So I'm in therapy (again), and...

Post Reply New Topic

This time I'm being made to see a "liscensed clinical social worker". See, I'm in the military. Long story short, I had yet another episode of being late to work, had an "anxiety attack", and said some things that made my wife call my supervisor who in turn had me taken to the hospital. So I'm in regular sessions with this lady. She's nice and all, and giving me some good advice for my cognitive behavioral issues. I do, however, strongly believe that I have not so much a psychological issue as a neurological one (or both) in that I'm aloof, socially inept, sensitive, easily confused, literal, and of course poorly organized and in constant need of structure and routine. I told her I thought my problem was Aspergers. Her reaction, her counter arguments, were disappointing to say the least. She's a DSM IV-thumper, and has the authority to diagnose disorders, or refer for testing. However, by her own admition, she has little experience dealing with AS. For my first session, I brought in printouts listing characteristics of people with the disorder. I highlighted everything that I felt I strongly could relate to. I told her I have the narrow, consuming interests. She told me that (in her limited understanding) that she thought it was supposed to be interests in parts of objects. She also questioned if AS was a disorder in which the afflicted person was even aware of their symptoms! (She didn't know).

Basically, in a nutshell, she was telling me this (stop me if you've heard this before):

"You are aware of your 'symptoms'. You have a job; you aren't at home studying the hands on a clock all day. You've expressed at least SOME desire to be social. You don't have repetitive/ritualistic physical movements (as I was rocking, tapping my feet, and playing with my fingers, all involuntarily). You don't have Apsergers Disorder."

Its funny, because I don't want it to be this way. I'm approaching 30, and my career is at a stand-still. In fact, its barely moved much over the years at all. I hate having to defend the severity of my issues, that if I were a civilian I most certainly be jobless. The military has great job security, truth be told. So yeah, I appear to funtion with a career. But I'm not flourishing, and its constantly being threatened. Mental health professionals don't believe I'm not more than a few good counseling sessions away from being ok. And sure, that all helps, but all in all I've been struggling with something I can't quite place.

I think it is very widely accepted now that people with aspergers syndrome may show a desire to be social. They will have great difficulty socialising, but may still make attempts at it. I know *some* people with aspergers are interested in parts of objects, but its just an example of one interest... it doesn't apply to everyone.

If you say you're getting a lot out of the CBT, I'd just try and get the most you can out of that for a while, because at least that will give you some help with dealing with day to day life, (I've also had CBT and it continues to help me every day). You can then look at seeing someone else to get your diagnosis.

Don't be too affected by this - almost everyone who gets a diagnosis comes up against some scepticism along the way.

Staring at parts of objects is only one of the POSSIBLE criteria for ASD. You have to meet a certain number out of a list, as I'm sure you're aware. Most professionals are deplorably unskilled at diagnosing and working with AS. Is there any chance you can ask to see a specialist? I hope so.