why are doctors so reluctant to diagnose people with ASD

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ZombieBrideXD
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14 Jan 2014, 1:05 pm

i already have a diagnoses from a Psychologist that specializes with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers but, when i went to the hospital once for suicidal thoughts and they kept me for a few days, but two psychiatrists said they see more ADHD and Nonverbal learning disability and OCD than Aspergers. then i talked to a psychologist there and she said "you are very aware of your symptoms while people with aspergers usually aren't, and the fact you dislike eye contact doesn't mean anything,you seem to want friends and everyone has sensory sensitivities" i told her that i used to hide, scream, and cover my ears when i heard an airplane and he said "that doesn't mean anything" and then she went on to say "you definitely have a lot of aspergers traits but i don't see why your having trouble in school, i want you tested for a nonverbal learning disability, i see ADHD and OCD but not aspergers." i thought about it and assumed she knew more than me and went home, when i talked to my therapist, he said "look, nonverbal learning disability and aspergers are very similar, but i see it as instead of diagnosing you with 3 things, it seems more likely you have Aspergers." the doctor at the hospital ordered an I.Q test so i did it. i got the results a while later, when i got the results it showed that i don't have nonverbal learning disability, kinda the opposite, and i asked him if that means i really do have autism, and he said more than likely.

i keep hearing of stories about people seeking a diagnoses and getting rejected because of tiny things like a desire to have friends.

so. whats going on? do any of us have aspergers or do you have to be REALLY severe to get a diagnoses?


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RedEnigma
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14 Jan 2014, 1:17 pm

ZombieBrideXD wrote:
i already have a diagnoses from a Psychologist that specializes with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers but, when i went to the hospital once for suicidal thoughts and they kept me for a few days, but two psychiatrists said they see more ADHD and Nonverbal learning disability and OCD than Aspergers. then i talked to a psychologist there and she said "you are very aware of your symptoms while people with aspergers usually aren't, and the fact you dislike eye contact doesn't mean anything,you seem to want friends and everyone has sensory sensitivities" i told her that i used to hide, scream, and cover my ears when i heard an airplane and he said "that doesn't mean anything" and then she went on to say "you definitely have a lot of aspergers traits but i don't see why your having trouble in school, i want you tested for a nonverbal learning disability, i see ADHD and OCD but not aspergers." i thought about it and assumed she knew more than me and went home, when i talked to my therapist, he said "look, nonverbal learning disability and aspergers are very similar, but i see it as instead of diagnosing you with 3 things, it seems more likely you have Aspergers." the doctor at the hospital ordered an I.Q test so i did it. i got the results a while later, when i got the results it showed that i don't have nonverbal learning disability, kinda the opposite, and i asked him if that means i really do have autism, and he said more than likely.

i keep hearing of stories about people seeking a diagnoses and getting rejected because of tiny things like a desire to have friends.

so. whats going on? do any of us have aspergers or do you have to be REALLY severe to get a diagnoses?



Trust the one whom specializes in Aspergers.
The others only go by text-book and common misconceptions.
I've been told by two psychiatrists that I cannot have Aspergers because I'm female.
My current assessor, whom specializes in Aspergers Syndrome said she believes I definitely do. She said this within the first 30 minutes of the first interview.

People think people with Aspergers don't want friends.
That they don't need them.
That isn't the case.
Some might have a low social drive, but most do desire social interaction and friendship on some level.



bumble
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14 Jan 2014, 1:26 pm

There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!



fleurdelily
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14 Jan 2014, 1:30 pm

bumble wrote:
There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!


BINGO!


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Sethno
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14 Jan 2014, 1:43 pm

ZombieBrideXD wrote:
i already have a diagnoses from a Psychologist that specializes with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers but, when i went to the hospital once for suicidal thoughts and they kept me for a few days, but two psychiatrists said they see more ADHD and Nonverbal learning disability and OCD than Aspergers. then i talked to a psychologist there and she said "you are very aware of your symptoms while people with aspergers usually aren't..."


Didn't you post about this recently? It sounds very familiar.

The last time, someone said in the thread that people with Autism, especially HFA can be very well aware of their being "different", thus proving that person had no idea what they were talking about.

I'll agree with what was said above, namely "Go with the autism expert, not the generalist who is out of their territory".

Still curious about why this is being brought up again, tho'.


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Your Aspie score: 100 of 200 / Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 101 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits

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ZombieBrideXD
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14 Jan 2014, 1:45 pm

Sethno wrote:
ZombieBrideXD wrote:
i already have a diagnoses from a Psychologist that specializes with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers but, when i went to the hospital once for suicidal thoughts and they kept me for a few days, but two psychiatrists said they see more ADHD and Nonverbal learning disability and OCD than Aspergers. then i talked to a psychologist there and she said "you are very aware of your symptoms while people with aspergers usually aren't..."


Didn't you post about this recently? It sounds very familiar.

The last time, someone said in the thread that people with Autism, especially HFA can be very well aware of their being "different", thus proving that person had no idea what they were talking about.

I'll agree with what was said above, namely "Go with the autism expert, not the generalist who is out of their territory".

Still curious about why this is being brought up again, tho'.


i bring this story up a lot


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EzraS
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14 Jan 2014, 2:46 pm

ZombieBrideXD wrote:
i already have a diagnoses from a Psychologist that specializes with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers


Thats all you need to go by right there. The others were not specialists. it pays to see a specialist.
but you know while there was never any doubt that i am autistic, they have gone back and forth regarding its severity and also all my other tag along co-dx mostly ending in 'xia

bumble wrote:
There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!


oh god



aspiemike
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14 Jan 2014, 3:03 pm

bumble wrote:
There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!


How very true. The only money seemingly spent on Aspergers from what I hear is a "Cure".


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bumble
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14 Jan 2014, 3:13 pm

EzraS wrote:
ZombieBrideXD wrote:
i already have a diagnoses from a Psychologist that specializes with High Functioning Autism and Aspergers


Thats all you need to go by right there. The others were not specialists. it pays to see a specialist.
but you know while there was never any doubt that i am autistic, they have gone back and forth regarding its severity and also all my other tag along co-dx mostly ending in 'xia

bumble wrote:
There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!


oh god


OH god? :lol:

Heard that theory before huh?



jcq126
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14 Jan 2014, 3:25 pm

Is your diagnosis a verbal diagnosis in passing or an actual recorded on paper diagnosis? (This could have had an effect on the hospital's response).

Also, the reason I believe they are hesitant to diagnose it is because a large majority of "Aspies" are just loners who people don't like, rather than people with a actual neurological disorder, so they try to attach themselves to a sub group of people (ASD) so they feel they belong somewhere. Which to me, shows an emotional need for belonging with others, something which ASD people usually wouldn't have. The doctor who diagnosed me runs an Autism Learning clinic and has been an Autism/ASD doctor for 40 years and that is the type of person that people should be seeing when being diagnosed, because those type of Doctors know their s**t for lack of a better term.



Willard
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14 Jan 2014, 3:59 pm

Only Mental Health Professionals who have worked extensively with ADULTS with autism have any clue what AS and HFA really look like. Most of the rest glanced at a symptom list during a Psyche course in college and draw their own conclusions from whatever they remember about that, with no firsthand knowledge of the facts and realities.

From the things I've seen people report here on WP, it seems like a LOT of therapists and psychologists have gained their "expertise" on High Functioning Autism from watching Rainman. :roll:


Having Asperger Syndrome and not knowing you were different would require that you also be severely intellectually impaired, and if that were the case, you wouldn't be HIGH FUNCTIONING, therefore, you couldn't have Asperger Syndrome. DuUuUUuUuuhH. :doh:



qawer
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14 Jan 2014, 4:27 pm

...



Last edited by qawer on 14 Jan 2014, 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

LoveNotHate
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14 Jan 2014, 4:51 pm

aspiemike wrote:
bumble wrote:
There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!


How very true. The only money seemingly spent on Aspergers from what I hear is a "Cure".


I was given Resperdal for AS, and my doctor presented many medicines to treat various aspects of AS.

He also showed me some papers on different AS people and they medicines they take to treat/control their symptoms.



GiantHockeyFan
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14 Jan 2014, 7:12 pm

In my case, I was told that there simply aren't any benefits and many potential drawbacks, like insurance in the future screwing you over because you are " diseased" and refusing to cover you. I have also found that Autism specialists are insanely expensive, take forever and NOT covered by insurance.



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14 Jan 2014, 8:25 pm

jcq126 wrote:
Is your diagnosis a verbal diagnosis in passing or an actual recorded on paper diagnosis? (This could have had an effect on the hospital's response).

Also, the reason I believe they are hesitant to diagnose it is because a large majority of "Aspies" are just loners who people don't like, rather than people with a actual neurological disorder, so they try to attach themselves to a sub group of people (ASD) so they feel they belong somewhere. Which to me, shows an emotional need for belonging with others, something which ASD people usually wouldn't have. The doctor who diagnosed me runs an Autism Learning clinic and has been an Autism/ASD doctor for 40 years and that is the type of person that people should be seeing when being diagnosed, because those type of Doctors know their sh** for lack of a better term.


Some ASD people most definitely have an emotional need to join a group. Back when Aspergers was an official diagnosis there were tons of posts and blogs from formally diagnosed people about a found sense of IDENTITY. But I do agree the widespread consensus that most people claiming to be Aspies diagnosed or not did not really have it is a large factor. Also because the knowledge about ASD is relatively new, accurate knowledge has not gone beyond the specialists.


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r84shi37
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14 Jan 2014, 8:51 pm

bumble wrote:
There are no medications for Aspergers, but there are for ADHD and OCD.

Money!


Bravo!

And here's why every child with bad grades in school has add/adhd.
Well that and the teachers would rather dope than deal with them. Google Fred on everything valentines.


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