6 Days until "assessment" - How much effort till d

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So it is 6 days until I see my first psychologist for assessment. Not certain what this entails. When I set up the appointment I wanted to be clear that I was seeking screening for an autism spectrum disorder and inquired whether they had a experience and knowledge about testing adults. This was affirmed. However I don't know how soon I will get a diagnosis for ASD or for something. I feel strongly that it is ASD though I'm aware that perhaps it could be something else or a combination of things that makes me mistakenly inclined to believe it is ASD. Will this person be in agreement or disbelief. I don't know. Some days I feel utterly certain, others not so much. I feel normal when I'm alone. Sort of. Therein these lays my doubt.

I won't know till I go through with it of course.

Here is my question. How long between assessment and diagnosis was it for you?

I'd rather be able to go and spend whatever time it takes to get a diagnosis in one trip if I could. Though I'm feeling that it will be drawn out over a period of trips and I dread that, perhaps even months or longer. It's been months since the idea of ASD was the answer. I'd just like to have have confirmation one way or another and end this mental swinging. I'd like to walk out of that office and be able to say "I have ASD" or "I have such and such" but I feel maybe I won't be.

I think this depends very much on where you are, which country and even which city you're being assessed in, as the process seems to vary widely according to nation or town/city. I've seen people posting about multiple assessment interviews, and others posting about less; some posting about tests and others saying they were just interviewed. While of course the actual diagnostic criteria will be adhered to no matter where you are, it seems like the assessment methods can vary. Best wishes for your appointment.

Based on my own experience the assessment part takes about 3 hours plus or minus. Lot's of verbal questions as well as written psychological tests to complete.

Results are usually available within 1-2 weeks give or take.

Dear PD, the only thing I would add to BirdInFlight's explanation of the way it works, is that the diagnostic criteria are themselves a matter for continuing professional debate, and the guidelines are under continuous development and revision.

Currently, the definitions of ASD are based entirely on behaviour observations (there are no useful blood tests or x-ray pictures or DNA analyses etc), and to a large extent it's not so much 'what we do' that is important, it's more a question of 'how much do we do it'. As a result, it is entirely possible for different professionals to make different diagnoses.

I really hope you will find your assessment useful - as you say yourself, all you really want is some kind of explanation for the way you are. The possibility of some kind of treatment or, dare I say it, a cure, is a different kettle of fish. Best wishes on the day!

I was diagnosed in the US through my university. The total time between my first intake appointment and the day I went in to review my test results was two months four days. I took the WAIS IV, WIAT III and the ADOS 2 along with several self-assessments that I filled out at home, and each test was scheduled one week apart, with two weeks between my intake and my first test. It took five weeks after I took the final test for the examiner to look over my results and write up my report, though I doubt it will take that long for you because the person testing me was a doctoral student and had to go back through the test results, her notes, and the video recordings of our sessions with her advisor, who was a doctor of psychology specialising in ASDs.

That said, I've heard of appointments that took one day to complete, with people receiving their diagnoses up to three weeks later. It really depends on where you go and how busy they are, as well as the diagnostic procedure they use.

Thank you for your replies.

One thing is certain, expect uncertainty.

I hope the assessment goes smoothly for you. Good luck!

Mine was three trips to a specialist (psychologist) with one hour interviews each time. I did not take any tests, however. She asked about my childhood, my family, my school life (or lack thereof hehe) and then about my life currently. Thankfully, I brought in my DCFS file from when I was 3 and 7, so that helped tremendously.

The assessment center called me today and said that the process would take 6-8 weeks, 3 hours per week.

If you are paying by the hour, then you are clearly being ripped off - how can it take 20 hours or so?

I'm not sure...but I think that this is a decent amount of time; a psychologist should actually take the time to get to know the client rather than just chatting for a hour over the course of three sessions because it's difficult to observe some symptoms in adults. Also, I think this center does formal testing, possibly IQ testing (which takes a long time depending on the number of tests given).

They don't charge by the hour. I was told it would be $800 total, $400 up front and $400 at the end of the assessment.

Maybe there will be ten of you at a time - I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole!