B9:
There was a first meeting where the psychologist talked to my mother for an hour and got a hold of my old school records, which she reviewed at some point before the second meeting.
The second meeting was basically her asking me what a diagnosis would do for me and cautioning me as to the potential drawbacks (possibly being removed from consideration from a job, not getting health insurance, etc) and me discussing why I felt it would be helpful to me to have one.
Third meeting was going through the DSM criteria, which she admittedly told me was a formality because she was already pretty sure. At any rate, it wasn't possible for her to withhold the symptoms she was looking for from me as I have a psychology background myself and have done extensive research on AS in particular. I already knew what all the DSM criteria were.
Quote:
i am very surprised that a diagnosis of AS is so easy to be ascribed nowadays in some parts of the world.
Where I live, it's actually quite difficult. Knowledge of this subject matter is almost non-existent, and services *are* nonexistent. I was lucky to even be able to find an AS specialist to go to. However, since I already knew what the process was like from my research I was able to prepare enough information beforehand to go through it pretty quickly (school records, briefed my mother on what the psychologist was likely to ask so she could think about it beforehand, etc.)
At any rate, as far as services go, it's highly unlikely I'll be able to get any anyway simply because my general level of functioning is relatively high compared to classic autism. That and that I also fell under the 'gifted' classification (read at a fifth grade level in kindergarten, several years ahead in mathematical ability as well, measured IQ of 140, etc.) which puts me as an oddball among oddballs and also which most people will look at and then scoff at the notion that I would need any help with anything. In a way, they're right, as my abilities have allowed me to compensate for some of my deficits (artificially developed theory of mind, for example, based on pure brain muscle and research into psychology). However, that does exacerbate some problems, particularly when I was in school, as being 'gifted' comes with its own set of social challenges (apparent defiance of authority due to advanced abstracting ability but regular impulse control, for example; acting out due to lack of being challenged) that are distinct from aspie difficulties. Needless to say, those two statuses have a sort of synergy that turns one's social life into a complete nightmare when they come together. (Advanced abstracting ability +
diminished impulse control leads to.. Well, I'll just let you imagine.)
At any rate, I consider myself lucky to have a diagnosis at all. I do not see getting any sort of services as being in my near future. In fact, the psychologist who diagnosed me has not even suggested that I even need therapy. I'm functional enough to get by on my own power, and I have been doing so.
However, I'm still wondering if there's anything else that would be prudent for me to do with this, or if this is the end of the story. Just go back to life the exact same way as I did and basically ignore the diagnosis, or attempt to use it for something, even though I'm not sure yet what this something might be? This is the dilemma I'm having now. I'm also wondering if there are any insights here as to *what* that something might be.
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Only once you have traversed the path of darkness will you come to truly appreciate the light.
04 Dec 2009, 12:02 pm
Sure, I had a note saying I had Autistic Disorder, but that shouldn't have swayed her opinion, and it didn't.
