writing down your symptoms

Post Reply New Topic

Most people seem to suggest writing down your symptoms when going for an assessment for aspergers/or similar, or when going to a GP to suggest it. What if you dont quite know how to put them to words? What if you just dont know what to say and having the option of writing them down doesnt really help much other than just giving you more time to think about what to say? I have read loads on the topic too, I just dont know how to put it.

If you've read a lot on the subject, it will come to you. The dr will be equally concerned about your appearance, presentation of yourself and the stories of family members, most likely. I had to bring my baby book in for evaluation.

i have pages of documentation that was done for prescisely thi reason.
My ex has also written a fair bit about how it was living with me.

My suggestion - if yo uwant to break it down, - is ot use one of the assessment criterias and use those headings - then fill in the details of your experiences and presentations where relevant.

and make sure you also include another part on any sesnory issues you may have:
tactile,
sound
taste,
visual acuity
smell

as these are for many - a vry big part of our presentation but not yet included in some of the diagnostic criteria. A good specialsit in AS knows this and will want to get a good rundown on your sensory processin as well.

good luck

I would go to a psychiatrist who specializes in ASD's. What are your symptoms? I have alot of "traits" and was dx with A.S.

Trust me, it will come to you. It's going to be MUCH easier to write down than it will be to try and remember it when you speak to your doctor. I typed a 20-page autobiography based entirely around the issues in my life I felt were related to AS. My doctor seemed to genuinely love it.

One thing that I did was read books about autism. I found lots of examples of thought processes, symptoms, etc. that were already written and explained by someone else (not to mention some that I didn't know had anything to do with AS). I just had to identify them in the readings and jot them down.

Thanks,

One more thing...
Is it normal for parents to completely deny any possibility of there being anything neurologicaly different with you? Only being shy wouldnt result in a person never having had a job at 22, or not getting to college etc. Every school report right through the years mentions how extremely quiet I was and that they didnt think I was paying attention in class, I was even refered for a hearing test at eight because I wasnt responding when called apparently. If I end up being diagnosed with anything my Mother will be the only person in the house not diagnosed with anything. When I mentioned this possibility she was even denying things id heard more than enough about before and knew were true. If a diagnostic assessment is going to involve my parents being interviewed about my early childhood then I dont think they will be particularly cooperative.... Also, if the whole 'ruling out other possibilities' side of it will involve needles il just do without thank you!

Should I have put that last post in a new topic altogether?

I used to write down my symptoms to help me remember because well, my memory sucks! The bad thing is it can backfire on you and it has to me twice. One time I was talking to a new psychiatrist to see if I liked him and I wrote down my symptoms including my so called delusions- everything because I don't hide anything from anyone no matter how weird it sounds. He told me that in his how ever many years in practice he's never seen anyone write down their symptoms and when I went catatonic in front of him (I do under stress and meeting a new psychiatrist was stressful) he actually YELLED at me. He said because I wrote it down, it looked "suspicious" and he didn't take me seriously so I never went back. Another time is when I was suicidal and I had the list on why I was suicidal and other things, (this is at one of the local hospitals) she didn't take me seriously even though I was SUICIDAL for goodness sakes and I wasn't admitted all because I had a list. So, now I try the hardest to do it from memory even though I am probably leaving out important facts, but they will take you more seriously without notes. I know other people say it is good to have a list though but I'm just telling you I had bad experiences with it. It doesn't mean you will.

Oh absolutely. Even with a formal diagnosis, my mom still thinks I'm "faking"

I take notes with me to shrinks because I can't talk unless I have a script. Make sure you say that first thing. A lot of doctors might think that you just go to wikipedia and print off a list of symptoms.

Firebird - those are problems with the psychiatrist not you writing down the symptoms!
There are some strange/bad doctors out there. My psychiatrist misinterpreted a lot of the stuff I wrote down, but a lot of the stuff I said as well. I think writing stuff down is definately a good thing. The health professionals I've seen that are good (my GP and my psychotherpist) seem to think it's a good thing that I write stuff down. If I didn't I'd probably end up talking rubbish, so it's important to me anyway.

If you can't write down symptoms, can you write down experiences, examples of problems caused by your AS?

Here, here...I second this.

If a practitioner can't handle your method of expression with ASD, it seems that they are unqualified to treat ASD. Time to walk.