You're welcome.
You'll find that a great number of us here are only self-diagnosed. I'm one of them. If I see the shoe fits, I figure I'm able to put it on myself. Some people want the certainty of official diagnosis, or the benefits and therapies they may have access to by having it on paper. Some want to have something from a doctor's mouth to back them up with unaccepting family, employers, etc. But what matters most is identifying and accepting AS yourself [or for your child], so that you may learn and understand.
A lot of us at AC seem to have little faith in the mental health profession and its systems. Some of us have been misdiagnosed, ignored, or suffered insults to our dignity and personhood. Not every doctor is a good one. But as you suggest, some of the problem is that clinical understanding of so many developmental disorders and mental illnesses is still very limited. In time, we will all understand more, but right now it can still be quite frustrating seeking professional help, because some of the answers and better standards for identification just aren't there. Doctors have to learn a great deal in their schooling, and may not be competent in things they haven't seen often, or that aren't their speciality. The good news is, your child is growing up in a time when there are figures like Tony Attwood shedding a great deal of light on AS, and asking a lot of right questions. Not to mention that her mom has the advantage of the Internet as a precious resource.
So you're right, awareness is improving and things are slowly looking up. It ultimately has to happen on an individual basis for a shift in societal attitudes. At least you can count yourself among the enlightened, even if you know you still have a lot to learn. Unfortunately, there are members here whose families are still very much in the dark.
