Assessment 'suggests': is that a formal diagnosis?

I agree, in the main that is true. Even though some parts of the Asperger's, like the sensory problems with sound, would likely exist no matter what society we have (noise will always be there to some degree), any suffering would be massively reduced if society accepted us more. I never say 'I suffer from Asperger's' (I am not a martyr to my condition!),  because that simplistically reduces all my experience to something negative. I experience suffering, yes, but I also experience joy, curiosity, and child-like enthusiasm, which are just as much a part of my make-up.

...and "suffered" is as bad as the word "has" in yours! What we are "suffering" from is the rest of society!

Hi Stu,

'Overall, the assessment suggests that [I] do fulfill the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's syndrome'

As Longman says its and 'inexact science'. I guess until there is a totally objective test (if that is ever going to be possible?) then 'suggest' may be as close as it gets in terms of a diagnosis. My own diagnosis had (I felt) odd wording - 'has suffered from Aspergers Syndrome' I think it said. To someone not familiar with Aspergers that might read that I no longer have Aspergers?

It sounds like telling your workplace would be a positive thing if they are able to make adjustments that will make working there better for you.

Good luck. And post up how it goes. :)

Hi - thanks, both for sharing your comments. I'm going to go ahead and let my work know, and see what happens (I already told them a year ago that I had been referred by my doc, so I'd already decided about informing them). I'm not sending the full assessment though. I think I wil ask me work a very straight / direct question about their understanding of this diagnosis, if I get any negatively qorded response (I think maybe from one particular person), I know I'll need to get clarification

Fortunately, creativity is a strong atribute of the company for which I work, so a bit of out-the-box isn't frowned upon. I just got to work in in-the-box...

Thanks, Stu.

Other comments welcome.

Interesting.  According to my diagnostician, who used virtually the exact same terminology:

"...which is a term psychologists often use; as research, interview, or test findings suggest, etc. Some do not always understand this scientific use."

It did cause me troubles with my (ex) GP who was one of the ones who didn't understand it (although weirdly, when I (eventually) got a copy of my medical records he had recorded my diagnosis, I think he was pretending to me that he didn't believe it was a diagnosis to get out of providing me reasonable adjustments.  Even weirder because the practice manager had phoned me and told me they had received the report and put the diagnosis on my health records.

Your age has nothing to do with it, it does mean it is a diagnosis, but as I found it caused problems because it doesn't spell it out in such concrete terms that no-one can question it.  I wanted mine to say "has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome" but these clinicians use silly wording sometimes.  It should be like a court of law, without loopholes and without any way to be queried.  But I guess that is the nature of a neurological difference, it is always up for challenge until such time as a medical test such as a brain scan can prove it.

It's an inexact science (which is odd given they try to research it by exact science). They have evaluated your responses to various questions, with some school and parental information to corroborate (not always available to older people being diagnosed, so shortfall in that can also affect certainty).

Be careful how you explain the diagnosis to HR. At the risk of repeating a story I've told many times before on here.... I showed my diagnosis to HR and they made a copy. They asked me if I wanted my managers to know my diagnosis. I said yes (I wanted them to know I was having difficulties, regularly picked up in annual reviews that were due to aspergers).

HR scanned my full diagnosis document electronically and circulated it to managers and senior colleagues as an email attachment.

Obviously, the nature of this document gave rise to a lot of confusion, such that I'd self diagnosed, or was getting on the bandwaggon of academics claiming to have aspergers as a kind of badge of intellect (which was a poopular theory at the time).

I'm afraid you always have to treat HR like small children, and explain everything in detail, preferably written down in short sentences, otherwise they wont be able to get their heads round it.