How can i know 100% before i get an official diagnosis?

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This thread has me thinking of a woman who thinks she's autistic because her mother and sister told her they think she's autistic. When she's asked why she thinks she's autistic, she's not autonomous with her response. Instead, it's "My mother thinks..."

She told me this in person when I asked. And when asked on an autism social group site if she had a diagnosis, she filled it in with, "My mother and sister think..."

A true autistic person, based on my correspondence with them plus reading reams of thread posts, can answer autonomously, and in fact, quite in-depth, almost like a little dissertation.

That this woman can't even say, "I'm pretty sure I'm autistic because all my life I've (fill in the blank)," or, "I've never been able to (fill in the blank)," or, "I copy peoples' behavior to fit in," or, "I've been rocking and spinning in circles for as long as I remember because it calms me, and I have difficulty with eye contact," etc., you get the picture. She's at a loss for words when asked. I asked out of genuine interest BEFORE I knew she was a fake.

When I asked again, she said, "Welllll, there's this guy I'm afraid to ask out..."

Really??? THIS is suspicious for autism??? Then if so, half the women in the U.S. might be autistic!

If you ask an undiagnosed autistic why they think they're on the spectrum, they WILL NOT BE AT A LOSS FOR WORDS and will give you an itemized checklist -- unless they have verbal difficulties. This woman, trust me, can talk a mile a minute.

This woman has an obvious intellectual disability, and I'm betting that her mother and sister--like MOST neurotypicals--don't know as much about autism traits as they think.

This whole thing with her bothers me because she's obnoxious and entitled, and she just signed up with the social group I'm in!! F--- I think these social groups should require a formal diagnosis. Though they're pricey, many times they can be covered. Medicaid covers them!! !

Elgee,

Has that woman researched Autism?

Autistics reportedly tend to be very literal and like to be precise. If she has never researched Autism on her own then her answer could be exactly correct. It could be the only reason why she thought she was Autistic and the Autism causes her to give that precise answer. (Also, it would seem that if she is Autistic then Autism must not be one of her special interests...otherwise she'd have a longer answer.)

I'm not assessing whether or not she is Autistic. I'm just speculating that there might be a scenario where she was Autistic but not interested in Autism so her response is correct and complete. (Or her Mom and sister might be wrong!)

I once gave a very literal answer to a doctor and it caused difficulty. He asked "Why do you think you're Autistic?" I started describing the Autistic traits I exhibited and he broke-off the discussion and dismissed the idea. It was weeks before it dawned on me that his intended question was "Why should *I* think you're Autistic?" My answer to that would've been "A licensed Psychologist gave me that diagnosis after doing an Adult Autism Assessment."

I can't thank you and everyone else for taking time to help me...so tell me this...if I played for an "Evaluation" and the Dr said he firmly believes I'm on the spectrum but doesn't report it because he was not doing a full diagnostic assessment, I should take that as valid too, correct?? And oh boy, I'm gonna reaserch and check with my medical. Its state medical so I'm not sure but I'll definitely try. Scored high on quotient as well.

The thing I learnt after a long while after getting an autism diagnosis is that the diagnosis will do absolutely nothing for me. I was really weird about calling myself autistic and thought that a diagnosis was the only way to go forward with that, but basically diagnosis’s; just as ones for transgender people etc are… just really unescesary. People should be able to identify themselves how they want. If they miss out because of one rule or something, who are they to say they know you better than you do? I think transgender diagnosis’s and things like this just end up being a massive waste of taxpayers money. People should be able to describe themselves as what they want.

Last edited by holymackerel on 30 Aug 2022, 2:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Here's my results of Aspie quiz
http://www.rdos.net/eng/poly10a.php?p1= ... =61&p10=90

When I got my Adult Autism Assessment the psychologist only reported the diagnosis to me and my bride...and later the written and more detailed report showed up in the mail—addressed to me. To my knowledge she told no one else. I personally paid for the assessment and later submitted a claim to my insurance...they never asked me for the diagnosis, they just needed to see the bill (and they would've already had a copy of the referral they sent me on file).

However, I had the assessment done at a practice that only had a few psychologists which was not affiliated with the hospital where I get most of my medical care. I suppose if I had the assessment done at the hospital the diagnosis would've ended up in my medical records. I am idle/retired so I have not requested accommodations at work or at a school, I don't know what documentation that would require.

There are specific processes they are supposed to follow when they do an assessment (e.g., applicable parts of ADOS). I guess if you want to be sure you could verify they are licensed psychologists (there is probably a state web page where you can check that) and ask the psychologist what process they use and how they report any diagnosis, and...depending upon the diagnosis...whether you would get documentation suitable for official uses.

Personally, I got the assessment out of curiosity. My bride and I had concluded I was probably Autistic but my symptoms were mild enough we couldn't be sure. The greatest benefit has been the great relief at finally understanding all of the frustrations I'd muddled through my whole life. Frankly, I was so pleased by the diagnosis I almost didn't bother to submit a claim to my insurance!

The only accommodation I've been seeking is asking my various medical providers (I'm old) to give me stuff in writing. Before I got the Autism diagnosis I asked for stuff in writing and seldom got it. Now I can tell them that putting stuff in writing would be very helpful because I've been diagnosed as having an Autism Spectrum Disorder. I still seldom get stuff in writing.

Oh...there are two clear benefits from my diagnosis:

<=>1. Wrong Planet!

<=>2. Whenever my bride bumps up against one of my Autism traits I can say:

<=>=+=+=+>"I have a doctor's note for that!"

<=>2.=I enjoy doing that! She, however, was tired of hearing it before we left the psychologist's office.