Getting a diagnosis?

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I'm looking to getting a dx very soon. First of all, I'd like to ask a few questions:

1. Do you have to go to a regular psycologist first, or do you go straight to the one who specializes in Asperger's? I live in Atlanta, so that'd be Emory.

2. How many appointments do they usually find a dx in?

3. How long would that take?

4. What types of tests do they do?

I'm supposed to take a neuropsychiatric test tomorrow. The psychologist is looking for ADHD in particular (what she believes I am; but I don't trust it because she's a trainee and I know myself a little better than that), but I've been told by a more senior psychologist that it tests for MANY different things. I'm not sure this is how others have been diagnosed?

1) I paid out of pocket to keep my business private so I was able to go straight to a UCSF Psychiatrist with Autism specific training/experience.

2) In my case one Appt.

3) 2 hours for me.

4) A series of questions and conversations.

Her conclusion was that I am definitely on the spectrum, but too high functioning to be Aspergers.

If you are too high functioning to be Aspergers, then what are you? BTW, how much did it cost to get your diagnosis?

I'm kind of apprehensive about getting a diagnosis:
1. because I don't want a doctor who doesn't know what he's trying to diagnos.
2. how much it will cost.
3. getting told that I don't have aspergers.

pat666rick, that was the Doctor's opinion, and it is not mine. My opinion is that there are probably a fair number of the non spectrum Professionals who have experience/training with Autism Spectrum Disorders who have dealt with lots of Children/Young Adults, but very few - if any - Adults that are my age, and have had this long to develop coping strategies for daily life.

The cost was $700, s**t costs a lot in the SF Bay Area.

Oh my god darn... $700 clams for 2 hours?

Broken down as $450 for the first hour and $250 for all other hours. I got what I wanted out of it, but I definitely can't lay out that kind of cash on a regular basis. It would likely be available for less money elsewhere because the SF Bay Area is one of the most expensive areas to live in the USA.

I walked off from a job so I had to stop going to my psyciatrist because I didn't have any insurance and it cost to much.

I am in the proses of getting DX iam going through uni that way i get funded for it, i am getting very worryed though that like some one elese said iam 27 now and have learnt ways to deal with things so what if they cant see any issues that will be bad

You probably could have gotten a free diagnosis if you would have seen a psychiatrist through a health care worker. You can do this in Canada anyways. You should have asked if you could have at least received a bonus for paying so much money. I would have asked for a 1 year prescription of Tylenol 3's. Haha.

I probably could have had it done for a $25 copay through my Local Unions coverage if (make this a really big IF) the Plan that I have coverage through just happened to have the right shrink on their payroll. Many Psychiatrists do not know much more than layman on the issue of Autism. This, to my way of thinking, makes it likely that I might have needed my Union Officers to intervene and force the HMO to do what we pay them to do. What all this means is that I would have to assume that ALL of my Union brothers would know that I am on the spectrum. This would very likely make it harder to keep jobs that I am dispatched to. Also I see the possibility of a large Bureaucracy (my HMO) compromising my privacy as an unacceptable risk.

The money out of pocket is worth my piece of mind pat666rick.

Yeah, I guess.

1. I went to TEACCH in NC which is basically the authority on autism in the US.

2. I had 1 day.

3. 5-hour appointment, and they also did phone interviews with my parents and my husband which took about an hour each.

4. They did a verbal and non-verbal IQ test, asked me a lot of weird questions, made me talk about myself a lot, have me make up stories about random objects, and they made me "decode" Norman Rockwell art.

TEACCH assessments are free if you're in NC, but they cost $2000 if you're from out-of-state.

"If you are too high functioning to be Aspergers, then what are you?"

You're the same person minus 700 dollars or more!

someone who is diagnosed as on the spectrum but too hf for AS might get a PDDNOS label,or an 'ASD' label,or no label at all just an unofficial 'is on the spectrum'.
many often think its AS or nothing when it comes to the hf side.