How To Get Diagnosed?

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I have been a lurker on this site for a few months now. I am only just starting to chime in.

I have tried to find more information on this topic in the forums but am apparently not searching by the right parameters and haven't found this information.

I want to have official testing for ASD. I have told this to my primary doctor and I was assigned a "case manager" for mental health. The only thing that the mental health officer did for me was sign me up for counseling. This is a counselor, not a doctor or anyone who can treat or diagnose me. Just someone to talk to. I told my case manager I would like her to see if there are testing services somewhere, maybe even in Seattle where I could drive there. And her response thus far was there would be a waiting list. And I said I was okay with that. But she never actually sent off the referral for me. And when I talked to her a different time mainly acted as though it was a non-issue. Even though I told her I need to know what I am so I can have the right resources.

I went to my first counseling session yesterday. And the goal the counselor has decided for me is to become more "functioning" so I can do every day tasks and nothing will interfere with being an adult. I am unsure what really that will be at this time.

Anyways. I live in Washington. I have sought to be referred and wasn't. I don't know if it's just up to their judgement if I get referred to a clinic for testing or not. I have also, prior to reaching out to my doctor, called up autism services in the area but they were all for children and basically told me I was sh*t out of luck. I got a few recommendations from those people but all were dead ends and were for people already diagnosed and couldn't help me or give me any further referrals to other places. Which is why I finally decided to use my "free healthcare" medicaid to get some results. But it has obviously not worked.

Many probably do not see the purpose of being diagnosed, especially at my age. However, especially at my age, where I may be considered "high functioning autistic" I actually struggle greatly. Many days I cannot even get out of bed due to the obstacles that lie in my path, not of my doing, i.e. someone else's crap is in my way. I can only function when I have things "just so" in a very specific way. Socially I am somewhat functioning, but almost everything else I lack in regards to personal caretaking or jobs or food. And my perception anyways is that if I have a proper diagnoses then I could then be referred to the correct people that can help me adjust. So far I am at a wall - and am now going to a counselor so we can come up with a plan to make me "functional". But to me it is backwards. As she does not treat me from the aspect of having ASD and also reprimanded me for just saying the word "asperger's" as if I have some sort of Gollum/precious ego thing going on.

blah!

http://autismsocietyofwa.org/v2/contact-us/
Have you tried getting a referral to the local chapter to see what resources are available for people in your area?

Not sure. If that is a thing I would have hoped my case manager would do that I guess. I am at this point taking matters into my own hands and will look that up.

So far I have called 3 places this morning, but for some reason not a single one has picked up the phone. So we'll see. I just want some sort of confirmation that I'm on the right path. I am okay getting 1 pieces of wisdom for 18 different places as long as I can puzzle it together somehow. Thank you for the link! I have not seen this particular site before.

http://budgetandpolicy.org/reports/no-d ... ate-budget
This web page suggests that health and human service are shrinking in your state. Actually, this is the situation in many states, and is not likely to get better soon.

Find a diagnostic centre for people with autism (normally they diagnose other conditions as well). My testing and official diagnosis cost around €750. I have no clue how much it will cost in the US.

I went to the link provided and that place was unable to help me. It appears that they think I should called a psychologist and to look on PsychologyToday.com

I found an adult services option through the University of Washington, "Adult Autism Clinic". But I am waiting for them to call me back now. This one was referred to me by "Autism Society of WA". But she still recommended going on PsychologyToday... (totally cray)

I sure hope that services for this stuff don't disappear altogether as you suggest because the percentage of people being uncovered that find themselves in this situation is growing.

One center I called said that the number one question she gets asked is the same one I'm asking... about diagnoses for adults, and that she had no resources for them at all whatsoever.

This is a big problem. My first (non)diagnosis ended up being conducted in a children's clinic (imagine tiny chairs and toys strewn about). So, it is very important to find an adult clinic. My second, successful, diagnosis came from a research clinic at my university. Its staff knew all about adult diagnoses.

So, I would advise expanding your search to include university clinics (for example, http://www.uwmedicine.org/locations/adult-autism ). Now, university clinics are also quite pricey. As others have written, the price is about $1,000 to $1,500 for an assessment. But, my university clinic offers discounts (called "scholarships"), and I suspect other such clinics do, too. Another good avenue for adult assessments is to look for autism clinics within or near large hospitals. They could be less expensive.

Finally, private-practice clinicians are usually quite inexpensive, but are, too often, inexperienced especially with watching for autistic adult behaviors and characteristics. As you search for the right clinic, ask if each clinic uses the ADOS-2 module 4 tests. These are among the best in the world and, if the clinic says that they use ADOS, they can usually be trusted (the training alone to administer ADOS tends to weed out clinicians who don't understand autism's nuances).

Good luck with whatever choices you make in pursuing your assessment!