of ASD - we had a special unit which had some diagnosed children, as well as some in mainstream, and a teacher with an autistic child. I was doing a tidy up of files, and opened it as it had no explanatory title, to see characteristics of my neighbour which I had not spotted, never having had to take note of adult features. I printed it out - after putting it where it belonged - and went through it, underlining the indicators I had seen. (The more I found, the more I was prepared to cut him some slack.)
And then I had to recognise that I had a number of them myself.
Curiously, when I mentioned this to one of my sisters, she was angrily emphatic that I did not, and was in no way even slightly aspie. (Possibly because the things she likes to criticise in me as failings happen to be the aspie-like things.) (Also possibly because she has a few herself. Not the same ones I have,)
[ 03. March 2014, 19:49: Message edited by: Penny S ]
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Steve Langton
Shipmate
# 17601
|
Posted
I ended up self-diagnosing in the late 1990s after years of assorted problems no one could put a finger on but which caused me lots of anxiety. I suggested Asperger to the guy who was treating me for depression ("Prozac not working - oh just double the dose" - which worked even less!) and at that time his reaction was "How did you ever hear about that?" He had apparently missed a recent 'Autism awareness week' with well publicised TV documentaries.
High-functioning AS (as in I have a Uni degree, albeit in a subject I wouldn't have done if I'd known then what I know now) can be freakishly varied. As I understand it this is because the underlying root of autism is the same, related to 'mind-reading' - not supernatural or sci-fi telepathy but reading faces/body-language etc. however when it is less severe you have enough ability to cope with world but 'spare' brain capacity not doing the mind-reading which can be employed in other ways - hypercalculia (maths genius), hyperlexia (which I have - I read like Usain Bolt runs, and by Aspie standards I'm quite slow), musical ability, etc.
If you are fairly able they will be reluctant to give a formal AS diagnosis even in this country to avoid paying for treatment (not that there is much!) or support. But also if you are fairly able you can largely self-treat by being able to analyse your problems and hopefully some slight or considerable benefits and adapt to who you are.
I tend to go for the theory that "Almost all men are to some degree autistic compared to almost all women". On the theory described above this is because, whether by evolution or design, women have developed to care for children (sorry that isn't PC - but it probably is real) and have better 'mind-reading' equipment to begin with so that more needs to go wrong for a woman to be noticeably autistic. The issue is, is it so bad in you that you need support or, if not treatment for autism, treatment for some of the resulting stresses and anxiety.
Posts: 2245 | From: Stockport UK | Registered: Mar 2013
| IP: Logged
|
|
Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
|
Posted
Actually, since mind-reading is something I can do, I probably am not. What I can't do is function in groups. Always in the kitchen at parties. And I never realised that at school I was required to identify the alpha in the class and be submissive, which included never, ever, scoring higher than her in tests. Not that she minded at all that I didn't roll over, because she was a very nice girl, but the others did, a lot.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
| IP: Logged
|
|
Steve Langton
Shipmate
# 17601
|
Posted
Sorry, Penny S, I may have slightly misled. I can also do quite a bit of the mind-reading thing, just I'm nowhere brilliant at it and am probably doing a fair bit of it 'the hard way', that is I have learned it rather than it being mostly instinctive. Being hyperlexic has probably helped with the learning, the mathematicians often seem to have more trouble.
Some sort of defect in that area is considered a theory of autism, and it works for me; it explains why I feel many social situations as 'walking through a minefield'. More severely affected autistics may apparently have problems to the extent that if you put them under a scanner a picture of their face 'lights up' a completely different bit of the brain compared to 'neurotypicals' (ie, non-Aspies)!
Also I assume (and being aspergic, possibly wrongly) that 'Penny S' is a female name. Things are slightly different for women and I'm not a huge expert on it, though I have some female friends who score highly on AS tests.
Posts: 2245 | From: Stockport UK | Registered: Mar 2013
| IP: Logged
|
|
Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
|
Posted
Girls with ASC do exist ~ I have worked with a few with the diagnosis, in fact the only time I have seen a class removed rather than the student was a girl with ASC. Her reaction to being told off, by anyone, classroom assistant or headteacher, was to put her fingers in her ears and dance around in a circle singing LaLaLa ~ which tended to leave senior members of staff a bit baffled.
[ 05. March 2014, 08:32: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
--------------------
Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged
|
|
Kelly Alves
Bunny with an axe
# 2522
|
Posted
My understanding is that a lot of girls on the spectrum go undiagnosed for a long time because they tend to withdraw instead of acting out, and teachers/ childcare professionals, etc tend to pay less attention to kids (of either gender) who withdraw than those who "act out."
--------------------
I cannot expect people to believe “
Jesus loves me, this I know” of they don’t believe “Kelly loves me, this I know.”
Kelly Alves, somewhere around 2003.
Posts: 35076 | From: Pura Californiana | Registered: Mar 2002
| IP: Logged
|
|
Boogie
Boogie on down!
# 13538
|
Posted
Re:diagnosis.
I am not Aspie but I do have ADHD, which is another neurological difference.
I was formally diagnosed aged 50 'tho I suspected I was an ADDer well before that when my son was diagnosed.
My diagnosis has helped enormously. Of course, I had many coping strategies which have been passed on down the generations (ADHD is very much an inherited difference) but the diagnosis has helped me to become MUCH kinder and more understanding to myself.
I don't make excuses for my behaviour - but I do understand it and cope with it far better since my diagnosis than before.
I never disclose to employers - I prefer that they see me as enthusiastic/creative and full of energy than all the labels ADHD carries.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I do find that I get on very well with Aspies - us un-neurotypicals seem to understand each other well.
--------------------
Garden. Room. Walk
Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
Printer-friendly view
