I need opinions on a doctor

Post Reply New Topic

I just started seeing a licensed clinical psychologist, and I was hoping that he'd be able to shed some light on things- particularly whether or not I have AS. The problem is, I'm questioning his knowledge on things. He's completely unaware of synesthesia (specifically, grapheme-color synesthesia), and I'm assuming that he should know about this sort of thing if he's any good, right? Also, after two visits, he has yet to suggest even the remotest possibility of a PDD.

Is it acceptable that he'd be unfamiliar with synesthesia? Also, approximately how many visits should it take for him to question the possibility of a PDD?

Synesthesia isn't listed at all in the DSM-IV-TR, nor is it found in clinical textbooks under PDDs.

It's fairly easy to see if someone has an ASD though, so one visit of observations should give him a good idea (more visits help with history and to see if you continue behaving in the same way).

Just ask him.

Sounds strange to me!
Maybe he is just into Depression, Anxiety etc Disorders. He sounds very limited. Two visits is not long enough to come up with a diagnosis if all he/she is doing is "chatting" or getting "you" to "chat".


Some psychologists, like some in each line of work, are more interested in the $ than in efficient treatment of clients.... at this early stage it is not possible to come to this conclusion.

I reckon you might need to look for a clinical Psychologist who specializes in Personality Disorders.......this person doesn't seem qualified< in interest area< for what you want.

Sounds strange to me!
Maybe he is just into Depression, Anxiety etc Disorders. He sounds very limited. Two visits is not long enough to come up with a diagnosis if all he/she is doing is "chatting" or getting "you" to "chat".


Some psychologists, like some in each line of work, are more interested in the $ than in efficient treatment of clients.... at this early stage it is not possible to come to this conclusion.

I reckon you might need to look for a clinical Psychologist who specializes in Personality Disorders.......this person doesn't seem qualified< in interest area< for what you want.

Sounds strange to me!
Maybe he is just into Depression, Anxiety etc Disorders. He sounds very limited. Two visits is not long enough to come up with a diagnosis if all he/she is doing is "chatting" or getting "you" to "chat".


Some psychologists, like some in each line of work, are more interested in the $ than in efficient treatment of clients.... at this early stage it is not possible to come to this conclusion.

I reckon you might need to look for a clinical Psychologist who specializes in Personality Disorders.......this person doesn't seem qualified< in interest area< for what you want.

He knows how bizarre my behavior can be, how I have substantial social problems, etc, and I do feel like it should be obvious to him by now if I do indeed have it. I'm kind of scared to ask him though because the school counselor acted like I was being delusional when I suggested it. (But then, she was hardly a real doctor and only said I couldn't have it because I was making eye contact.) I just don't want that same reaction again. Aside from that, wouldn't it skew the process if I were to suggest a diagnosis myself? I don't want to disrupt the system.

If this doesn't work, I suppose I can look for more of a specialty doctor, but I'm not even sure how I'd go about doing that.

Are you even sure that he knows what Asperger's is? It isn't necessarily part of their standard curriculum. And even if he has heard about it, he may have PDDs lumped in his head as "PDD's are autism which looks like retardation." Also any official education about it will be in regards to kids, so knowledge about how it looks/functions in adults is doubly specialized.

Unfortunately, a lot will be like the "eye contact rules it out" person -- you have to call people up and ask them question about the knowledge and qualifications. It can be non-trivial finding professionals who know how to properly assess adults. If you can't suppress anything and stim like crazy in public and etc, then it may be easier, but any level of adaptation will work against you.

I reckon it's very important to see a psychologist who has a good awareness of the autism spectrum. It's ok to look into what the psychologist's area of knowledge is before you go to see one. It's ok to ask the guy you're seeing now what his expertise is in AS. Ultimately he's there to provide a service, for which he's getting paid. So you have the right to know whether he's able to provide the service you want.

A lot of people are dismissive of self-diagnosis, including some aspies. But a psychologist who does know about the autism spectrum would know about screening tools like Simon Baren-Cohen's Autism Spectrum Quotient and Empathy Quotient. You could take these tests online and show them the results. You could explain that you understand that they are not "definitive" in making a diagnosis, but that you would like to explore it further with the psychologist. Hope that helps.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html
http://www.glennrowe.net/BaronCohen/Emp ... tient.aspx