Validity check

Post Reply New Topic

I can't call a doctor beyond, "Hi, I need an appointment." For anything else I stick to email. But I hope that one day I'll be able to, and I highly doubt that will negate my diagnosis!

I've been to sooo many doctors over such a long time that I'm actually quite comfortable with them and talk better to them than I do many people. Maybe other people have gotten so used to calling doctors that they do the same thing.

Maybe you have Asperger's and maybe you don't, but this guy sure did pick a bad reason for backing up his beliefs! Since when is "cannot call a doctor" in the DSM-IV?

Ummmm. Wow. Calling people like that IS very difficult for me, which is why my Mom' still makes most of my important calls for me. I also generally dislike talking on the phone unless it's to a family member and I need to tell them or ask them something. But if I had no other choice, I could definitely stumble through it and get it done. At work I can answer peoples' questions over the phone, but im not all that great at it. If someone from another department calls and I answer, they usually ask to talk to someone else, lol.. I don't really blame them.

My job has made me used to the phone. I also had one friend in my childhood I could talk with forever...but that was very much an anomaly.

The most likely answer if I had to guess it would either be mild AS, or PDD...that much is clear, that it wouldn't go beyond that. Either that or the ADHD is screwing with me worse than I thought. Those, I think, are the reasonable possibilities. But I didn't like the attitude this guy gave me of prejudging without the evidence being in.

I'm quite sure I wouldn't have thought of it in time, but a perfect response would be "I'm sorry, I must have reached the wrong extension. Could you connect me with someone who is familiar with Asperger's?"

Seriously, though - that's pretty bad.

At least you found out he was incompetent without having to pay for an office visit.

you must be female.

p.s. i have avoided phone consults.

doesn't really get you anywhere either.

lol ..

The Dr sounds pretty clueless to me. He or she must have some kind misinformation about AS and isn't competent enough to have learned the basics. I wouldn't trust this Dr with ASDs, or probably anything. Any Dr who makes such a broad pronouncement based on such limited data is highly suspect in my book.

Yep. That was my other big reason for backing up--if this guy is going to make a judgment that fast, then he probably doesn't know what to look for in women if he's IMMEDIATELY ruling it out.

If PDD or AS can be ruled out on evidence, then that's information I need to know. If this is all an ADHD problem, with sensory issues on top of it, OK. But I would like to know that the diagnosis is based on evidence.

And yeah, on the upside, I won't have to pay.

BTW, for the women--do you find working with a woman works better?

I am not a woman, but I find women are more sensitive to emotional issues than men. I think it makes them better doctors.

For diagnosing, when it comes to women, are women more accurate with other women?

unless you can go to Tony Attwood, i haven't yet heard of another male diagnostician who really cares about the issue. but i certainly haven't made an exhaustive search.

Now that would be one LONG trip!

There are two women in my area--one who counsels but does not diagnose, and one who does diagnose. That might be a better fit. Even if I just end up working with a counselor who can provide some new coping skills, that would be useful to me.

I've had a doctor tell me I couldn't have AS because I don't have the stilted speaking style that some people with AS have. You need to find the right doctor who will take you seriously and knows his/her stuff, which might not be easy.

I went to a really good specialist who told me I don't have all the symptoms of AS, but that women on the spectrum rarely do. There are many possible diagnoses, including "on the spectrum but not fully AS."

That latter "one foot in, one foot out" is actually what I find most likely. Given that...I can't think this would be easy.

What did you do to find the person that you saw?

She was recommended on the GRASP website. But that won't help you unless you live in NYC, unfortunately.

Nope, not NYC here. Finding most anything you might want or need is more challenging here.

Add to it the fact that I don't want to take medicine, and a lot of doctors are meds-happy, and it gets even harder.