Diagnosis Fail

So back in 2006 I went in and was put through a neuro-psych evaluation to "rule out" Asperger's. My test results came back and I was given a diagnosis of Asperger's. One thing that I made a point of sharing with the Neuro-psychologist was an email from my mom (she lived hunreds of miles away) that explained that I had stopped progressing in speech at three years old, and then suddenly one day when I was six I started talking like an adult. So for three years my speech was delayed.

Now just recently we went to a psychologist to see about turning my son's school evaluation into a real diagnosis, with testing to back it up. While talking about my history (which does apply to his since I'm his father,) I mentioned this and that I'd thought it was odd that I'd been diagnosised with Asperger's as a speech delay usually rules out Asperger's in favor of just plain old Autism. She was also surprised, as to her not progessing for three years was a significant speech delay. And a significant speech delay is clearly Autism. Now she did say that it is possible for a low-functioning autistic to become high functioning, but because of the requirement for no speech delay an autistic can not magically turn into someone with Asperger's.

The end result is, my diagnosis was most likely sugar coated. But since I've only used the term Asperger's to describe myself when I have to use my official diagnosis for something, this has not changed how I see myself. I am Autistic, and it has always been a part of who I am. And no piece of paper can change that.