is adult ASD/AS diagnosis covered by medicare in australia?

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hi everyone,

i think i may have AS and i'd like to get a professional diagnosis. i've found a clinic in glen iris that specialises in diagnosing adults with AS, but they charge AUD$690 for a diagnostic assessment from a clinical psychologist - it's a lot and i'm wondering if any aussie aspies know whether ASD/AS diagnosis for adults is covered by medicare?

thanks.

hi beingme,

i was recently diagnosed with AS by a psychiatrist. as a private patient (no health care or concession cards) the fee was partially covered by medicare, there was still out of pocket expense - for both the referring GP and for the psychiatrist.

as a suggestion; Autism Victoria (click) may be able to provide a contact list and a general idea of pricing for consultation but, ultimately, firm pricing would have to come from the consulting behavioural psychologist or psychiatrist.

you may also be able to find some useful information and links at the Tony Attwood website (click).

good luck, and welcome to WP

*edited for details

Last edited by tektek on 02 Dec 2009, 9:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.

thanks so much for your help, tektek!

It's not usually covered if you see a Psychologist.

In fact getting any kind of initial appointment, assessment and report is expensive.
Another place though where you can find out who to go to is if you contact the APS
http://www.psychology.org.au/

I went to a Psychiatrist who mostly works with children with Asperger's, which seemed useful at the time, as it gave me a piece of paper saying I have AS. That was bulk billed.

Then I went to Michelle Garnett, for a report which cost $300, 5 years ago.

So it really depends what your situation is, whether it's for your own self knowledge or whether you actually will need assistance in the future, either from learning support at Uni or assistance from Centrelink.

Anyone else reading this, some Uni clinics in Australia have Psychology services, and some services are run through Medicare but require you have a mental health condition as well.

Hi being me,

I live in Melbourne as well. I know which Psychologist you're talking about, he's called Dr. Richard Eisenmajer. Yes he charges a ridiculous amount for a teenage/adult AS or Autism diagnosis. He told me that Medicare is available for AS/Autism diagnoses for kids 12 and under, but it's full fee for everyone else above 12.

Tektek's suggestion is good about Autism Victoria. I phoned one of the Psychiatrists, with medicare for 2 normal consultations in order to diagnose, it costs around $200 out of pocket which is more reasonable.

If you're a Melbourne Uni student, you could visit the Melbourne Uni student clinic and ask one of the GPs to make a referral to see one of the 2 free Psychiatrists. However if you do so, only request the referral for Dr. Chen coz he has a bit of an idea what AS is. The other Psychiatrist called Dr. Dempster has never heard of AS so don't bother speaking to him.

Apparently both of them can prescribe you Ritalin/Amphetamines as well if you're diagnosed with AS/Autism/ADHD which is nice!

Hi Everyone!
I've made an appointment in Sydney, I live in North East Victoria, for an assessment/ Diagnosis.

It is with ETOH Clinic ( psychologists) $400.00 initial assessment session 1 1/2 hours.

In order to claim from Medicare Referral from GP( mention that you would like Gp to initiate a Mental Health Care Plan).

Alternatively.....obtain referral from Psychiatrist or Paediatrician.

GP must initiate a MENTAL HEALTH CARE PLAN under MBS NUmber 2710

A copy of this plan, or a letter to say that you have a Plan, must be brought with you to the psychologist who will be conducting the ongoing therapy. These details need to go on your receipt.

This will enable you to claim for 12visits per year ( after 6 visits the psychologist will send a short repert to the GP, and again after 12 visits).[i]It is up to the patient to ensure that this PLan has been activated by their GP[i].
Further info;

Medicare 132 011

www.medicare.com.au

Beyondblue www.beyondblue.org.au

Multicultural Mental Health Australia www.mmha.org.au

Australian Government www.mentalhealth.gov.au

SANE Australia www.sanr.org

Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia www.mifellowshipaustralia.org.au

The above info was provided in a letter I received from ETOH in Sydney.

I made the appointment in early November and my appointment ios in mid January 2010.
Tony Atwood has a 4 year waiting list.
As read on WP of someone in Melb. being stuffed around .... kept having their appointment postponed by whomever they were booked in to see in Melb. I decided to go to a clinic in Sydney that specializes in ASDs. It would be less expensive for me to travel to Melbourne but I'm not up to waiting ages or being stuffed around. The above info should be good for wherever you go in OZ.
Good luck...let us know how you get on!

Now why doesn't that surprise me....

Sheesh

that is a long waiting period for Tony Attwood... and i understand that he is a (the) leading expert on the issue, but if a psychiatrist or behavioural psychologist is familiar with the autism spectrum, and works with autistic spectrum disorder children and adults, wouldn't their diagnosis of an individual against the same agreed criteria hold just as much water?

not meaning to hijack the thread.

AsAmanjashisays the trick is to FIND one who actually does know about ASDs and not just that they can look it up in DSM- IV. That minimalist approach is inadequate especially if you happen to be female.


There will always be unscrupulous sorts who wish to use their knowledge for extortionate fees..... and those sorts probably are less well versed that those whose fees are more reasonable.


NB. The ETOH fees I quoted were from 1 1/2 to 2 hours assessment. That is before any rebate.
THe tip regarding DR Chen is great...... it is most frustrating dealing with sorts who haven't a clue, or think they know but have very limited knowledge.

my apologies... i didn't consider this. *extracts foot from mouth/keyboard.

i guess i was lucky to find someone.

Shrinks I have gone to see after the initial dx, out about 5 I have seen,
4 have tried to undiagnose me, until I explained more and they saw me more.

However I feel under the DSM V that I might almost be a subclinical case, therefore I am trying to look at what I can do in terms of a job or my own business. That is just all my own opinion though.

There's isn't any further social skills or other help I could do, as my functioning is good, but I really struggle with workplace politics and getting a job.

Ideally I need to go back to my old pattern of working, which was I had a car, and picked up temp and casual work. That was almost really the problem for me. Oh that and not knowing who to put down for a referee.

whoa guys, thanks for all that info. i'd never have figured out all that on my own, so thanks heaps for taking the time to reply me.

in regards to finding a psychologist, basically all the websites i've visited suggested finding one who is experienced in diagnosing adults, so that's how i ended up with eisenmajer. he's not accepting any new clients though, and the only other clinical psychologist is dr. geoff martin and he charges $690 for a diagnostic assessment.

i go to rmit and we have a health service however it "has no clinical services but is able to assist students with accessing healthcare near RMIT". which doesn't sound promising, plus i've never used the service and i have no idea what the people there are like. so i think i'll stick with autism victoria...

and let's see if i've got it right so far, to get a diagnosis:
1. i call autism victoria, ask them to suggest a psychologist specializing in diagnosing AS in adults;
2. i see a GP/psychiatrist, ask for a referral to see this particular psychologist - also ask him/her to initiate a MENTAL HEALTH CARE PLAN under MBS Number 2710;
3. make appointment with aforementioned psychologist, and rock up with my mental healthcare plan;
4. pay my share and claim the rest from medicare.

...so far so good?

just wondering if it's absolutely necessary to have the mental healthcare plan, since all i want is a diagnosis and nothing to do with psychologists ever again if i can help it? also, what do i actually say to my GP so that she would take me seriously? does anyone have any stories regarding skeptical GPs?

In my honest opinion if you are coping with Uni, and have adapted well so far, you don't need a professional diagnosis.

The only need is if you need learning support, government housing, consideration for Centrelink payments. Even then, there's not much help for us.

I know many self diagnosed people say they would like the validation of a professional diagnosis but well just imho, it's not worth $690, particularly if you're a Uni student.

But if you have other reasons for getting it, keep posting here.

Hope that helps.

IIRC, if it's a psychiatrist, he or she can do some form of...bulk billing thingy (it's different, but it's along the same lines), where you only pay about 10% of the full cost. You generally need to be seen as "poor" for them to do this.

Medicare will give you back around half or so if you aren't "poor".

I don't know how Medicare treats psychologists with one off visits.

firstly, i just want to feel like i really belong somewhere. secondly, i'd probably continue trying to learn to behave like a normal person if i hadn't read look me in the eye by john elder robison, but since i have read it and come to the realization that not everyone looks for patterns every time they see tiled floors, or phrases everything they say in their heads beforehand and analyses its effect afterwards, or obsessively plans EVERYthing in their mind - it's like i'm on a road and all the other cars had been going faster than i am, only now i notice it's not because there's something wrong with my car, it's probably because i'm riding a bicycle.

i've been suspecting that i have AS for months now, and during that time whenever i see or hear the words asperger's or autism i start obsessing about it and for days everything in my head is all jumbled up. i hate it when things are undecided and i know if i don't do anything about it's going to get worse. so yeah, i just gotta know.

FINALLY FOUND....my correspondence with the Tony Attwood Clinic!



ATTWOOD CLINIC refers MELBOURNE people to two Clinical Psychologists


DR Janine Manjiviona.....works with individuals of all ages with ASD 03 9891 6835
her clinic is in North Fitzroy


Jane Mc Gillvray works with couples and individuals of all ages with ASD. Jane is in Mont Albert...... you will be able to obtain her number from Autism Victoria on 03 9657 1600




Best of luck.... if these are recommended by the Attwood Clinic you should be fine!