What does this mean?

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I have no idea what this social context means. I'm diagnosed with autistic disorder by the way.

-a doctor in a clinic tells me "I'm going to send you to an autism research center. However, this doesn't mean you're autistic. It's just a place for very intelligent people like you."

-I ask a nurse about all this, and she tells me that she's the one who told the doctor about the existence of such a center, and that he didn't know about it before, and gave him a brochure from this center (with description, contact information, etc.)

-she tells me that she told others at the center about me, and that they would be glad to meet me

-ask her whether she told anything about me at that center later; she tells me that she didn't (WTF?)

What does it all mean?

Hm, maybe she just told them that she had a patient who she thought might benefit from their center, but she didn't actually give them any details about you that could violate patient rights? (If you're in the US, HIPAA laws come to mind).

What he hasn't revealed is, why would he send you there, what exactly is the purpose? I'd ask him that if I were you. Or maybe his nurse can tell you.

Also, assuming you're not some kind of inmate with reduced rights, why is he talking about "sending you" anywhere? Surely all he can do is to tell you about the place and ask you to consider going there? I'd want to know a lot more about the place, and about what the plan is for your involvement in it.

A doctor shouldn't just "send" someone somewhere. If you are being referred you should know where any why. If you are being seen as something of interest (i.e. rather than a human being who has a right to say whether they are researched) then all the more reason to be told the reason(s) and possible positive or negative implications, so that you can make an informed decision about consenting to being "sent".

I think AuroraBorealisGazer's reading of the nurse - mentioning you without giving details - is likely.

Is it possible the doctor does not know you've been diagnosed with autism, and is trying to get you a diagnosis? If that is not possible, it is possible that the doctor thinks that either you could benefit on some way from the research center or the research center could benefit in some way from studying you. You do need to find out what reason they have for sending you there.

The nurse was trying to encourage you to go to the research center. By telling you that she had talked to them about you, she is trying to make you feel like you would be welcome there. By saying that they are happy to meet you, she is trying to make you feel that the research center will be friendly.

By saying that she didn't give them any information, she is trying to say that she didn't violate any privacy laws when she talked to them about you. Certain laws protect certain types of personal information, so this nurse would not be allowed to tell the research center specific details about you (your name, your address, your phone number, other specific information) without your consent. Is she did, she could get into trouble. But she could tell them some medical information without naming you specifically. She could say something like, "We have a patient who is autistic, and we think they could be a good research candidate because..." and then she could give reasons that I don't know about. She could do this because she did not name you specifically.

You should find out what the purpose of your visit to the research center would be and what you could expect to encounter during that visit. I don't know your specific situation, but you probably should be able to decide for yourself whether you want to go to the research center.

Social context means that words do not necessarily convey all the meaning of a person's communication. Consider non-verbal cues, who is involved in the communication and what are the larger implications of their words, ie, How would they be effected by the outcome?
I have yet to be able to do this in a timely fashion.

He's being somewhat patronizing I think. I'd find out more about this place before committing to anything.


Unprofessional of her to disclose this to you.

What kind of centre is this?

Because she realized her unprofessional behaviour and knew she would get in trouble.