Mixed Feelings After Assessment

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Today was the day I went for an Asperger's assessment, after anticipating it for 5 months.I don't currently have the results (the doctor is going to send them to me) but all day I've felt very uneasy about how it was conducted.

The dr who I met was very nice. We sat down and she said "So you're here because you have some questions about your brain function" The almost as an afterthought she looks down at the sheet in front of her and adds "And you're also wondering about the possability that you have Asperger's". Umm, actually that's the sole reason I'm here but I let that slide. She conducted about a 40 minute interview, which wasn't tremendously in depth. Mostly consisted of her asking cognitive awareness questions (what's the date {was asked that 3 times }). I explained to her how I came to suspect Asperger's and most of the behavioral examples I gave she brushed off ("Reading about certain topics could just be your way of coping". "Mabe you're just shy" Mabe so but that's not why I came here ). She didn't ask any questions about childhood development, ignored the baby book I had brought in. I also had a notebook of about 54 pages of notes I had made while reading about AS. Part of the reason I brought it in is becasue it's easier for me to explain things in writing then verbally. She glanced at one page for all of 10 seconds and then returned the book to me. The remaining 4 hours consisted mainly of cognitive testing (memory, etc) which was done by a different doctor. The appointment began around 8:30 and I was done by around 1; though I had been under the impression that it would last until at least 4.

Because this was done at the university I thankfully didn't have to pay but now I'm starting to wonder if the adage about 'you get what you pay for' applies. The doctor I was is a neuropsycholigist but in googling her I couldn't find any information to suggest she has a great deal of experience with ASDs. Perhaps simply saving up and paying for an assessment is the better route.

Please don't think I'm wiritng this out of some sense of "she doesn't think I have AS so I'm going to go to someone who will". It's not that at all. It's simply that I found the whole affair to be rather abrupt and I did not feel heard.

Is what I've described usual for such an assessment or should I give serious thought to going to someone else?

Last edited by LosFrida on 05 Aug 2009, 3:15 am, edited 3 times in total.

Hi,
I was lucky in that I went to a GP who herself has Aspergers and is authorised to diagnose. I had previously mentioned the possibility of Aspergers to psychiatrists I saw about my recurrent depression who had either (some years ago) not heard of it - or just pooh poohed the idea. I work in mental health and am astonished at the ignorance of professionals about ASD ("no that person can't have an autistic disorder, they have too many cognitive skills").

Conversely when my son (who is I believe an undiagnosed aspie, he agrees) was younger and I took him to a private doctor for diagnosis with potential ADD he got this diagnosis and some Ritalin, with minimal examination and I felt that I'd just seen an expensive drug dealer.

This academically able son had difficulties throughout his school career that I was unable to get any help with/recognition of - I now realise these difficulties were the result of Aspergers and feel that things would have been much easier if we had realised this earlier (on the other hand it is h helpful that we have realised it now so that from age 18 (he is now 19) he has been able to understand himself better.

The point of all this is really that I think you would trust your instincts on this one - not all professionals understand ASD, some supposed experts have all sorts of agendas of their own which affect who they will diagnose. Personally I have found the most useful thing has been a support group - in fact I only got the diagnosis so I could join the support group - I am now on the board of the organisation running the group and arguing that we should include people who self diagnose as an official diagnosis is expensive and not necessarily helpful for adults, or indeed young people who have left the school system.

Was this doctor a specialist in ASD's? Every doctor I've taken a baby book to has read it. Can you see a specialist if you want to?

She didn't present herself as such, nor did swhe say anything to that effect either. I can either research the other doctors who do free assessemnts and see if any of them are actually experts; or I can save my money and just pay to see someone who actually is.

When you say 'every doctor', Whitetiger, have you had multiple assessments?