Have any of you prepared for your appointments?

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Hi,

I'm due to go to my first appointment for aspergers in the next month or two. I was thinking of making a brief list of the symptoms/behaviours I've noticed just so it helps when they ask questions. I feel as if I'll draw a blank otherwise. I'll be taking my mum, too, so she can fill in on the things I won't know the answer to or won't remember.

What kind of preparation did you do (if any)?

It is a good idea to write down a list of traits and take it with you, so you can refer to it if needed. Otherwise, you might forget, or you might not be able to figure out how to say things in words when the psych asks you. Or you can do this all in your mind instead of writing anything down, if you prefer.

I thought over my traits and rehearsed talking about them in my mind before I went to my appointments. It was like I had written little blurbs in my mind ahead of time, because I knew that I would have trouble coming up with the blurbs in real-time. I did not actually write anything down or give the psych anything that I had written.

Also, the psych will ask you some questions that you have no prepared answers for, those dreaded unexpected questions. When that happens, don't say or nod or give any indication that you agree or disagree with any of their preconceived notions that may be wrong about you in particular. If you cannot come up with the words to answer, say that you cannot come up with the words to answer and you need a long pause to think. Otherwise, the psych may get the wrong idea about you, and you may inadvertently agree or disagree with something that the psych said but that does not apply to you. Being unable or very slow to answer unexpected questions is common in people with ASD.

At one of my appointments, the psych asked me if I was good at answering unexpected questions. That was an unexpected question, and I totally failed at answering it.

My mum made a slideshow of my awkward-ness, I mostly sat there counting loops of carpet

I hadn't done any preparing but I've heard decent things about people writing down things for themselves to reference to.

I'm putting together a PDF document to bring with me for just the same reason...I fear that I'll freeze and be unable to answer certain questions, or that I simply won't remember to include certain things. I'm actually going to go back through my board history here and copy the things I've written into the document.

I'll also be including my various online test results. I know that can be questionable to do, since many psychs may not take well to that, but since I'm seeing a specialist in Asperger's who knows that I'm coming in specifically to explore the possibility of AS, I don't think it should bother him. I'll let him know I have it, but won't say something like, well, this test says I have it, sooooo...

My assessment is on Feb 29. Started preparing for it 2 months ago...

My assessment is less than a week away, on the 15th. I've been trying to write down actual examples of the difficulties I know I have, not just "when I am around too many people I shut down." Instead a better example is "Today I was at my church copying the monthly teaching CDs and preparing them for distribution, which is something I normally find very enjoyable. There were more people and more activity there than normal. During my time there I gradually felt myself getting irritated and wanting to leave. Two hours later I was finished then office administrator and I went to McDonald's for an ice cream cone. While we were sitting in her car eating them I felt myself shutting down and becoming much more quiet than normal. I normally am very talkative when around her. After I left the church I felt as if I was on auto-pilot." I think that is a better description and will give them a better idea of how my functioning is affected by being around multiple people in a busy environment. Yes, this is a real example from my day.

Nope.

Showing up is all the preparation I feel is necessary unless something is asked for.

I made a list before my appointment and my psych said it helped him. He is pretty sure I have ADHD-I and thinks I might have AS, but he is going to interview my mom and my fiancee to get more information.

I didn't. I didn't even think about anything I was going to say or do.

I wanted the psychologist to be able to see me exactly as I am, not swayed or skewed by any "preparations" I may have gone through.

I didn't try to anticipate anything she might have me do or anything she might ask. I was really afraid that doing so might taint my own behavior and responses.

I didn't want to take any chances whatsoever of getting a truly objective diagnosis. If I wasn't really on the spectrum I didn't want her telling me I was.

I always write stuff down for my appointments (no matter what kind of appointment they are).
It helps me gets my thoughts clear.
And when I can't speak (which happens regularly) I can just hand over what I have written.
The responses are mixed. Some doctors like it, others don't.
I figure what the heck - if they want to know what's going on in my head, my writing is the best way to find out because even when I am speaking it doesn't necessarily reflect what is in my head, it's often just whatever I can get to come out of my mouth.
If they won't read what I write then they are wasting their time as well as mine.

I hadn't considered doing this, basically because I didn't want doctors to think I was a self-diagnoser/hypochondriac, but now I'm a little further down the diagnostic line it's something I might look into. It would be useful, if not just for my personal use, to have some kind of document where all my past and present behaviours were organised neatly. There have been many times where I've come out of an appointment and thought, "damn, I should have told him about _____".

I think I might do it because I articulate myself best in writing. I don't when I'm just talking. I might just write down some trigger words, that once I read I can talk off of. Ones that trigger my memory and I can go into detail from (or at least try to) I think it'll help having my mum there because if I'm stuck for words, which is bound to happen, she can talk or expand on what I've said. She noticed things about me when I was a child, that I probably considered the norm because it was something I was used to doing/behaving.

Did anyone ever just not know what to say at their appointments?