what test do they run for AS diagnostics

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going to get evaluated for AS soon and was curious as to how exactly do people who specialize in diagnosing aspergers diagnose you? like what type of test they they run social simulations or something? anyone know?

They put you in a crowded room and time how long it takes for you to break down and cry. My record is 46 seconds.

As of a few years ago, when I was formally diagnosed, it was basically several visual tests. One that I remember best, was a sheet of drawings of peoples' faces; each with a different expression. I had to figure out what that face indicates the person is feeling, and I could not guess. I had no idea, and until I took that test, I never knew that anyone else could tell what someone is feeling by what their face looks like, other than the obvious such as smiling or crying. There were also some "what's wrong with this picture" puzzles, where I was to point out something illogical or ill-fitting in the scene. I spotted all of them instantly, and I though that was to mean that I was NT, but it turned out that most NTs would not have been able to find the flaws.

There was more to it, but I don't remember the details.

Charles

oh god i hope not even though i probably wont cry

Neither of the docs who diagnosed me used any objective tests.

The first talked with me once a month for about a year, he did most of the talking (he met Ed Gein once). He did also talk to my mom about her depression so I guess he heard from her. Eventually he read out the official DSM-IV thing about Asperger's to me, kind of more like a suggestion than a diagnosis though.

The second, a few minutes into the session I told him about what the first doc had done so he officially diagnosed me. We then went through the book "All Cats have Asperger Syndrome" page by page and he had me describe how it applied to my life.

never knew there was such a book its funny i always would think how similar my behavior is to cats. now i know why i like cats so much.

In the states this what I remember from the test.

They gave me a mathematics test.
A reading comprehension test.
A test where I used blocks to reproduce an image with the blocks
A test where I had to name all the animals I could think of as quickly as possible
A test to name all the words I can think of that began with the letter H or F I do not remember which.
I had to put pins in a hole as quickly a possible using one hand
There was a test where I put cards with shapes on them in a catergory
I had to find what was wrong with several pictures
I was asked what was the most comonly spoken language
I was asked who wrote Alice in wonderland
There were some other triva questions that I forgot about but were common
Several tests for memory
They gave me a list of questions for my parents to fill out and mail in.
I had to reproduce a picture that was made up of angles and shapes.

There is more but I probably forgot about them but they were all not that bad. My mom wrote down the weird stuff about my childhood like how I was an easrly talker and reader but had a hard time learning to walk or ride a bike. She also commented on how easy I was to potty trained compared to my tow younger NT brothers. She mentioned how the school said I was very withdrawn and had a hard time interacting with kids my own age.

Last edited by Todesking on 17 Aug 2011, 12:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Do they take into account some of us can recognize facial expressions in pictures...but cannot focus on peoples faces to read their emotions when they are around others? just curious because that is how it seems to be with me but I know what the facial expressions are I am just not usually focusing on peoples expressions and that is why I do not read them well....I guess if I ever went to get a diagnoses I should mention that to them.

You should mention anything that is weird or odd about your behavior as long as you are not lying. Do your parents have any memories of odd behavior when you were little? Before you go in write down a list of your odd behaviors and take it with you I have a bad memory so I knew I forget something only to remember it on the ride home.

The list from my evaluation report is as follows

Tests Administered:
WAIS-IV
Wide Range Achievement Test - IV (reading subtest)
Nelson-Danny Reading Test (Form G)
Trail making test parts A and B
Connor's continuous performance test - II
DSM-IV rating scale of primary symptoms of ADHD
Personality Assessment Inventory
Personal Problems checklist for adults
Advanced Clinical Solutions for WAIS-IV and WMS-IV
Autism Quotient Test
Empathy Quotient Test
Theory of Mind Clinical Vignettes
Clinical Interview
Parent Interview


It doesn't list at the beginning but I also did Prosody-Face Matching and Prosody-Pair matching

So to describe more

-IQ test
-vocabulary
-arithmetic
-block tests
-random trivia
-complete the pattern
-short term memory
-Other academic-type tests
-spelling
-reading vocabulary
-reading speed
-reading comprehension
-verbal arithmetic
-arithmetic on paper
-Tests for swapping attention
-connect the dots
-connect the dots with letters and numbers
-click the spacebar when you see some things, but not other things
-(long) self report test of answering questions on general mental health
-what are the highest sources of stress from this list of possibilities
-Matching faces to emotions
-matching voices to faces via emotion
-Whether voices are being sarcastic
-Stories with "Did anyone do anything awkward in this? Why? What are they thinking?"
-ASD and ADHD self-report tests
-Questioning me about sensory issues
-Questioning me about daily-life details
-Questioning my parents about me growing up
-Him generally observing what I was doing the entire time I was there

Yeah that would be a good idea, I am not planning on getting a diagnoses at the moment because I am not sure how to go about it without health insurance and without income other then college loans/grants. But I probably should write down everything I can think of......but yeah it feels to me like my brain for whatever reason does not acknowledge some things(like peoples experessions) on its own. But if I was concentrating on it like i would be if I was looking at pictures of facial expressions I could identify them.

Ugh, my mom wants me to get a diagnosis, and just reading all that stuff is making me panic. I don't want to feel like I have to prove myself to anyone. I pretty much break down crying anytime I have to go to a doctor's office anyway, so idk if I can even complete the tests. I want a service dog, but I'm not sure if it's worth the trauma of dealing with a psychologist for hours.

Mine included a set of official IQ test that took two hours. I really didn't think that was necessary. Plus I doubt it's accurate since English is my third language. But whatever, it's their standard procedure. It really doesn't matter too much if I scored 10 points lower than I should have due to the language barrier. It's not like I'll need that for Mensa. Most likely it'll make it look like my language skills and vocabularies are lagging way behind my logic and visual-spatial abilities.

What can they do, though? I'm sure my psychologist only speaks English.

Don't worry; John was being sarcastic.

Expect anything from a casual interview to thorough neuropsych testing. Neuropsych testing is pretty straightforward--they give you things to do, problems to solve, and watch you solve them. They can be simple problems, like looking at and copying a shape onto paper, or more complex ones, like doing mental math. Many tests are designed to get harder until you can't do them anymore--don't think you "failed" when you get to that point, because they are designed so that practically everybody will eventually get to a point where they can't do the problems anymore. Other tests are just simple tasks that will test things like how strong your hand grip is, or how well you can sort shapes, or how good you are at listening to sounds.

All in all, don't worry about it; get some sleep the night before, do your best, and ask for a full report. The report often includes useful information about your brain and your learning style that might help you arrange your work or school so you are better at it.

If you do flip out and get stressed, even that will tell the doctors something about you and your brain. So, don't worry about it if you do. If you are likely to do so, though, tell them about it and ask whether there is someplace where you can go to be alone if you need a break.