Getting a Diagnosis (in the USA)

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For those Americans who have been officially diagnosed, how did you go about doing it? Did someone doctor suggest it and refer you to a professional, or did you seek out a diagnosis on your own? How do you even find someone willing to diagnose adult Autism?

How does one go about becoming "Aspie on paper" in the USA?

I was diagnosed officially when i was in the public school system by school employees here where i live but it was a late diagnosis.I dont think they told me what i was being tested for while they were testing me.....they just tested me because i was having some trouble keeping up in school.And then they diagnosed me.

How old were you at the time? I thought it was rare for a diagnosis over 18 unless you fight for one. I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering it. So far, I'm self-diagnosed.

I was diagnosed several years ago in my early thirties. I wasn’t self diagnosed beforehand but highly suspected it and came to a point that I needed to know. I did a google search of therapists in my area and found one who listed in her profile online that she was familiar with autism. When I went, I didn’t tell her that I suspected autism, so she was the first to mention it to me in the second session....I hadn’t thought I was that obvious. She referred me to a psychologist who specializes in diagnosing asd, where I was officially assessed and later diagnosed.

I live near a "progressive" city so when I suspected I had ASD I readily found a therapist who specialized in social cognition (and ASD). She gave me a referral for a professional with knowledge and experience diagnosing adult non-stereotypical ASD (outgoing, empathetic). That worked for me. However, her referral for a professional with experience diagnosing non-stereotypical girls with ASD didn't work the way I expected (the group gave my daughter six different diagnoses -ranging from social, expression, sensory and motor skills- but not ASD) and so in time I will get another referral and try again.

Off topic: It didn't occur to me that being an "Aspie on paper" might help (since I don't officially disclose at work), but over a year later I applied for disability services to support my job search and am so very glad. I know from my online adult ASD support group that there is free community help for ASD executive function difficulties (e.g. as it worsens with ages; sometimes simply a "chore" companion for accountability).

I was 64 when I became curious about whether or not I might be Autistic.

After about four months of Internet exploring my bride and I decided I might be a High Functioning Autistic. The appropriate next step was an Adult Autism Assessment.

My insurance coverage for an Adult Autism Assessment was confusing. The insurance provider's web page seemed to say I could just independently obtain the assessment without a referral but when I telephoned them for confirmation I got two different stories, depending on who I spoke with (a) you do not need a referral to get that assessment, or (b) your primary care physician (PCP) must request a referral for you. Much later I think I figured out the real truth: you do not need a referral to get that assessment if you use one of our network providers but we have no network providers anywhere near you who can do that so you will have to go out-of-network, for you to go out-of-network your PCP has to request a referral.

Because I had vague hopes insurance would help with the cost we had my PCP submit a request for a referral which was provided quickly...and incorrectly. The insurance company said I needed a licensed Psychologist with ABA certification, which was wrong! After a number of useless referrals from them they finally said I could find a suitable provider. It took three months for me to figure out that the ABA requirement was wrong since I was not seeking treatment--I just needed a licensed Psychologist.

After which it took only a few weeks for me to find a suitable provider. I used a web page provided by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists to identify Psychologists in my area that worked with Autism and with patients my age. I could use the state's web pages to confirm a Psychologist was licensed and I could use their Practice's web page to see if they did Autism, etc.

Don't necessarily expect to find a Psychologist whose web page says they do Adult Autism Assessments, though. I gather most Autism patients are kids. The first practice I called had a phone answered by the their office manager who did not know whether or not they did Adult Autism Assessments. She had to get back to me after checking that. They did and one of them did my assessment (and not the one I expected, based on that findapsychologist web page).

The "Aspie on paper" part of you query is an area of confusion for me. After my assessment the Psychologist gave me a twelve-page written psychological evaluation report which said I displayed many of the qualities of individuals diagnosed with high functioning ASD, or what was previously known as Asperger's Syndrome. The actual diagnosis was that I met the criteria for a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1 (Mild). But, the Psychologist only gave me the evaluation report; no one else would know the diagnosis unless I told them. The insurance company could figure it out if they read the stuff I submitted for partial reimbursement of the cost of the assessment. I guess, if there was ever a need, I could make a copy of the report for other healthcare providers but, so far, they believe me when I tell them.

I do sort of wish there was a little Aspie ID card, though. The 12-page report is more information than I would want to show most people, but an Aspie ID card could be an interesting conversation piece!

I was 13

Commonly I believe they are diagnosed as children, probably brought in for examination by parents for "bad" or "weird" behavior. When a child is diagnosed with autism, parents often are tested too and many are caught that way that weren't diagnosed in childhood.

I tried speaking to a psychiatrist about it once, but I was kind of hesitant and didn't advocate much for it. I was prescribed with meds for social anxiety, even though I said that my anxiety was mostly taken care of and that my anxiety was learned after bad experiences due to some other social difficulty. It felt like we talked for less than ten minutes before he rushed me out the door with a prescription. I didn't get the script filled. Do any of you have pointers for getting taken more seriously? I know something is "wrong" or different about me, even if it isn't actually ASD, but I present pretty normal to people.

I have very good insurance and live just outside of major metro area, so it was really more a matter of finding a clinician who had a lot of experience with diagnosing adults. It took a little time to find one, who was fortunately on-network, so I didn’t need a referral or preauthorization.

My primary medical provider at the Dept. of Veteran's Affairs referred me for evaluation after she found out that I have a central auditory processing diagnosis (which has symptoms in common with autism).

I have VA healthcare because I was in the military briefly. The VA developed a program to refer veterans for non-VA care (and pay for it) because wait times for VA health care are too long and VA healthcare facilities are too far away for some veterans. So that's how I got evaluated by an outside doctor.