What does Asperger testing entail?

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I went for an appointment with a Clinical Psychologist earlier this week although the guy did not specialise in autism or AS (I think they sent me at short notice because I keep hassling my GP about my increasingly self destructive thoughts) he thought there is no chance I have AS.

The whole thing took less than an hour and was highly inconclusive as I had my guard up and lied my ass off about a few things (I was frightened of being sectioned or something), completely forgetting all of the things I had pre prepared to ask about the week before.

Are psychologists supposed to give useful coping strategies or professional insight? I went away feeling even more confused and annoyed with nothing but questions and no answers whatsoever. Apparently I do not fall into the high suicide risk category (even though that was the reason my GP referred me) and so since there is no preventive treatment available or counseling on the NHS (which I still struggle to believe but that is what he said) he seemed to be saying that unless I have a complete freakout and survive trying to take down a SWAT team singlehandedly they are not that interested in speaking to me.

I have no idea how much it costs. Medicare is paying for it.

I'd like to know as well. I'm currently debating whether or not to go to my GP and ask to be tested

i feel the same i been reading loads of books and i also been thinking about this odd things i do and the prolims i have and i start writing it all down.

In my experience if it for around 6 hour then you will have at least one break. You will be seen by at least two people.

The first time I was diagnosed it was a psychologist and a physician. The second time it was two psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses interviewed my parents.

You may have general question and possibly some psychometric testing, if you haven't already done this (I had from executive dysfunction)

IQ testing? or no tests in general cause extreme anxiety so now I'm even more nervous than I was.

Another reason not to get a formal diagnosis-I don't have the stamina for six hours of tests and invasive questioning.

I don't have an official diagnosis - I went for hearing tests twice because I cannot hear conversation if there is any background noise and don't notice someone calling my name. For years I honestly thought I was hard of hearing. I got a semi-diagnosis very shortly after the second hearing test. The audiologist mentioned Aspergers several times in his post-test waffle but I didn't take it in. I recall him telling me that I should ask for a psychiatric evaluation - which I took to mean that he thought I was unbalanced and lying about my hearing problems. It was about 6 months later that the light finally dawned.

I just wish that audiologist had spelled it out for me rather than trying to be subtle, I got it eventually but if he'd just been a bit more succinct I wouldn't have spent months wondering why I couldn't understand conversation but had been told my hearing was better than average!

i went through loads of test to make the doctors see what was up with me, a lot of talking & a few test like genral maths & english abilities. it did get a bit too much for me by the end but it was ok. i was never pushed into anything.

I went through basically (for PDD-NOS and autism diagnoses, multiple times for multiple doctors, so not necessarily all of these at once)...

...history taken from my parents (without me present or aware of what was going on -- first thing they did, which is what first gave them that suspicion).

...weeks and later months of observation in an inpatient psych setting (I wouldn't recommend that).

...seeing me on a regular outpatient basis.

...lots and lots of testing. IQ testing not the half of it: Tons of other tests, designed to show a lot of different aspects of brain functioning and patterns of cognitive skills, as well as things like the ability to parse sounds into words and words into meaning, tell visually which drawings of objects are the same or different (such as a coat folded into different positions), etc.

...interview with me and/or my parents/family and/or my staff about my current life and past history.

...several different kinds of brain scans.

...attempts to rule out any and all other causes for what was going on, including medication trials, etc.

...consultation with doctors who had either (a) previously diagnosed me, (b) known me since childhood, or (c) both of the above.

However, those diagnoses were much more involved than most people I know, I've been surprised at how little observation/testing most other people get.

Am wondering about this right now actually. Wondering if an evaluation covers school history. I think this would be the most subjective approach, to interview teachers/counselors/advisors, and perhaps gather written records or reports. Not quite sure if this is possible, as it would take loads of time from lots of people, however, the written records thought does seem promising. I remember being told that we all carry a "portfolio" from K-12, and am betting there's all sorts of useful information in there, not touched by my own bias, nor my parents.

Why am I worried about bias from myself? Obvious reasons, I know much about AS, and this would affect my behavior. My parents? Because of the guilt factor, I think they'd skew the results, point out how absolutely "normal" I am. Yelling at a normal person all their life isn't so bad as yelling at someone with AS...

yes school report can be included. Basically both times I had pre-questionnaires for AS, ADHD, OCD and other disorders. It is a subjective thing, but usually they ask for any ‘evidence’ as possible.

I had three, hour long visits.

The first was a general "get to know me" visit and an inquiry into why I was there, and some past history.

The second was a series of tests regarding perception and symbolic processing/memory. I had recently had an IQ test and when that had an anomaly, I had a raven test done. I like the raven better.

On the third, also an hour, I got the results and my dx.

In between that time the psychologist was to meet my family, but a death in the family kiboshed that. It was my dads brother, and the psych was to talk to my mom, dad and aunt(who I also suspect of aspergers).

Ironically the person that died was probably an aspie and I wished to share my findings with him.

It was all part of a work rehabilitation program and cost me nothing.

Okay so today I get a packet in the mail that basically has a form to fill out with name and insurance stuff. Then theres the privacy paper, a few blank release forms, and then a paper that says I agree to pay $300 the day of the testing for Academic Testing.
???? what is this? I cannot pay that money. I'm confused. I know my insurance is going to cover this AS testing, even the place themselves said so. Why a form to pay out of pocket for something then??

man I dont want to have to cancel it because of that..