Waiting for the superior professional opinion

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yellowtamarin
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21 Dec 2011, 11:54 pm

Hey everyone. I'm just after some insight into your experiences with different professionals when seeking help and diagnosis. I am currently battling with depression, some anxiety, idiopathic hypersomnia, and a deep desire to find out whether I am on the autism spectrum. It is my belief that that is the underlying cause of my other issues.

I have seen a psychologist about the depression, and she went through the DSM criteria for AS and said there's reason to suspect I have it so she referred me on to a specialist ASD clinic for a proper assessment. I'm currently 2 months through a 1-3 month waiting list. In the meantime, I've seen a psychiatrist who reckons I have social anxiety, and doesn't feel I have AS because I "have a desire to fit in and make friends. Asperger people don't have this desire". Hm.

So I'm really really hanging out for this assessment. What I want to know is, am I wrong to get my hopes up, to hope that they will give me more satisfying answers? Do psychologists who specialise in ASDs do a much better job at assessing than other psychs do? Because I'm getting really frustrated here and I'd really like to hear some happy success stories from people who have struggled with mixed diagnoses/opinions from different specialists.

Does persistence pay off?



Phonic
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22 Dec 2011, 12:22 am

If you really desire clarity, understanding and such into yourself then getting a diagnosis should be worth the wait. And I assume you're under 30 so it should help you in life, after 30 it's sort of too late for it to make a huge difference.


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yellowtamarin
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22 Dec 2011, 12:52 am

I'm 31, but I still feel like some proper answers one way or the other would help.



SyphonFilter
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22 Dec 2011, 12:57 am

If your shrink says that Aspies have no desire to fit in socially, he/she is wrong. I have a small desire to fit in socially, sometimes. Otherwise I wouldn't have a Facebook account. Not that I go on it much at all, but when I do, it's to ask a person to help me with something specific. It ain't called social media for nothing.