Questioning my diagnosis

[anon2621]

hi everyone.

I was diagnosed with borderline ASD/NVLD back in September of 2015. As a child I met full criteria for Asperger's syndrome. However I am beginning to question it. It seems that diagnosing ASD is very difficult to do since I am also GAD and ADHD. I function fine with medicine (Prozac/Vyvanse) and can hold a job. In fact life has been easy enough where job interviews come easy to me. My boyfriend who also happens to have GAD, and ADHD disagrees with the Aspergers diagnosis. He happens to have many Aspergers traits too, which are more prominent than mine.

For a good 5 months or so, I have virtually forgot that I even had ASD but then I did something that made a family member comment on ASD behavior.

I am very bothered by my diagnosis and diagnoses in general. First off I realize that my traits are stronger the more I think about it. Because of that, I have developed a hate for labels... But at the same time I can't stop labeling things as "this" or "that". I am a deep thinker and I have such a hard time viewing disorders as actual disorders since their definitions keep changing over time... Plus ADHD and ASD have so many commonalities. Why isn't ADHD recognized as a form of autism?

 

[Judge]

Why isn't ADHD recognized as a form of autism?

Here's the official response to such a question. That in fact the DSM-V recognizes ADHD as being comorbid to Autism Spectrum Disorder. I suspect that's probably as close as they're going to come in addressing such a question.

The Co-Occurrence of Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children – What Do We Know?

 

[shinkansen]

This is an interesting question. I have both ASD and ADHD.

In 2014, a specialist doctor assessed me for ADHD. I thought it was possible that I could have ADHD, but not probable. While being assessed, the doctor also suggested that I could be on the autism spectrum. I had no idea that you could have ADHD and be on the autism spectrum. I also learned about how aspergers is now included in the autism spectrum. So I learned quite a lot that day. After thinking about it, I accepted the doctor's offer for an assessment for autism spectrum. I was diagnosed with ASD earlier this year.

For the ADHD, I take Concerta, which is a slow release version of Ritalin. They do provide some benefit sometimes.

Sometimes I wish I'd never seen the doctor. Then I would have remained blissfully ignorant. But now this ADHD and ASD stuff is in my head now and it won't go away.

Sorry. Rant over.

 

[Guppyfry]

Hi Bird - it is very possible to be on the spectrum and to function as well as you do. You may have developed better than average coping skills, and incorporate them into your life seamlessly. Prozac helped me a lot when I was dealing with serious depression, and the counselor I was seeing at the time commented on how much prozac has helped me come out of my shell and be more 'present' (this was prior to the Asperger's diagnosis.) So Prozac may be a big help for you to function and work also without the more noticeable effects of the "typical' Aspie.

My take is that you don't have to accept a diagnosis that you feel doesn't fit. Back when I was looking for answers, no one had heard of Asperger's, or didn't believe that people with AS could be functional and hold down a job. I was diagnosed with a long list of stuff like Schizoid, Borderline Personality Disorder, ( I was also accused of being depressed because I wanted to be depressed - bull!) etc, and a bunch of others that I don't remember now. I researched each diagnosis to learn more about it, and none fit. I KNEW that wasn't it. When I first read about Asperger's in a book, all the bells went off, and FINALLY! I recognized myself!

Many people can be introverted and not very social, it doesn't mean that they are on the spectrum. As for labels, I think that in the future, the label of being AS won't have the stigma it has today, it will simply be a description of yet another personality type, like being Type B, or being introverted vs. extroverted. To me, learning that I have AS and getting an official diagnosis wasn't about labels, it was about getting to know and understand myself better. Perhaps you can look at your diagnosis as such, if you do find that you can relate to it.