Is being diagnosed by a school psychologist legitimate?

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I was diagnosed in fifth grade with aspergers syndrome by the school psychologist. I remember her testing me for it, and also my regular physician also recognizes the diagnosis. I feel unsure though because others have told me that the school psychologist is not a legitimate way to get diagnosed, and that I don't have it. I'm so confused, shouldn't the school psychologist be able to give a real diagnosis? If not, how so because they have to of had some major in psychology. Help me, I'm so confused right now.

The problem with a school doing the test is that they don't all ways preform the same tests that they would if say you went to there office to be tested. If paper work is still available from the test it might be a full diagnosis and excepted by the government standards for thing such as disability. Hope this helps!

Psychiatry/Psychology is a big area of study. No one doc can be an expert in all subcategories of psych conditions. That includes the school doc. For best results, one should be evaluated by a psych doc who has experience in the type of condition that one thinks they have. If not sure one can go first to a general psych doc, for a preliminary diagnosis, and then to one with experience in that area of treatment. The school doc is more of a pediactric generalist, so your diagnosis was more of a preliminary one. As long as this led to your getting help in school that's not a bad thing, but if you are out of school now, and having problems in the adult world, I suggest getting a more formal diagnosis from a psych doc who has experience with Autism spectrum disorders. Such a diagnosis would enable you to get help from gov and insurance company paid treatment plans, and would also provide you some protection under the Disability laws.

If you are not having problems, or are satisfied with the existing diagnosis, there is no need for going for another diagnosis, but you sound doubtful about the initial diagnosis. If you feel it would help clear up your doubts, then it might be a good idea to get that second opinion.

Hi Questor, can you steer me towards the gov't and insurance company paid treatment plans?

The reason I ask is this: I'm in Washigton state. I used to belong to the Neighborcare Center but they charged me full price for services. I was going to be averaging $135/visit plus pay for all the meds, blood tests etc. I'm on unemployment which places me over the federal poverty level so I don't qualify for Medicaid or Neighborcare's sliding scale.

State insurances won't touch me with a 10 foot pole because of AS, hx of attempted suicide, and depression. (The hypertension business is okay).

They referred me to WSHIP - Washington State Health Insurance Plan - the guaranteed health plan for this with preexisting conditions like mine. My monthly premium? $937. Yikes!

I'm without any medical help now as we speak - no MD, no health plan, no HMO. Nothing. I've been scouring the internet. I'm not without hope, though. My solution is to get a job with health insurance. I'm guessing I should be back to work in a month or two.

Technically, only psychiatrists can diagnose, as I understand it. I don't think a GP can, and a psychologist certainly isn't qualified officially, even though they might recognise it.

However, what you need to consider is not really how "official" it is, but whether you need anything better. If you are satisfied with it, then that is enough. If you are not, ask for a second opinion, but that would be valid even if the diagnosis had been done by someone more qualified. If you need an official diagnosis for other reasons (e.g. because you want special accomodation), then you should ask specifically if your diagnosis works for that purpose, and continue from there.

My advice:
Get retested by a specialist!

Sounds doubtful. Too bad you didn't ask to see his/ her credentials. If for nothing else, to see the look on his/ her face.

I remember my migraine doctor googling meds for me. What an effort.

I'm in Scotland, so the way things are done is probably different. Anyway, my daughter is in the process of being assessed. So far, she has been seen by a speech & language therapist and they've almost completed their assessment of her communication skills. She has also been seen once or twice by an educational psychologist, who has taken some notes about her behaviour and academic capabilities. But, the diagnosis will be made by a paediatrician (or more precisely a team), who specialises in autism. They'll take the reports from speech & language, the educational psychologist and teachers into account, but they will also do their own assessment. This is likely to be the summer of next year. So far, the professionals who have seen my daughter say she appears to be on the spectrum, but they are unable to diagnose her officially. In your case, for one person to come to this conclusion, it seems unlikely that this is an actual diagnosis. They can obviously see traits, but I doubt this is the final word, unless, of course, it is different where you live.