ASD diagnosis, issues and doubts with my psychiatrist

Page 1 of 1 [ 14 posts ] 


Is a polysomnography relevant for diagnosing ASD?
Yes, it is 5%  5%  [ 1 ]
Could be 19%  19%  [ 4 ]
It isn't 33%  33%  [ 7 ]
No idea 43%  43%  [ 9 ]
Total votes : 21

MM99
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 4 Jul 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Spain

22 Nov 2017, 7:32 am

So I've just had an appointment with a psychiatrist to start my diagnosis. I told them that I suspect (I'm actually positive about it) that I have ASD. And he just asked me if I have trouble sleeping (I do) and scheduled a polysomnography (a sleep study in which I'll have to pass one night in the clinic while a specialist monitor my sleep) in two months. He didn't even address ASD.
Is that normal? Is polysomnography a standar (or at least useful) previous step before initiating an ASD diagnosis or he just did whatever he wanted?
I'm not against doing the polysomnography, the results might explain my troubles sleeping, but I'm concerned about if he just didn't believe I could have ASD at all.



Embla
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

Joined: 4 Oct 2017
Gender: Female
Posts: 490

22 Nov 2017, 10:12 am

Never heard of it.
When I was diagnosed, all that was brought up was how I'm doing socially, and a little bit about special interests and sensory issues.



elbowgrease
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Aug 2017
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,505
Location: Arcata,CA

22 Nov 2017, 10:24 am

I checked could be.
I had one of those when I was younger. Back then I had a really hard time sleeping. Still do sometimes, but rarely. I've heard it's somewhat common with asd's, couldn't tell you as far as that goes.
There may be an EEG involved. When I did one there was, and glancing at the Wikipedia article makes it seem that there will be. I've heard that EEG results can be interpreted now to help with diagnosis, that there are some specific irregularities which occur in the aspie brain that can be measured with EEG. Excessive activity in some areas, something like that.
Been a while since I looked it up.
I was trying to get my records from the same kind of study in order to see those results, thinking of it as a form of tangible physical evidence. Had no luck with the records, though.
Maybe that's got something to do with it.



SplendidSnail
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Jul 2017
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Posts: 887
Location: Canada

22 Nov 2017, 9:51 pm

I personally don't have trouble sleeping, but I've heard that it's fairly common among those on the spectrum.

My diagnosis didn't have a thing to do with whether I have trouble sleeping, and I feel like it would be a small enough ticket item that it seems strange they'd actually do tests for it, unless it's for a second diagnosis alongside ASD.


_________________
Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder / Asperger's Syndrome.


kahhh
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 20 Oct 2017
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Posts: 67

23 Nov 2017, 5:17 am

Did you mention anything else that could be related to sleep? Like, maybe cognitive issues he might somehow think are related to sleep, or anything like that? He could really believe something else that could be going on and want to look into it separately, whether he believes about the autism or not. Sleep issues are definitely common with autism, though not usually the first place to start, but he might honestly be looking into the autism still and focusing on the sleep issues in relation to that and just have a kind of odd way of starting testing... Or, he could be skeptical and just trying to find something else to focus on hoping you'll forget about the autism thing because he doesn't believe it. Unfortunately, with the way so many psychs handle autism, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the latter. If that is the case, don't give up. Maybe go ahead and try the polysomnograph, since it might be useful somehow, but then if he doesn't seem to bring up autism anymore, be adamant about it.



MM99
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 4 Jul 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Spain

24 Nov 2017, 7:58 am

No, I didn't mention anything else about sleep, and it was him who brought it up, just after I told him I suspect I'm autistic, what he didn't address neither in that moment nor later. Actually, I didn't say anything apart from "I think I have ASD" and "Yes, I have sleeping problems" during the appointment. I know autistic people tend to have sleeping problems more than neurotypicals in average, but I don't think it's the first place to look at, as all of you seem to agree.



MM99
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 4 Jul 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Spain

24 Nov 2017, 8:09 am

kahhh wrote:
Maybe go ahead and try the polysomnograph, since it might be useful somehow, but then if he doesn't seem to bring up autism anymore, be adamant about it.


That was what I was planning on doing, but I just hoped there was another explanation of why he would do that.



MM99
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 4 Jul 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Spain

24 Nov 2017, 8:14 am

Oh, I forgot, I also said that I suspect that I have ADHD. And I know, sleeping problems are also more usual between people with ADHD, but still not the first place to look at!!
I'm starting to regret addressing ADHD and ASD at the same time, maybe it contributed to his skepticism.



MM99
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 4 Jul 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Spain

24 Nov 2017, 8:18 am

elbowgrease wrote:
There may be an EEG involved. When I did one there was, and glancing at the Wikipedia article makes it seem that there will be. I've heard that EEG results can be interpreted now to help with diagnosis, that there are some specific irregularities which occur in the aspie brain that can be measured with EEG. Excessive activity in some areas, something like that.


That's my main hope, that there'll be an EEG involved which will give some evidence about my obvious neuroatypicality.



kraftiekortie
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 87,510
Location: Queens, NYC

24 Nov 2017, 8:21 am

Many people have sleep disorders who are not people with an ASD.

I've never seen a sleep study as part of the diagnostic process.



elbowgrease
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Aug 2017
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,505
Location: Arcata,CA

24 Nov 2017, 10:19 am

MM99 wrote:
elbowgrease wrote:
There may be an EEG involved. When I did one there was, and glancing at the Wikipedia article makes it seem that there will be. I've heard that EEG results can be interpreted now to help with diagnosis, that there are some specific irregularities which occur in the aspie brain that can be measured with EEG. Excessive activity in some areas, something like that.


That's my main hope, that there'll be an EEG involved which will give some evidence about my obvious neuroatypicality.



I'd be interested in hearing about it.
Since I figured out, self dx'd, dx'd, I've gotten really interested in the brain. Haven't really had a chance to study yet, but seriously considering taking up neurology.
I was really hoping they'd be able to acquire my EEG from the same type of exam. But that was so long ago that, apparently the records don't exist anymore. The year before Asperger's went into the DSM.
I'm still trying to figure out how to get an fmri. I really want to see what my brain looks like. I'd love to see it in real time. And some other scans, too.
When I can't sleep, my mind is racing. It's like it's working so hard on some idea I have that every part of my brain that isn't required to keep me alive has been commandeered in order to solve this problem, while I'm trying to sleep and while I'm awake. Very visual. The last time, I think it lasted almost a month. I was only sleeping about three hours a night, and not consecutive hours. And so totally absorbed with variations of the halbach array.
I just felt completely insane.



kraftiekortie
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 87,510
Location: Queens, NYC

24 Nov 2017, 5:11 pm

That's really the whole thing, to me: the fact that many people with ASD's don't have any discernible brain abnormality, whatsoever.

This was the basis for the "minimal brain dysfunction" theory of the 60s and 70s: it was theorized that a "microscopic/minimal" abnormality in the brain which is not evidently discernible (even to neurologists) was responsible for the symptoms which kids with a wide variety of disorders (per the present day) evinced.



naturalplastic
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Aug 2010
Age: 69
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,147
Location: temperate zone

24 Nov 2017, 5:23 pm

To me its strange. And I never heard of it.

Got a thorough battery of all kinds of aptitude tests, and had family and a friend be interviewed about me. But no sleep test.

Could be that he thinks that sleep issues are causing what you think are autism symptoms (ie that sleep issues are not an indicator of being on the ASD spectrum, but a counter indicator). Or who knows?

I suppose the test wouldn't hurt in any way.



MM99
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 4 Jul 2016
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Posts: 50
Location: Spain

24 Nov 2017, 7:56 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
Could be that he thinks that sleep issues are causing what you think are autism symptoms (ie that sleep issues are not an indicator of being on the ASD spectrum, but a counter indicator). Or who knows?

I suppose the test wouldn't hurt in any way.


That'd make sense... if he had at least asked me why I think I'm austistic... but he didn't!! He just brought the polysomnography up and ended the appointment!! !
And I know it won't hurt me (although the idea of sleeping an entire night connected to some machine by umcomfortable wires doesn't thrill me...), I'm actually quite interested in what the results will be, but it'll delay my diagnosis for at least two months (the polysomnography will be in January) and it's hard to wait, the very few people I've told I have ASD haven't taken me too serious (they haven't even address it at all since I told them, not even when I mention something about it casually) and now I'm afraid of coming out as autistic withouth the diagnosis, but on the other hand I can't stand anymore being treated with the same standars as neurotypicals are, they keep expecting me to be something that I'm not, and I know they'll probably continue doing it once I've got the diagnosis, but at least I'll be able to answer "You have no right to tell me this and you're f*****g ableist". Right now I can't do much apart from shutting up and telling them to leave me alone
(I sound so angsty lol)