Getting started on my diagnosis tomorrow...

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Hi Everyone... just a brief note. I joined a while back as someone who was undiagnosed and fairly sure I was an aspie. Since being on the site, and chatting with others, I've realized with even more certainty that I am an aspie.

I finally got approval from my insurance company to go and speak with a professional and my first appointment is tomorrow. I'm very nervous about going through the process but I want to know for sure what's going on with me.

I hope everything works out and I'll definitely keep anyone who is interested posted on how everything goes.

Wish me luck!

Good Luck!

_________________
Being Normal Is Vastly Overrated

Good luck Sonny!

I've had a similar experience. I read an abnormal psych textbook looking for an explanation for why I felt so different from everyone. I literally used to go around, thinking, "I am an alien. This is not my native language and I don't understand the culture." AS seemed to fit with my experiences, so I looked it up on Wikipedia and became even more interested, so then I came here and became even more certain that I'm an aspie.

I'm also nervous about going for a diagnosis, even though I have a psychiatrist I really like. It took me a while just to call and make the appointment. I'm scared that she won't believe me. The problem is that because she's so nice, and knowledgeable, I feel comfortable around her and therefore tend to actually make eye contact and smile and stuff. I keep worrying that she'll just laugh, or compare me to other patients that are more obvious aspies. Or maybe she'll refer me to another doctor and then I'll have to pay for 2 appointments. My plan is to bring her a list of my aspie traits along with my Aspie Quiz results so that she can tell I'm serious. I've decided that getting a diagnosis is important because then I might be able to get some kind of accomodations at school or work, or I might become eligible for some services, or at least I'd have an explanation for my social ineptitude. I look forward to being able to tell my boss that she doesn't intimidate me, I just act awkward because I'm an aspie.

Good luck!

Tim

I hope you get what you need. I was self-diagnosed in March and got a psychologist's diagnosis in July for Indiana vocational/rehab.

Thanks for the support. I'm not sure I really care for the doctor that I met with yesterday. Firstly, she had this REALLY annoying fountain in her office and I found it incredibly distracting to try and listen to her talk while that thing was gurgling in the background. When I go back in two weeks, I'm going to ask her to turn it off while we talk. Maybe she thinks it's soothing to people, but it was driving me nuts. Secondly, maybe it was because it was my first appointment, but we didn't really cover much about Asperger's at all. It was mostly her asking me questions about my family history and stuff. I'm going to give her another chance when I meet with her again, but I'm not feeling very confident right now. I'll keep updating as I move along.

Good luck 2 u m8 hope it goes well.

Wolfpup - I'm definitely going to mention that to her next time! LOL I'm working on a list of the DSM and my take on my own symptoms to match the diagnosis criteria. Like I've heard from many people on the site, it's hard to verbalize what I think my symptoms are in regular conversation. I had this HUGE printout of things I wanted to discuss with her but we didn't even scratch the surface. It was like 9 pages long. I'm editing it down to make it easier for her to read and go over with me.

Good luck talking to your psychiatrist. I'd recommend bringing notes so you remember to tell him/her everything you need to.

She laughed as in she didn't think it was a big deal?

That type of thing can't be a good sign. I mean this is pretty obviously a common thing with AS...

I just remembered something. In fourth grade the teacher had this stereo that she would tune to a music radio station during class. It was supposed to be a "reward" for us being good. I couldn't stand it, couldn't concentrate to do work, and wanted it off. Everyone kind of made fun of me-including the teacher-for that. She moved my desk to the opposite side of the room from the stereo, which was at least better than nothing (she was confused by why I wouldn't like it).

She also nicknamed me "the absent minded professor", which completely embarrassed me, although I guess there are worse things you could be called.

Documentation is also important. I took in copies of my report cards with notes from the teachers, copies of awards certificates, PSAT and ACT scores, my WAIS-R evaluation, and a personality profile from a previous psychologist. I also took in copies of my college grades showing where I flunked out of engineering and excelled in the technology program. I failed one calculus and made A's and B's in the other calculus. All of it was relevant. I was diagnosed with AS with no doubt about it.

goodluck!