Anyone here been diagnosed as *not* autistic?

This is a very interesting thread. I asked a similar question to the community when I had to decide whether to be referred for a formal diagnosis. My GP at the time was a mental health specialist with Knowledge of Autism, who assessed my AQ results and agreed with my self diagnosis, but he warned me I would not get any support if I did get a formal diagnosis. After reading about experiences of the process I decided it sounded too traumatic and that I would probably not be able to trust the assessor, so I declined. I know what I am, and my extensive reading about Autism and about how Autistic and Neurotypical brains work differently has literally changed my life. This forum was also a great help in the early days, as people are so accepting.

This is a very interesting thread. I asked a similar question to the community when I had to decide whether to be referred for a formal diagnosis. My GP at the time was a mental health specialist with Knowledge of Autism, who assessed my AQ results and agreed with my self diagnosis, but he warned me I would not get any support if I did get a formal diagnosis. After reading about experiences of the process I decided it sounded too traumatic and that I would probably not be able to trust the assessor, so I declined. I know what I am, and my extensive reading about Autism and about how Autistic and Neurotypical brains work differently has literally changed my life. This forum was also a great help in the early days, as people are so accepting.

Pixiefox, qwerty, out_of_step I agree with all three of you :-). I think I'm drawn to look for some kind of validation as said by out_of_step, but I worry about getting a false negative, being able to trust the process, and feeling a fraud (giving myself a false positive). But I am so drawn to feeling at home with other ASD people and find their description of symptoms resonate so much. All of the googling I've done over the last 18 months has revealed nothing that better explains who I am, and I can't conceive of any answer to the question "If I'm not on the spectrum, then what *is* this?"; no other condition fits, and I don't think that personality and introversion (& even laziness on my part!) explains it either.

Ive been in 2 minds about referral and diagnosis. I think for now i want someone to say either "you probably are/you probably arent" just to reinforce what i think (know) for myself. 

Ive taken the step of mentioning to my GP about what to do/should i take it further. She was very understanding and il be making another appointment to see her about it.

I just dont think i need the label as ive managed all these years without one. But some sort of affirmation (if thats tje right word) would probably be ok for me. I think these forums help because at least i know im not on my own. Im just concerned of the whole process as ive read so many horror stories and the wait time is usually very long. Being in limbo would be too much to cope with.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think that's a very good attitude. Even though I did choose to get a formal diagnosis at the end, I think it's more important to understand yourself than just to have a label. And it's a very positive and proactive appraoch to read about how autistic and neurotypical brains work. I've also recently started to read books like this too! I've also found the books helpful as well.