a few questions about getting an asperger's diagnosis

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I'm 99% sure I have Asperger's, however I have a few questions concerning getting a diagnosis.

1) I know to get an official diagnosis you need to see a psychiatrist. How do you make an appointment with one? Do I just call one up and say I think I have asperger's? I know it seems like a stupid question, but I don't want to sound like an idiot on the phone (phones are a MAJOR problem for me)

2) What kind of questions are they going to ask me? I am really bad at open ended questions like " why do you feel that way" or "why do you think you have asperger's" I have really bad verbal communication skills. I studder when I get nervous and can't think. If I know what is going to be asked I can type up some responses.

3) How long does it take to get a diagnosis? The nearest qualified psychiatrist is 60 miles away. Also I hate appointments, they interfere with my normal routine.

4) Will seeing someone help me? I'm 31 years old is there really anything to help me at this point. I suffer from depression and have really bad anxiety but I don't believe pills are an answer. I have no social life, no friends, and have never had a boyfriend. Can seeing a professional really help me?

5) Would it be weird to type up a list of my issues and just hand it to the psychiatrist? I don't do well out of my comfort zone and I am afraid I won't be able to express myself properly

I have a lot of fears and anxiety about seeing a psychiatrist. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Last edited by anelynn on 23 Jan 2014, 11:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think the most important thing is to show up. Don't forget - showing up is the half the victory anyway. I doubt they will only look at what you say, they probably look how you will say it and how you behave as a person. I am myself currently looking into how to get rid of diagnosis, because it interferes with my career and i don't really suffer from any of the symptoms listed in the diagnosis.

I can't do anything without knowing exactly what to expect. I hate surprises and the unknown. I will never be able to make an appointment without having my questions answered. Just thinking about going in unprepared makes me want to throw up.

Why don't you contact the doctor via e-mail or something and ask all you want before hand? Off course don't forget to mention the reason why you ask questions and why you need answers before.

What country are you in, Anelynn? The processes involved in diagnosis vary from country to country. If you are in the UK, I might have useful advice, particularly if you are in Scotland. Anywhere else, you really need to talk to someone with experience in that country.

I live in Vermont in the US

You sound so much like me. I was fortunate that my mom set up my first appointment with the psychologist, he did ask my mom over the phone why I was coming and why she thought I had aspergers, and then he asked us to print out documents to fill out before coming in. I didn't know what questions was gonna be asked so I just came in with my aspie quiz score and aq score and I wrote down all the aspie traits/symptoms that matched me. He was happy to see all that info. It was a pretty easy first appointment that kind of flew by once we got talking about aspergers and myself.

If you have health insurance, normally you would first see a general practitioner and ask to be referred to a specialist who can perform an autism evaluation. With my insurance, I was able to phone the psychiatry dept. directly and ask for an autism evaluation. If you don't have a health plan, you can look for state organizations for developmental disabilities in your state; if they don't do evaluations, try to get a referral to someone who does.



In my case, pre-evaluation they asked me a lot of questions about my work history, education, hobbies, relationships, strengths and weaknesses. I took a list of symptoms I thought I had, and I think that is a good idea. Please don't worry too much about how you express yourself; problems you have with communication will help them to evaluate you accurately. If you have problems with not knowing what is going to happen ahead of time, you should let that show because it's an important symptom. You want to be your authentic self as much as possible. I think that being able to talk about your life, mentioning your other diagnoses or suspected conditions (anxiety), and your list of symptoms is all you need for the first meeting.

In the US, I think you would be evaluated for Autism Spectrum Disorder rather than Aspergers (since it was eliminated from the DSM-V last year)... But I could be wrong about that?

I'd recommend Googling "Autism testing" and the name of your nearest city, to see what comes up? That's how I found a specialist in my area, and then I emailed to make arrangements (since I'm terrible on the phone too!)

[EDIT: Oops, I saw you've already found your nearest specialist, so that step is already done!]

Once you contact them, you can explain that you have trouble talking when you're nervous, and ask if they want you to make a list of your symptoms ahead of time. It's pretty normal for autistics to have trouble with this sort of thing, so I'm sure it won't shock them!

Last edited by Ashariel on 23 Jan 2014, 5:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

1. Find a doctor that specializes in ASD, they can be found doing online searches for "ASD Dr Vermont" on google. You could probably narrow down the results by including your town/city. Next visit their website or find their contact information. Most want you to call. If you find this difficult you can ask someone you know to call for you. Chances are you will get a receptionist that will ask you for your name, a phone number, possibly an email address, your age, and what is the reason you are calling for. They will ask what health insurance you have (to make sure they accept it, if they don't you can ask who might). Believe me when I say that they are use to people being nervous and worse on the phone, they aren't going to think any less of you.

2. They will ask you what they feel is appropriate. Things like why do you believe you have ASD? What problems you are having. What things you do daily. Are you on medication, etc. They may ask "open ended" questions, but you can say that you don't understand the question or that you would like them to clarify it for you. I do this constantly and most people are happy to clarify it.

3. The general rule is that they observe you over several sessions. They run a battery of written, verbal, and physical tests (mostly simple eye hand coordination stuff) and talk with you at length. If it is important for you to get the diagnosis and to have the answer than a few days without a normal routine will be well worth it. It's uncomfortable, it can be intrusive, but if you have the goal of finding out and trying to make sense of it all then you will only benefit from doing it.

4. Depends on how much work and effort you put into it. No one can solve your problems, but they can help you to find ways to solve them. It is up to you to make the effort towards solving them. Many people go to therapists and doctors expecting an easy quick fix with little to no effort from themselves. Then blame the therapist for being horrible, but ask them if they listened to the therapist and they will say, "No, he/she was an idiot why would I listen." So it depends on what and how much work you put into yourself.

Hope that answered your questions sufficiently. Sounds like you are having a lot of anxiety around it before even starting. I would ask someone that you feel comfortable with if they would help you with the steps you need to take. That may help ease your anxiety over it and make the process easier.

Good luck and I wish you the best.

Anelynn-

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