Is this clinical psychologist acting professionally?

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Is this clinical psychologist acting professionally?

I want an official diagnosis. I have NOT EVEN MET the clinical psychologist yet but my sister forwarded my case to him and he already made some “preliminary assessments” about me:

“He’s just 20 years old. No wonder.” (What does my age have to do with the weight of evidence of what I have researched for the past year? I did not just rersearch about Asperger's Syndrome. I researched about different types of mental disorders. Asperger's however fit me so perfectly I almost felt as if someone was watching me since the day I was born and filmed the inner workings of my brain.)

“He’s in university. That’s why he’s like that.” (WTF?)

“He should just accept that he’s different.” (EVERYONE is different but I’m sure that’s not why I want a diagnosis? I'm not mentally ret*d but I have always had autistic traits.)

“He just hates being with people. He’s anti social.” (Not true, many on the spectrum report a desire to want to know people, some may even be talkative, some may even be outgoing, and extroverted. Most have difficulties in social reasoning. Temple Grandin’s book explains why very well.)

“Nothing’s wrong with him. He should have already been diagnosed as a child.”( Asperger’s Syndrome only became an official diagnosis in 1994 years after I was born and it probably hasn't been recognized in many countries even until today!! ! Many adults are diagnosed later in life! It only became better known only a few years ago. Even in 2001 the condition was not very well known and many documents from the year 2001 still stated that 80 % of autists were mentally ret*d. Compare that to Simon Baron Cohen’s recent findings in autism:)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLH12TLybxk[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpYrbEM1xrw&feature=related[/youtube]


PS. No questions asked about any autistic traits I have. I am beginning to suspect that he has very little idea on what it is about and I haven't even met him and he's already jumping to these conclusions!

If he is only "20 years old" & in "education" he is not licensed yet & really "acting professionally" as a person in education? He has not had probably enough experience.

@Technodog: The comments aren't about the psychologist, they're about the OP.

@Luska: Yes, he is behaving extremely unprofessionally if the comments really are verbatim what he said. NO professional should ever make such comments about anyone they've never even met.

On the up side, now you know at least one (so-called) professional NOT to see. Find somebody else who knows what the hell they are doing.

Ugh. This is exactly what I'm afraid of. Based on what I've been obsessively reading about Asperger's for a while now, this doesn't sound very professional at all, especially since he's never even met you. After all, family members don't necessarily know what the hell is going on in your head, nor can they know for sure how well you mask your symptoms, nor can the doctor know your own unique life situation which has effected the appearance, expression, and obviousness of your condition.

I'm so afraid of this. Though I have a lot to say and know what I would want to say to a doctor about myself in regards to getting diagnosed, I know that once I was there, the nervousness would cause everything to leave my brain and I would stutter, miss a plethora of very important key points, and it would sound as if I was lying or had no idea what I was talking about.

I almost want to write an essay to bring with me, have the doctor read it, and then have him/her ask me questions based on the essay. Because there is just way too much to say. I don't know if that would be acceptable though.

In my experience, the best doctors are those who DON'T go overboard with diagnosing various conditions from the DSM. They treat you not as a specimen, but a human being, with each symptom, whether or not it is indicative of a psychological disorder.

That being said, this person is a judgemental douche. Look elsewhere.

Check out "Problem Child," my published memoir of life with autism.

Don't waste your money on that guy. Get a psych* who is worth what you're going to pay him/her.

As someone studying to become a psychologist I have to say that you should absolutely get someone who actually knows something about ASD. He sounds like an ignorant fool.

Oh I almost forgot to add the one which really annoyed me:


"Its' ALL IN HIS HEAD."

Ok so I had a stimming episode 15 minutes ago. Im sure I was just imagining flapping my fingers for no apparent reason. Im not on drugs but I suffer from sudden highs and lows. I had a meltdown last Tuesday. I have extreme compulsion. Im considered aloof, considered stuck in my own world. My facebook account (Wel I never cared about it except for news) is friendless. I get criticized for spending hours and hours on my special interests. I get accused of staring at people. I stare at certain moving objects and flowing water. I have tendencies to jump over things. I wander around aimlessly. I walk in circles. I have a monotonous voice. i see patterns in things... I could easily go to 300 traits and more. I have a difficult time feeling like a part of this world in general.

Im sure I just imagined all of that. Im sure I imagined all the times people called me autistic in class and sports games. And I have been criticized for a lot of aspie related things. ive been called weird and strange. But it probably never happened. I walked around aimlessly again while stuck in my own world yesterday and found myself in a field. It's all in my head.

Yes but all those events in my life were ... just all in my head.