Are there undiagnosed aspies here

[Aspergers_Aspie]

Are there undiagnosed aspies on this forum, people who haven't been diagnosed for aspergers by a relevant professional?

 

[unperson]

I believe so. Why?

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

Just wondered as I always assumed it was people who had an official diagnosis

 

[unperson]

nah, quite a range here... wondering, related whatever.

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

I can understand a family member of an aspie using this site

 

[Nervous Rex]

I believe there are quite a few. A lot of the new members' introductions says they read about autism and feel like it fits them. You can also see someone's offical/unofficial diagnosis status if they entered it into their profile.

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

I didn't know this when I registered, maybe the info was there I may have missed it, I don't dislike neurotypicals, sometimes I just want to chat with fellow aspies

 

[Suzanne]

Yes, there are a few here. In fact, when I first joined, I was undiagnosed! So, there is huge hope for ones, but I guess it depends on which country you live in.

Since I only communicate with neurotypicals, I come here for relief too.

 

[Hylian]

I don't really have a diagnosis. I was told last time I was assessed that I qualified for one, but I wasn't given one for various reasons. I don't like how hard it is to get a diagnosis for some people.

 

[SimonSays]

I resisted the idea of being labelled for a long time. Never mind how difficult it is to get a diagnosis here. I just didn’t wanna get involved with the system. Didn’t feel I needed them to tell me something I already knew. But my GP referred me to be assessed as she wanted me to be diagnosed. I thought okay let’s do this, and then I didn’t hear another thing from them. It drives me nuts that it has to be like this. Not enough funding...blah blah.

 

[Alexej]

I think there are a lot of people in here who are self diagnosed, and happy with that level of knowledge, not needing a bit of paper from a professional.

 

[SDRSpark]

A lot of people here are self-identified. In many countries, getting a diagnosis as an adult is nearly impossible, and as autism wasn't a diagnostic possibility for girls and women decades ago and neither was what used to be called "high functioning autism" or Asberger's, a lot of people got missed for diagnosis as children and are now undiagnosed adults. The medical community is just now catching up to our existence.

 

[Magna]

I didn't know this when I registered, maybe the info was there I may have missed it, I don't dislike neurotypicals, sometimes I just want to chat with fellow aspies

I understand how you feel. There's nothing wrong with an autistic person wanting to talk with other autistic people.

I view autism forums the same way I do "real life": It's not feasible in either case that an autistic person can communicate solely with other autistic people since in both cases ("real life" and autism forums) there are NTs and self-identified autistics that may or may not be autistic. I don't feel in either case it detracts from my experience, but again, I agree that talking with fellow autistics is rewarding and meaningful on a level that comes from sharing a very unique and relatively rare experience.

 

[Nervous Rex]

I understand how you feel. There's nothing wrong with an autistic person wanting to talk with other autistic people.
. . .
I agree that talking with fellow autistics is rewarding and meaningful on a level that comes from sharing a very unique and relatively rare experience.

Also, there are a lot of people who don't check all the right boxes for a formal diagnosis. They may have some autistic traits, but they don't have enough traits or have those traits at a high-enough level to be fully diagnosable. (I call these people "spectrum-y", which reminds me that they don't have to have a formal diagnosis for me to empathize with them.)

One thing that I like about this forum is that you can come talk about different struggles and coping strategies without worrying about whether you have checked all the right boxes.

 

[Kevin1968]

I'm not diagnosed, online tests place me as highly likely to be aspie though.

I'm now 52 (was almost 50 when I found this site), it wasn't a diagnosis that existed when I was in school, when it is now typically noticed.

I have managed to cope 30+ years as an adult without getting diagnosed, a diagnosis would now be difficult (not so easy to get reliable childhood information at my age) and expensive to obtain with no obvious (to me anyway) benefits to having that diagnosis now. If things get difficult in the future perhaps I might look for a diagnosis then (I have managed to overcome difficulties in the past).

Coming to this site got me through issues that I had at that time, so I value this site (despite some of it's flaws). A lot of people who have a diagnosis may have access to professional assistance, those of us who are undiagnosed have very few resources available.

We are a lost generation, probably people who learnt to mask because we had no choice, we had no explanation for why we were different, I actually believed that everyone had similar issues as I do, but just don't talk about it. Sure I knew I found somethings easy (e.g. maths, science) and others difficult (e.g. English) and I knew others for example found maths hard but I used to think that everyone was uniquely different. Leaving school and going into an apprenticeship I learnt that some were good at the manual parts, some at the more theoretical parts. Again just differences between individuals, some people make good poets, others make good accountants.

I didn't know that most people are neurotypical (I didn't even know the term existed), over the years I did get more hints that my brain isn't the same as most people's, but I thought that EVERYONE thought like that.

Am I Aspie? perhaps? perhaps not? But getting an official diagnosis won't change that. A diagnosis won't turn me into an Aspie, just confirm if I am.

Of course it's your choice who you want to chat with here but remember you also were an Aspie before you were diagnosed professionally.

 

[Finder]

I spent most of my life undiagnosed, a small bit self-diagnosed, and now I am diagnosed.

 

[Thinx]

Yeah, much like @Kevin1968 except I'm about 10 years older, aka 10 years less likely to have been spotted, along with being born female.

I have an internal experience of my autism, I guess others do too, if you think about it? It often appears in relation to communication differences, where I am puzzled by language or situations that appear easy or straightforward for others to navigate. Particularly in unstructured social interaction. Also in encountering new places or experiences, and trying to understand them, or learn new processes.

With respect, it probably works both ways, people can be misdiagnosed, it's ultimately an opinion.

 

[AprilR]

I am not diagnosed because psychiatric diagnoses are not well known in my country. My psychiatrist said people with a college degree are not considered disabled in my country her words not mine.

 

[Judge]

Present! However at my age I see no point in seeking validation through a medical professional. I'm certain I'm on the spectrum, yet in the ASD Level One category in which I'm not entitled to anything and need no substantial support as such.

I'm just gratified to finally begin to understand who and what I am before I pass from this plane of existence.

 

[Aspergers_Aspie]

I am not diagnosed because psychiatric diagnoses are not well known in my country. My psychiatrist said people with a college degree are not considered disabled in my country her words not mine.

I'm saddened to hear there's not help and support for aspies in your country