Preparing for an appointment

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Recently I got a referral from my doctor to be tested for Autism/Asperger's. The first appointment is going to be in a few weeks, and I don't really know what I'm going to say

I'm not good with thinking of things to talk about with people and my mind can go completely blank under the pressure of someone expecting me to talk about something important. How can I prepare for the appointment to reduce my anxiety? What do you think they will be likely to talk to me about?

I won't be much help here as my first appointment was with a totally useless psychiatrist (don't feel like rehashing it but you can read about it here http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt265812.html )

The sad part is I was actually very much looking forward to it. I wanted to be tested and assessed. I know I'm Aspie and I really wanted to start my journey to validation.

I really hope yours is a better fit for you than this bonehead was for me.

You probably won't go blank - he or she will probably have questions to ask you. Try not to be anxious Not much help, I know!

If I ever get an appointment with the specialist I want, even though I had an awful experience the first time, I will still eagerly anticipate this one. Not my fault the first guy was clueless about Asperger's - I was clearly displaying signs of it and he missed them

I found it helpful to list all my symptoms by category (social problems, restricted/repetitive behaviour, etc.) and to provide examples for when each one occurred. I did this across my lifespan so the clinician could see how my traits manifested throughout my life and how they've changed over the years. It was a lot of work (the document totalled ten pages) but it was worth it, because I froze up a little during my interview too. The therapist asked me, "So do you have any reasons as to why you think you might have autism?" and my mind went blank. I said, "Yes... let me think of them..." and then a few minutes later proceeded to list as many as I could remember at the time. Having it all written down in detail for the therapist to go back and look at later ensured that nothing was forgotten about, no matter how little I remembered to talk about during the interview. It's easy to be nervous about the testing (I definitely was), but as long as you get someone who knows what they're doing, you'll be fine. Good luck, keep us posted on the results!