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I'm officially diagnosed - NOT Aspie.

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ActingUpAgain
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28 Dec 2011, 3:31 pm

Reynaert wrote:
From what I heard, it is very common for professionals to misdiagnose people on the AS, especially adults. Did you say he only spoke to you for one hour?


I'm keeping that in mind. This psych specialized in diagnosing AS in adults as well as children - I had to drive an hour to get to his office as he's the only one in the area (and I'm in a large city). The next one I plan on seeing will specialize in social anxiety, and I'll advise him of my concerns, and hopefully it's something we can explore further together.


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ActingUpAgain
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28 Dec 2011, 3:36 pm

Fnord wrote:
ActingUpAgain wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Does your government recognize AS/ASD as a disability?
I'm in the States, yes it does. But I'm currently making more than it would pay, with no sign/reason that will change, and it's VERY hard to get. My wife is filing for four different physical impairments, and she's been waiting on her first appeal for a year now. Last thing I want to deal with!

... perhaps ... but have you ever considered using your official diagnosis as your "Ace In The Hole" in case your current employer goes on a downsizing spree?


I've been "downsized" out of big companies a few times in my life already, and I've been a manager that has had to do that too. Trust me, an official diagnosis wouldn't help with that!

If anything, I would have used to to help management to understand why I do certain things I do, and how I plan on compensating to make sure I still do my job well. The place I'm at now is only 10 people, and I've replaced a whole department by myself, so work isn't a huge concern for me other than making sure I continue to be valuable.


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bumble
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28 Dec 2011, 3:42 pm

Can I ask why your dr thought it was more Social Anxiety than AS? Ie which symtpoms he thought were more social Anxiety related?



ActingUpAgain
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28 Dec 2011, 3:55 pm

bumble wrote:
Can I ask why your dr thought it was more Social Anxiety than AS? Ie which symtpoms he thought were more social Anxiety related?


He watched me during the interview process, and noticed no stimming motions.

We talked quite a bit about my childhood and bullying, my previous marriage, my current marriage and friendships. We also discussed my hobbies and career, and how I viewed all of these. We also covered my dislike of being touched, and how I deal with crowds as an actor vs. as a crowd member. His observations in what I did in each of those situations, how I handled myself, and my thought processes were all factored in.

I wish I could be more specific, but the entire hour (more when you count paperwork) is a bit of a blur. I'd say 75% of the process was me talking, making sure I gave him as much info on my life as I could in the limited time together.


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28 Dec 2011, 6:41 pm

I have seen many specialists in my life. They don't always agree with each other.

One group gives me the AS diagnosis.
The other group says I was born with an anxiety problem and gave me a GAD and OCD diagnosis. And say I have AS traits, but not aspergers itself, therefore no AS diagnosis.

Who knows? The experts obviously don't because they disagree with each other.



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28 Dec 2011, 6:48 pm

Your GP seems to be open minded. Wait, was it a GP or a psychiatrist? Can GP's diagnose AS? In Australia not even a psychologist could officially diagnose me even though she had the qualifications.

Some doctors want to treat anxiety and depression before they diagnose anything else, to see if when those symptoms go if you still have AS symptoms. I had social anxiety before my diagnosis and I was constantly confused by the severe depression label put on me. After my unofficial diagnosis the anxiety went away and the depression was found to be more hormonal but I still had to go on anti-depressants. I still had the symptoms of AS though and I had to be diagnosed again by a psychiatrist to get on government services.


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28 Dec 2011, 7:03 pm

So was it just the ADR-I and the ADOS or did it include the ASDS or other assessments as well? In other words - was it all talk and observation or did he have you, your spouse and parents fill out some of those stickied questionnaires at the top of this forum?

I'm wondering about the 1 hour assessment as well. Our developmental ped was of the mind that any autism assessment under 4 hours wasn't 'thorough'. Try getting an unmedicated AS/ADHD 8 yo to sit through a 4 hour assessment... :roll: You seem confident in this doctors abilites but I find it a little strange that he so freely offered to send you for a second opinion... and actual references to go get it done. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Glad to hear you have a direction to start from. You seem to be somewhat satisifed with the outcome for the time being. There is a good chance, once you start counceling/talk therapy that your aspieness will show if it is truly there. Either way, stick around! You are still the same person today that you were yesterday. We don't have a dx label gestapo yet!



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29 Dec 2011, 2:36 am

draelynn wrote:
So was it just the ADR-I and the ADOS or did it include the ASDS or other assessments as well? In other words - was it all talk and observation or did he have you, your spouse and parents fill out some of those stickied questionnaires at the top of this forum?

I'm wondering about the 1 hour assessment as well. Our developmental ped was of the mind that any autism assessment under 4 hours wasn't 'thorough'. Try getting an unmedicated AS/ADHD 8 yo to sit through a 4 hour assessment... :roll: You seem confident in this doctors abilites but I find it a little strange that he so freely offered to send you for a second opinion... and actual references to go get it done. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Glad to hear you have a direction to start from. You seem to be somewhat satisifed with the outcome for the time being. There is a good chance, once you start counceling/talk therapy that your aspieness will show if it is truly there. Either way, stick around! You are still the same person today that you were yesterday. We don't have a dx label gestapo yet!


LOL! I got labeled within minutes of talking to my shrink. Sometimes obvious is obvious I guess...



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29 Dec 2011, 2:59 am

As I've said a few times to people who mentioned having confirmed or suspected they weren't on the Spectrum, I still think that NTs and Spectrum cousins and such are an important part of WP. The more perspectives we have, the better; and anyway, remember that autism is a spectrum that doesn't stop abruptly before it gets to "NT"--it extends into the typical, smoothly. You want to understand autism, you have to understand the NT part of the spectrum of humanity, and the quasi-NT part near to autism, and all the little branches that go off at all sorts of different angles in uncountable dimensions.

Not that you'll ever understand either autism or humanity fully, mind you, but it's still a heck of a journey all the same.

kfisherx wrote:
I got labeled within minutes of talking to my shrink. Sometimes obvious is obvious I guess...
Heh, yeah, same here. First time I talked to anybody who knew a thing about autism, it took her about five minutes to guess it and twenty minutes to do the "provisional diagnosis" thing... which was followed by the BVR's "let's frustrate you with two days of mind-numbing tests" thing.

Here's what's odd, though: I'm better at lots of things than people whose autism is less obvious. I'm pretty sure that "obvious autism" is not the same thing as "severe autism"--that, in fact, the obviousness of one's autism is only one dimension thereof, which is only loosely related to general ability to function.


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29 Dec 2011, 3:29 am

kfisherx wrote:
draelynn wrote:
So was it just the ADR-I and the ADOS or did it include the ASDS or other assessments as well? In other words - was it all talk and observation or did he have you, your spouse and parents fill out some of those stickied questionnaires at the top of this forum?

I'm wondering about the 1 hour assessment as well. Our developmental ped was of the mind that any autism assessment under 4 hours wasn't 'thorough'. Try getting an unmedicated AS/ADHD 8 yo to sit through a 4 hour assessment... :roll: You seem confident in this doctors abilites but I find it a little strange that he so freely offered to send you for a second opinion... and actual references to go get it done. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Glad to hear you have a direction to start from. You seem to be somewhat satisifed with the outcome for the time being. There is a good chance, once you start counceling/talk therapy that your aspieness will show if it is truly there. Either way, stick around! You are still the same person today that you were yesterday. We don't have a dx label gestapo yet!


LOL! I got labeled within minutes of talking to my shrink. Sometimes obvious is obvious I guess...

My psychiatrist was convinced 10 or 20 minutes into our first session. It could have had something to do with me playing with a McDonald's happy meal toy in my pocket. I was diagnosed after one hour session which was official, whereas the unofficial diagnosis was over 4 months, with two sessions being completely focused on Aspergers.


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ActingUpAgain
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29 Dec 2011, 9:33 am

pensieve wrote:
Your GP seems to be open minded. Wait, was it a GP or a psychiatrist? Can GP's diagnose AS? In Australia not even a psychologist could officially diagnose me even though she had the qualifications.


Actually, I skipped my GP and, on the advice of someone here on Wrong Planet, went to the local university's autism research center to get recommendations on psychs that specialize in diagnosing and treating adults with Aspergers. Now that I have a diagnosis (for better or for worse), I plan on going to my GP with the psych's recommendation that I drop the low-dose Prozac I'm on for depression in favor of a higher dose of Zoloft for social anxiety. If the GP has questions or thoughts, we'll cover them at that point. I'll also find a psych that specializes in social anxiety (I already know a good one), and start working with him to tackle it - if he disagrees with the original diagnosis, that's when it will get complicated. :lol:

Someday down the road, I may discover that I DO have AS. If I do, I'll get to that diagnosis eventually. In the meantime, I've got a plan of action - something I didn't have 24 hours ago, and that's making me happy! 8)


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29 Dec 2011, 8:02 pm

Everyone is welcome here and that includes you. Good to know that you've got the right diagnosis :)



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29 Dec 2011, 8:12 pm

MindBlind wrote:
Everyone is welcome here and that includes you. Good to know that you've got the right diagnosis :)


I'll second that :D


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