Referral Request for Brother with Aspergers

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I am a retired dentist living in Southern California. I have a brother who lives in Chicago and who I believe has Aspergers Syndrome. He is 52 yrs. old and has always lived with my parents (now deceased), who refused to seek help for him. He has now lost his job, is unable to get another and does not have a support system other than my other two brothers and me.

Who should I contact to arrange for my brother to be examined and diagnosed (if he indeed does have AS)?

What is the best way to approach my brother with my concerns?

What would be the benefits of my brother being diagnosed?
- treatment?
- benefits?
- group housing?
- support groups?

Thank you for your assistance.

You could try calling the University of Illinois Medical Center. They have quite a bit of information about Asperger's and PDD on their website so I assume they must have contact information for physicians who could do a diagnosis for an adult with Asperger's.

I don't know what programs exist in the US. Here in Canada a person who has a diagnosis of Asperger's with your brother's history is eligible for disability based income assistance. There is also subsidized housing for disabled people in general. As well, there are government programs that assist with accommodation in employment. Definitely, the first step is to get a diagnosis. I don't know which government office would be responsible for dealing with disability based income assistance in the states. Maybe it's the same as here in Canada and you would therefore need to contact the local welfare office (social services). It is important to contact the disability income assistance office before actually visiting the doctor because that office might have some forms that the doctor would need to fill out to prove your brother's disability.

Welcome Dr. Spang.

I recently helped a 40 year old man get diagnoised and services in Minneapolis. It took almost a year. I am not sure I could have done it long distance. Perhaps your journey will go easier.

There are two places I would suggest you contact, the Health and Human Services Dept of the city of Chicago and the IL Autism Society. Both should be "googleable." Let me know if you have difficultly finding them and I will give it a try. Those groups will know the local services available.

The Autism Soceity should be able to get you a list of doctors who diagnois Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in adults. It can be difficult because most doctors who work in this area work with children. Adults will present differently because they have picked up coping, or masking, skills along the way. To take an adult to a doctor who doesn't have experience with adults is just asking for a misdiagnois, in my opinion. The Autism Society of MN actually has a doctor on staff to DX adults. Perhaps the Chicago one will also. Or, as was suggested, most U hospitals can do it.

Does your brother still have insurance? If not, then the city or county will end up sending him to a doctor for a dx before offering services. This is the route my friend ended up going as he'd never had health insurance. It worked but it took time.

The benefits? To GH (my friend) it meant vocational rehabitiation services for a year (training, help looking for employment, help during interviews, advocating on his behalf for accomidations); help in applying for food stamps, medical insurance and general cash assistance; help applying for social security, and access to a support group. He is now looking at "semi independent living" aid... ie someone will check on him once or twice a month and take him grocery shopping and help him with budgeting (or whatever help he needs). The benefits will depend on your brother's needs.

There is no treatment per se for ASDs. However, anecdotal evident suggests that people with ASDs have a higher occurance of depression, anziety, and other disorders. Often these CAN be treated.

How you present this idea to him really depends on his personality. Many people know "something" is different and are relieved to know it has a name and that many other people have the same disorder. Others refuse to come out of denial.

Please let us know if you'd like more info or suggestions.

Barb