Kid Diagnosis Help- why is nobody listening?

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I was diagnosed with Asperger's at 13 and have a daughter who is now 8 and being raised (temporarily, at least) by my mother. Not only does my daughter act exactly like I did as a kid, but my mother and I both did a lot of reading about Asperger's when I was diagnosed and she, my daughter I mean, is textbook- maybe even more so than me. But my mother's been trying to get her a diagnosis so she can get help for about 4 or 5 years now, and the doctors won't listen to her- just like a lot of them wouldn't listen to her about me, said I was just a weird kid who needed more discipline or something. I DO NOT want my daughter to go through what I did, being undiagnosed for so long that I had to suffer for most of my childhood with nobody understanding me and thinking I was just a freak or a brat. How can my mother and I get the doctors to listen to us?

You need to hook up with a teaching hospital or a children's hospital. Most of them have Autism units. You may have to be on the waiting list for a while, but it would be worth it. Just document everything that you feel is a symptom. It took 15 years to get my son dx'd. I understand your frustration.

You didn't list your geographical area, are you in a rural area? Or a city? And you said "Doctors". What kind? My experience has been unless you go to a child psychiatrist who has experience in the autism spectrum, they're fairly clueless. A pediatrician around here will run away screaming rather than deal with Asperger's.

Her school's pyschologist might be willing to help also.