Psychologist says yes, psychiatrist says no

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The Psycolgist that diagnosised me had a phd. She studyed more than 3 - 4 years.

They are medical doctors who specialize in mental illnesses and psychiatric disorders. ASDs are not mental illnesses or psychiatric disorders, nor is their identification, assessment or diagnosis within the expertise of a generalist psychiatrist.

None of which is relevant unless such training actually entails sufficient relevant content from which to derive the particular expertise being discussed, and neither a general medical degree nor a generalist psychiatric degree entails such.

No it would not.


A number of sources “define” Aspergers Syndrome, such as the ICD, Gillberg’s criteria and various others. AS existed and was diagnosed before the DSM ever included this condition. The DSM once “defined” homosexuality; in your view during that time could only psychiatrists determine if an individual was homosexual?


Since the overwhelming majority of psychiatrists lack any clinical competency or expertise in delivering assessment services for ASDs, it is not possible that this is a generally accurate description. Psychiatrists possessing this kind of specialized expertise are exceedingly rare.

Nothing prevents a psychiatrist from choosing to pursue specialized expertise in respect of ASDs and their diagnosis, but doing so is no part of the ordinary course of training or professional development of a general psychiatrist. This is as true in Australia as anywhere else, whatever you claim your psychiatrist told you.

Learning what pills to give people, and what pills to give them for the side effects of those pills that they've given them. and for the side effects of those pills.. etc.


Yup... That's just how it is here. It's pretty unavoidable.


I guess you didn't bother to check his credentials, or follow the links to the peer-reviewed journal he publishes. (Peer-reviewed means approved by the AMA and other professionals as a legitimate source of information.) I'm sure you can verify his credentials if you actually have the desire to know if it's a legitimate publication, rather than just the desire to dismiss whatever doesn't fit your point.

It only seems like "tin-foil-hattery" if you've never dealt with the American medical system. Here, stuff like that is the norm.

This is why I think the best set up is a group practice that contains both psychologists and psychiatrists working together.

So, what is AS doing in the DSM then??? It is a biological disorder that manifests emotionally. And why is it is that psychiatrists/psychologists are the ones doing all the research on AS?




And um, why not?? I actually backed myself up, you're just being a knob.\




So what???? They still exist.



I never claimed it was. I simply let it be known that it is a popular option. At least where I am.

America sucks.

America sucks.




America sucks.




I do not have that desire, I do not care, we are from different worlds, and your world sucks.



Yeah, America sucks.

The same is true of Tourette's, OCD, etc.

I think neurologists (for historical/'cultural' reasons) don't generally touch anything that that isn't a 'gross,' primarily physically-effecting neurological disorder, like epilepsy, ALS, Parkinson's, TBI, etc. There are some exceptions, like Alzheimer's, but that's eventually fatal, so is still more 'physical' than autism.

I think it has to do with tests -- neurologists want to do EEG's, not interview someone about their social development, life history, and observe behavior, etc. The closest fields where people are trained & expect to do interviews and observe behavior would be psychiatrists and psychologists.

It is in the DSM because the APA voted to included it. The DSM includes things considered to be “mental disorders”, that is impairing/disabling/pathological states effecting behavior. While some mental disorders are also mental illnesses or psychiatric disorders, this is not true of all of them. Dyslexia, ADHD and the PDDs are all examples of things that can be classed as “mental disorders” but which are neither mental illnesses nor psychiatric disorder.

Any psychiatrist could choose to pursue expertise in conditions outside general psychiatry, but it is not true that a large number of them pursue expertise in the PDDS/Autistic Spectrum.

Not everyone can “cut it” in research. To be in research, you need to be able to attract funding. Many in research are actually multi disciplined, for instance are both a psychologist and psychiatrist, or both a neurologist and psychologist. Research is also more specialized than generalized. A researcher in a particular area is likely to be qualified and expert in that area well beyond the usual level within the field.

Frankly, in my experience most modern research into AS is not carried out by “psychiatrists”, but people with quals in psychology and or neurology either alongside or independent of a psychiatry qualification, or are part of a multi disciplinary team that includes the expertise of one or more psychologists or neurologists, and these individuals are generally ones with a history of specialization in Autistic Disorders (rather than just any old psychiatrist/psychologist/neurologist).


Because expertise does not manifest by magic or association. If someone’s training and experience does not include gaining familiarity and competency that is sufficient and relevant to some particular condition, the fact that they work with other conditions that could be described as having a couple of broad vague categories of characteristics in common does not by association, magically grant skills in relatively unrelated areas.
Hormonal imbalances can cause behavioural manifestations and are biological, and working with bi polar mood disorder is completely irrelevant for producing expertise in working with hormonal imbalances. The same can be said of Autistic Disorders.

People who are runners and win Gold Medals at the Olympics exist. That does not mean it is true that if you meet a runner, you have met an Olympic Gold Medalist. Most times when someone walks into a psychiatrist office, what you describe as happening, does not happen. It cannot happen most times because in most such instances, the psychiatrist would be the more common variety, (aka those that cannot respond as you describe).

You were in effect describing what must necessarily be an exception as though it were the rule.


I would not know I have never been there-(America).

I do know that many Australian-people on WP have claimed to have the same problems US and UK members complain about so far as is relevant to this conversation. That this is probably not complete fantasy on their part is backed up by my reading of literature from Australian clinicians experts and Autism advocates. It’s further backed by the experience of a close relative of mine, whose son was eventually diagnosed by the Australian public health system (with HFA).

Oh, and unlike America, Australia is somewhere I have actually been to.

Last edited by pandd on 04 Nov 2009, 10:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.

My psychiatrist barely listens to me, but called me "bird Bill Gates". One other therapist thought I had it for a awhile to. My current therapist however has talked to me for over 2 years, and says I don't have it, and he's probably right, though at one point in the past he thought I had it very mildly.

It can be hard to figure out who to listen to, but listen to the person you have talked to most and who knows the most about it. My therapist says he works with lots of Aspies and I don't act like them. Some people I know in real life think I have it, but they are not experts.