Psychologists and Asperger's diagnosis?

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Hi everyone,

I'm going to the psychologist on Thursday and I'm wondering how I could approach the topic of Asperger's syndrome, I have been saying to my doctors about anxiety and all that jazz, but I think I was scared to bring up that I could have Asperger's because they would probably say to me "Why do you think that you have Asperger's?" I would get really nervous and say because my aunt and grandmother have said to me that I could have it, but would that be a valid reason, my grandmother recently said to me that it could all be in my head, what a stupid thing to say to your own grandson, that made me so angry. I have always had problems making sense of the world and what to do in situations, even how to simple things like take something off like a highchair table can be stressful because I don't know to do it after being told how to, even getting myself motivated is so stressful, because I can't do that at all, could the psychologist go through tests such as the Ritvo Autism-Austistic Diagnostic scale and the AQ test, the last score I got on the RAADS was 180, the average range for a neurotypical male was 84.9 so obviously I must be autistic if I'm scoring so high, I'm also getting 38-39 on the AQ tests as well.

When I went to get my official diagnosis I sent a long written account of my experiences and my reasons for suspecting Asperger's Syndrome prior to the meeting in other to avoid anxiety and stress when sitting face-to-face.

Perhaps you could try something similar?

They don't really put much value in those online tests, from what I've been told. Symptoms and history are useful, and childhood behaviors. Plus they have their own diagnostic tests.

I think you should tell him what all you are having problems with, childhood history etc, without bringing up Aspergers and see what he/she has to say first.

Aspergers isn't something you can get a diagnosis for.
Write down what is troubling you.
You know yourself better than anyone so don't discount your intuition but realize that they will be prudent and depending on the therapist , might document your self diagnosis and use it as a way to dig reasons why you think you have it and confirm or discard them.

Therapists will not generally diagnose an adult/ teenager with something you can't treat at that age. So you should also be aware of their biases.

I would see someone who specializes in people that are not children and have asd. I wouldbe direct as to what you want.

You will have to seperate the different issues like symptoms and then overarching cause.
It will take a while. The testing alone for asd is a pretty long process if done right.

Therapists bell curve has a median index if sh***y.

Lots of misinformation here. Both of my children got diagnosed in mid-teens/early adult age.


I don't even know what you're talking about. Do you?

My psychologist said I'm depressed and even said I should be on medication. My psychologist. I'm still trying to afford to go to an actual specialist.

Only gave my own account to demonstrate that it may not go the way you think it does. Also, you shouldn't stop there. There are actual specialists who can help you find real answers.

Two family members saying you could have it is enough of a reason to wonder if you do. Those tests you mentioned are screening tests, they are also a valid reason to seek a diagnosis but they can't actually diagnose you. Your psychologist will likely want input from your schools, as well as older family members, to help with the diagnosis. Don't worry about your meeting with the psychologist. They are experienced in meeting people who may be nervous about meeting with them. You don't have to have all the answers going in - if you did, you wouldn't need the psychologist.

One thing I would like to warn you about. The process of discovery can be painful. That's not a reason not to do it, but just acknowledge to yourself that talking about past failures and current weaknesses can be depressing. Love yourself as you go through this tough process. The best possible outcome you can expect from this is to be happier and more successful after you learn new truths and coping methods.

Last edited by BeaArthur on 13 Feb 2016, 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

accidental double post, sorry

A psychologist in most cases cannot prescribe, but they can see that someone needs meds. Is the person you saw a licensed psychologist with a doctorate-level credential? If not, please don't generalize. Many psychologists are quite qualified to diagnose Aspergers or autism spectrum disorders.

I don't know what you mean by "actual specialist." This is not a technical or legal term. The autism field doesn't have a credentialing body as far as I know.

Also your remarks might make more sense in light of your location, but I don't know where that is.

Not really, just a poor effort on your part to parse words. Therapists will GENERALLY not like to make a quick asd diagnosis for adults. There are fewer experts that deal with adults for reasons pertaining to prognosises which differ greatly depending on when you find it.

Do you know what a bell curve is?
Do you know what a median is
Do you know what a therapist is?

Im confident you aren't as dense as you make yourself out to be. Il take your feigned ignorance as a disagreement to which I will just say professions that require less training and have less regulations tend to yield a very wide spectrum of expertise. Now add the fact that psychology is not an exact field of medicine. The average therapist in my mind is much like a standard electrician. Ask that electrician who is used to dealing with simple home schematics to now wire a data centre in some foreign country and I think you will find the outcome , on average , sh***y.

The point to take home is not to discount your intuitions and realize that psychology is rather inaccurate . You might have to interview a few. That is why I said find an expert that deals with asd and adults.

If you just want a quick diagnosis and live in the usa, then I suppose you would do the opposite and find a terrible therapist who will not use proper testing and give you the diagnosis so they can bill you.

killerBunny: I'm not ignorant on this topic, and I was not feigning naivete. Your syntax and precision with language are poor, so that I genuinely did not know what you were trying to say.

However, I think there is no point in sparring with you on this point. I stand with my observation that you make poorly informed generalizations, and I hope readers of this thread do not give them more weight than they deserve. That's my final statement to you.

A psychologist can't prescribe.
Aspergers is not a diagnosis.
When you do phd and post doctoral study, you specialize. Therapists tend to focus on certain areas. A psychoanalyst isn't going to a specialist in cbt. Most therapists will state their field of expertise. There are therapists that specialize in asd. There are also therapists that specialize further with adults that have asd.

I find your rudimentary understanding of how things work annoying. Don't bother replying because I'm ex filtrating myself from this convo.

Yes you can depending on your location and your clinicion. Aspergers Disorder was eliminated from ths DSM manual in 2013. The ICD manual and not the DSM manual is the manual of choice in many areas of the world and the ICD manual still uses Asperger Syndrome. Even in areas such as America where the DSM is written and predominates clinictions will not lose thier license if they do not use the DSM guidelines because they disagreed with the decision to eliminate Aspergers. Here on WP a few users from America have reported bieng diagnosed with Aspergers in recent months.

Last edited by ASPartOfMe on 13 Feb 2016, 12:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.

My language requires a certain threshold of intellect which I suppose can burden many readers. If you can't infer meaning, you probably don't meet it. Your initial underhanded questioning of whether I understand the statement made would fall under the category of passive aggressive. I don't usually go out my way like I seem to have in this thread, but I suppose the topic at hand is rather important.

Whoa. I think you are misreading what I said. Some are and some aren't. Especially when it comes to adults who suspect they may have it. This woman isn't a good fit and I can't afford to see someone else. You don't know me nor do you know much about my experience. We have a few specialists here in Houston who specialize in diagnosing adults. The clinic I go to doesn't; they only diagnose children and teens. Please do not presume that you are the official authority on this topic. If you need clarification, you can ask rather than overstate your opinion on something you clearly don't understand in regards to my own knowledge and experience in dealing with this matter.