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Can a nurse practitioner diagnose autism in the U.S.?

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starkid
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15 Jun 2020, 4:57 pm

I was thinking only MDs, psychologists, neuropsychologists, etc. could diagnose something as specialized as autism.



naturalplastic
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15 Jun 2020, 5:36 pm

No. They cant. Yes, you are right in thinking that they cant. Why do you ask?



Fnord
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15 Jun 2020, 5:49 pm

Wouldn't you rather have a real diagnosis from a real, appropriately-trained, and licensed mental-health professional?


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starkid
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15 Jun 2020, 5:58 pm

Fnord wrote:
Wouldn't you rather have a real diagnosis from a real, appropriately-trained, and licensed mental-health professional?

I don't know what you are talking about. I never even said that I'm seeking a diagnosis.

Feel free to never respond to me or my threads ever again. Most of what I see you posting on WP is garbage.



starkid
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15 Jun 2020, 6:04 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
Why do you ask?

According to my neuropsychological report, about 7 months ago I got an ASD diagnosis from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (a diagnosis I didn't know about).

My primary care doctor at the VA, the one who referred me for the neuropsych eval, is just an NP. So if nurse practitioners can't diagnose ASD, I have no idea who gave me that diagnosis. I wasn't diagnosed or even evaluated in the psychology department.

I was sent for an outside evaluation, and now the outside doctor is saying I already had a diagnosis. I'm thinking this was a misunderstanding..



Fnord
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15 Jun 2020, 6:13 pm

starkid wrote:
Fnord wrote:
Wouldn't you rather have a real diagnosis from a real, appropriately-trained, and licensed mental-health professional?
I don't know what you are talking about. I never even said that I'm seeking a diagnosis.  Feel free to never respond to me or my threads ever again. Most of what I see you posting on WP is garbage.
I am only trying to be helpful.  You're welcome.


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Dreamtastic
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15 Jun 2020, 7:27 pm

The person who gave me my (unofficial) diagnosis was a psychiatric nurse practitioner. However, he told me that in order to get an official diagnosis, I would need to be tested, and I am not sure but am guessing that only an MD, PhD, or someone similar could administer/interpret that testing. He also said that if I ever wanted to use an autism diagnosis to qualify for Social Security, I would need to be diagnosed by a PhD. So I guess maybe it depends on what the diagnosis is for? But I would guess that what most people mean by diagnosis would need to be diagnosed at the level you mentioned.



Fnord
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15 Jun 2020, 7:33 pm

Dreamtastic wrote:
The person who gave me my (unofficial) diagnosis was a psychiatric nurse practitioner.  However, he told me that in order to get an official diagnosis, I would need to be tested, and I am not sure but am guessing that only an MD, PhD, or someone similar could administer/interpret that testing.  He also said that if I ever wanted to use an autism diagnosis to qualify for Social Security, I would need to be diagnosed by a PhD.  So I guess maybe it depends on what the diagnosis is for?  But I would guess that what most people mean by diagnosis would need to be diagnosed at the level you mentioned.
If all a person is searching for is "Peace of Mind", then a nurse-practitioner might be adequate; but yes, if a person is looking for disability benefits or special accommodations in education, employment, or housing, then an official diagnosis may be necessary.


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