Going to get assessed for AS - what should I look out for?

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So... after posting my thread about whether I have AS or not and processing all the input from you guys, I came to the conclusion that I must definitely be on the spectrum. Now I also want to get a professional opinion, so today I got an appointment for a psychological assessment for AS (I found a Romanian website about AS that a recommended a few psychologists who specialize in AS). I'm going in on Thursday and I'm really excited about it. Can't wait...

My only worries are related to the fact that I've learned to over-compensate many traits in order to appear more socially acceptable (e.g. I do not rock in public and I learned to imitate the posture, gestures and mimic of the people I'm talking to). Also, I know psychologists in my country can easily diagnose children with ASDs, but virtually no adults present themselves in order to get assessed for AS (autism awareness is low in my country).

What should I do? Focus on the symptoms that are obvious even now and on my symptoms as a child and explain how I've learned to manage to compensate for the impairments?

Does the fact that I never had a romantic or sexual relationship (I haven't even dated or flirted, because I don't know how to do it) up until now (I'm 25) qualify as "failure to develop age-appropriate peer relationships" as DSM-IV states? When I was a kid, I was very isolated (I definitely fitted the said criterion), but now I have a few close friends and I've learned to act in such a way that doesn't set me up for rejection and isolation.

Also, still in regards to the DSM-IV criteria, what are some examples of "social reciprocity"? I do not understand what social reciprocity means in this context. Wonder if I have it?

I think you should explain to them that you're compensating , to start off. Continue to compensate though.

Social reciprocity is doing what people expect in return. For example, if someone asks how you are, you should say how you are and then ask them how THEY are in return. I think that's it if I remember correctly.

I still need to get diagnosed but J believe that brining a witness (parent?) might help. I believe that I might type something up as a guide because I know that I will draw a blank at the doctors office.

I'm actually in the process of writing down all of the reasons I think I'm on the spectrum to take to the psychologist. Mainly so I have something to refer to if my brain freezes up when I'm nervous, but I'm also gonna give a copy to the psych. I'm up to a little over 6 pages including all of my online test results. My friend jokingly suggested that writing all of it down may itself be an AS symptom.
Now, I just have to work up the nerve to start looking for a psychologist and make an appointment.

I brought a rather extensive(about 20 pages in a mini notepad) list of symptoms and my aspie quiz for my first appointment last week. I think it definitely helped, especially since I tend to freeze and completely lose my train of thought in those situations. I definitely think she thinks I'm on the spectrum(my 20 pages only added to that.lol) but she said she usually does 2 or 3 appointments before giving a diagnosis. My next one's next week, so hopefully I know by then. Good luck!

I kinda worried about this too when I went for my Official Diagnosis. What if 22 years of compensating really hid the obvious indicators? I had been reading up on Aspergers and it made a lot of sense; I'd been diagnosed with ADHD before and my mom suspected I was bipolar or schizophrenic, which is why she sent me. Any psych worth their salt can "tell" (mine specializes in ASD, I got to pick this time!) from just a few conversations with you. Once mine suspected I had Aspergers, she gave me the GADs test and had my parents fill out separate ones as well. Three assessments in all. GADs mainly deals with children, but can be pretty accurate for adults especially when you have parents reflecting back on ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. On all three I scored safely in the Asperger's zone, with an average coming out to 112 (The "borderline" is around 90). I also did tests to rule out other psychiatric disorders; my ADHD diagnosis was revoked (I'm not hyper active or attention deficit in the least), and I do not have schizophrenia, BPD, or OCPD/OCD. Aspergers it is, then. I fit the majority of the diagnostic requirements, to varying degrees.

That said, look out for psychs who don't specialize in the spectrum. I've been to two others which ended up in the ADHD diagnosis and a referral for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and/or psychiatric disorders. Look out for people eager to put you on meds; I was a Vyvanse guinea pig when it came out and it was awful; I refused the Xanax, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, etc. and still don't regret it. They wouldn't have helped much. Also look out for anyone who will try to rationalize non-symptomatic behavior in order to fit a diagnostic criteria, especially if they have a vested interest in that particular disorder. This goes for ASD as well as everything else.

Might I add, I brought in about 15 pages to my appointment, as well as reading every book in Barnes and Noble on the spectrum and AS. My psych says autism and Aspergers is my most recent "pervasive interest."

My suggestion, for what it's worth, is to take a number of online quizzes, print out the questions and the results, and bring them with you. Like these:

http://testing.markfoster.name/

Most of them are not technical scientific measurements or scales. However, you could show your results to the therapist as you are talking about your "life story."

The therapist will either consider or reject them. Either way, you won't lose anything.

Thank you so much for your replies. I will bring with me the results I got at the Aspie-quiz and the other online tests I have taken. It's a great idea.

Do you know if never having had a romantic or sexual relationship and not even engaging in dating or flirting qualifies as "failure to develop age-appropriate peer relationships" (I'm 25 now)? I know I have fit this criterion during my childhood and my teenage years, but now I have some close friends, so I don't know whether I still fit it due to my lack of sexual and romantic involvement...

I can relate. I've never been good at even realizing when someone's flirting with me. I've never tried flirting with anyone.
I don't really have any interest in a romantic relationship. I'd rather just have a close friendship with a girl. I just don't get why people seem to be obsessed with sex.

I was diagnosed this year and was half expecting to be told that I'm just imagining my problems. Be yourself and be honest when asked any questions about your past.

Be sure to give all corroborating information about your symptoms.

Even Temple Grandin managed to train herself neurotypical behaviour and makes regular eye contact when interviewed.

Jetbuilder: Yes, this is what happens to me too. I do not pick up when someone flirts with me. I once tried to flirt with a guy, but the results were catastrophic. I mistook his intention as a desire to flirt, whereas he only wanted to play a domination game. When I finally figured it out, he had already managed to say some hurtful s**t to me...

I'm not even sure I want to have a partner at all. I'm pretty content with my life without one...

Less than 24 hours since my appointment. I'm so eager to go. Yes, I will be honest and truthful, after all what I want to know is the truth about who I am...

I was on vacation in Chicago a few weeks ago and My friends were talking to a couple people in the hotel and I hesitantly joined them. After about half an hour of me lurking in the background the woman my friends were talking to started asking me about myself. All but one of my friends left and she just kept asking me stuff. All I was thinking is "Why the hell does she staring at me like that?" The whole time I was getting more and more uncomfortable and when we finally left my friend said "Holey crap, she was totally undressing you with her eyes the whole time!" I was just glad to leave because she was really starting to weird me out!

I can never answer about myself. It's really weird to me and I feel like I'm answering about another person

Especially when people ask me what kinds of things I like. I actually have to think about it. I really hope I never reply with one of my special interests, like cameras, for example

But I never pick up on flirting. And the worst is when someone's just being friendly and I interpret it as flirting.

So... I went and got assessed today. It turns out I'm an Aspie, just as I suspected. The clinical psychologist I went to said I have a mild case of AS, along with my ADHD. She has worked with other Aspie kids and adults too, so she wasn't surprised in the least when I started telling her about all my quirks and symptoms.

I told her I am very empathetic. She said that's just a stereotype and that she has seen empathetic Aspies (who just showed it differently) and even an Aspie who was overly empathetic. Besides that, I had empathy and ToM issues when I was a kid.

Most important, I asked her whether AS might impair me from working as a therapist (my beloved special interest) and she said it's not the case. She told me I shouldn't worry, since I am empathetic, intelligent and I learned a lot about therapy (given it's my special interest). The only drawback would be that I'll probably need more alone time between clients... I had feared so much that being Aspie would prevent me from being a therapist. And that would have been the end of the world for me...

I feel so relieved. So calm. It's like I finally got an answer. I asked myself for so many years why I was so different all my life and why I still feel so different, no matter how much proficient I might get at compensating... Now I know just why I cannot "get my act together" and just why I am impaired the way I am.

That means I've found a place to belong (WP and the autistic community). And it's such a new feeling to me! I'm so happy right now. I finally know who I am. And I finally am able to figure out how to live my life, in accordance with my neurological functioning and not with some NT standards and expectations...

That's great to hear! Did you take your aspie quiz results? If so, did they seem to help your psych make the determination? I've heard that some psychs don't like those types of online tests.

I had brought the results with me, but I didn't manage to talk about them yesterday, as she became pretty convinced about my Aspie-ness right after I started telling her about my desperate need for alone time, my special interests and my stims (the first 10-15 minutes, that is). So I felt no need to show them to her any longer, I just talked more in-depth about my issues, how they impair me and how I've managed to improve my ToM and my empathy.