Bias, prejudice and stereotyping by psychologists?

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Standardised testing
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein.

Now we fully agree on something

I have decided that I will disclose a number of things of the report about me. Your insights and contributions have been helpful as they were from a general point of view but I'd also like to understand how reliable the conclusions are in the report and the methods used. Not to mention the horrific language used at times. I won't list them today because I simply don't have the time to do it. I hope you will be interested in reading them and give your opinion about it.

After all, aren't all psychological reports just opinions and should they always be relied upon?

Until later.

Take courage. We're here to support you.

So true, so true. I almost became a Dominican. But stuff happened, so I'm just a run-of-the-mill, worker-bee diocesan priest.

This happened to me. While going in for an ADHD assessment, my concerns about having AS we're promptly dismissed by a university based PhD level psychologist. He just gave off a list of generalizations as to why I couldn't have it. He gave me the RAADS-R anyway, which I scored higher than he cut off. He didn't talk about it at all with me.

That was about 5-6 months ago. I'm now in the process of getting an evaluation from actual psychologist who specializes in adults with autism....who also looked at my childhood photos (almost never looking at camera, either fake smiling or not smiling, and finger stimming) and talked to my parents. I was prompted to finally do this after my marriage completely went to shambles and my evaluations in my professional school program were not as good as I thought they would be. I've realized that I stayed in a sheltered school environment for so long, and I'm now starting to realize I do have some significant problems with interpersonal relations in work environments.

I'm just angry that my genuine inquiry into the possibility was shot down so quickly and thoroughly by an uninformed professional whose word was taken as absolute authority by my psychiatrist and the disability office at my school. Perhaps I could have started working on things earlier and my evals could have been a lot better. These professionals do not realize how their judgements can mess with people's lives.

Similar experience to mine. I specifically wanted to be assessed for Asperger's, and the useless psychiatrist did no testing on me whatsoever. Said to watch Sheldon from TBBT for a picture of Asperger's. He said that some psychologists might do testing but not psychiatrists (why my doctor sent me to the wrong one is beyond me)

Meanwhile I was exhibiting several signs right there in his office. I made little eye contact, I kept opening & closing a locket I was wearing (I'd had little sleep which makes me anxious so I stim) and a couple of other things I've since forgotten. He was clueless. Within 10 minutes he said he "didn't see it"

Are you f-cking serious? This is a psychiatrist? And he told you to watch a TV show for an overgeneralized picture? If it is true that psychiatrists don't do testing, I am still bothered by his line of reasoning.

How do these f-ckers get into medical school?! How do they graduate?! Goddamn.

bottom line. If you have strong suspicions of being on the spectrum...you gotta gotta gotta gotta go to an adult specialist (and be prepared!). The worst part is, I was actually oblivious to many of the symptoms I was displaying (until I actually started talking to family members and looking back on my life), so there is no way a psychologist should be able to judge whether you have it based on a 10 minute impression. It's completely ridiculous...and I'm saying this as a person who is planning on going into the medical profession.

By the way, little_blue_jay, how bad is affirmative action in Ontario, Canada? What is your doctor's last name? Male or female? Anyone who's talked about incompetent psychiatrists, have you ever thought the dumbing down of education and the passing along of those who just can't cut it through programs where they obtain degrees and then spit on the opportunities given to them through poor practice could have to deal with all the subpar treatment you've received? It's a problem here in San Antonio, Texas.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say his name because I've gone into such detail (in another thread) about my negative experience with him

And yes, he referred me to Sheldon to see what an Asperger's personality looks like. At the time (because I was in shock inside that he was making it clear he wasn't going to do any testing) I kind of laughed and agreed and said something like "he's my hero" (half serious, half joking!)

The specialist I got my doctor to refer me to specializes in autism in adults, so I'm sure my experience with him would be the diametric opposite!

Funny thing is. I'm not a fan of the Big Bang Theory at all, but my grandma always tried to get me to watch it because I reminded her so much of Sheldon, apparently.

I will probably read about that experience. I'm curious. And frustrated. And a Beautiful Mind is an accurate movie (sarcasm. BIG sarcasm).

Here you go http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt265812.html

At the time I totally forgot to mention that he referred me to Sheldon as a picture of Asperger's because I was so pissed off/disappointed in that whole "interview", plus I'd had to get up early and was very overtired when I got home & wrote that thread.

I had so looked forward to it and he was such a bonehead. I was stimming right in front of him, not making eye contact, and he doesn't see it In fact on those two counts, I'm the opposite of Sheldon: he doesn't stim, and he makes eye contact better than I do.