Stereotypes Interfering w/Psych Evaluation (SF Bay Area)

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So over the past few months, I've had three different counselors suggest I be evaluated for Asperger's/ASD because they were convinced I have it. Once I looked up the criteria, obsessively researched, and read accounts of people on the spectrum, I understood what they meant. I haven't had the money to get a proper evaluation, but since I have Kaiser insurance through my mom's work, I was referred to one of their psychiatrists. According to the head of the department, the doctor I was being referred to was the one who had the most knowledge regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder and naturally would be most qualified to make a diagnosis.

My appointment was this afternoon, and it was very upsetting. After speaking with me for about 30 minutes, he told me that I couldn't possibly have Asperger's because of these reasons:

1. "Someone with Asperger's is more like a nerdy guy who's on his computer all day."

2. "You're very anxious. People with Asperger's don't get anxiety because they're too oblivious to what's going on around them."

3. "You're very sensitive. Everything is upsetting to you, but with someone with Asperger's, they have very thick skin. Nothing gets in."


I know that these things aren't correct and are harmful stereotypes and misconceptions regarding people who have ASD. I still want to go in for an actual evaluation, but I'm terrified of being faced with someone like this again. I was wondering if anyone was aware of any places that did evaluations in the San Francisco Bay Area which had doctors who won't dismiss me because I'm not a "nerdy guy who's on his computer all day." (Not that there's anything wrong with "nerdy guys" on their computers all day, of course. Just that they're not the only ones with ASD.)

Thanks in advance for any help!

That "doctor" is like the quack who did my first evaluation.

He's uninformed and is a moron.

Anyone who knows anything knows plenty of Aspies also deal with anxiety and depression.

This person is dangerous.

Contact a local or national Autism/Asperger's organization, tell them what he said, and BEG for help finding a qualified person to evaluate you...someone who actually works in the autism field.

This is the reason I'm reluctant to get a second opinion. I want to go to the Univ of Washington's Adult Autism Clinic for an evaluation. I was already found to be on the spectrum two years ago. I'd just hate for that to be negated by the clinic. Different diagnosticians have different criteria, and since I'm not as obvious as Adam or Rain Man, I'm reluctant to be "tried" again.

I'm anxious about this too. I'm getting ready for my evaluation, and it's being performed by psychology doctoral students on my university campus. I'm afraid that because they're still students, they'll have too rigid an idea of what autism means and that I don't fit the criteria because I'm not a male who talks about trains for hours at a time. I put together a list of all my traits from birth to the present, listed clearly under headings such as "Social Responsiveness," "Nonverbal Behavioural Patterns," "Special Interests" etc. and it runs ten pages long. I had my mom look it over and sign it, basically as a substitute for her testimony, since she obviously won't be there for the eval. I also included my scores for the online RAADS-R test I took, along with a notecard directing the diagnostician to academic journal articles which vouch for the test's validity, and a list of common traits specific to females on the spectrum, in case the evaluator hasn't examined many women, and judges me by inaccurate male criteria. I'm very nervous, because if this eval doesn't go well, I'll have lost my only chance at getting a diagnosis for a long time; there's no way I can afford to go to an outside specialist for two grand, at least not until I'm a specialist myself and earning that kind of money.