Another hi from Australia

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---- Just realised I put this in the wrong forum. Sorry!


Hi there,

Just found this forum. I'm in my mid-twenties, and I'm an indigenous guy from Western Australia.

I've suspected I've not been 'normal' for probably the last 5 or so years, and have been on and off trying to identify what makes me that way. My greatest fear is feeling like a hypochondriac, but I think I've read enough now to reasonably suspect that I have Aspergers or something along those lines in the ASD. It seems complicated in my case, as I'm also emotionally quite volatile, which is sometimes at odds with what I've read.

After discussing this with my mum for the first time yesterday, she told me she's always known deep down that there was something abnormal with me since I was a baby, shes just always been afraid to tell me such a sensitive thing. This was a revelation and I found it deeply liberating, as all my life I felt like I've been wrestling, struggling, to live a 'normal' life.

I've have a full time job for the last 8 years, but it hasn't been easy at times and I've had to really push myself or be pushed to keep at it. I've suffered from episodes of depression for age 8 until now.

Now that I think I've finally nailed what it is that makes me, me, I'm going to ask my GP for advice on getting a referral to a specialist, but I'd appreciate some guidance on what my next steps should be.


Thanks for reading

Hello and welcome. I'm in Perth metro. Are you in Perth metro area? I think you first need to get a list of ASD-experienced psychologists/psychiatrists. Otherwise you'll waste your time and money. I was referred by my GP to any psychiatrist and that was a big mistake.

[Moved from General Autism Discussion to Getting to know each other]

Welcome to Wrong Planet. By indigenous you mean aborigine? Cool!

Thanks Cornflake, sorry about that!

I'm in regional WA jk1, so will probably need to come to Perth if I get a referral. Would you be able to tell me how to go about finding a list? I want to make sure I'm getting assessed by the right people!

Yes that's right redrobin, probably a pretty small demographic here!

I'll just describe here what I did.

I first found an Asperger support organization (which happens to be based in QLD) on the net and contacted and asked them to send to my email address a list of Perth metro psychologists/psychiatrists who are experienced with diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome. This organization's web address is www.asperger.asn.au. There were about four on the list that was sent to me, all of whom were psychologists. You might as well ask if there are any psychologist/psychiatrist in your area, too.

I just picked one psychology clinic from the list (and first called them to enquire about their experience, cost etc) and asked my GP to refer me to that psychology clinic. If you want about half of your cost for the diagnosis to be covered by Medicare, you need to be on "mental health care plan" or something as well as having the referral. So you should ask your GP to put you on that. If you happen to see a psychiatrist, part of your cost will automatically be covered by Medicare as long as you just have a referral.

Then I made an appointment with one of the clinical psychologists in that psychology clinic. I specifically stated my purpose for the appointment (AS/ASD diagnosis) when I made this appointment. They are fairly busy. So you might not get an appointment immediately (maybe a few weeks to a few months wait).

I prepared an honest list of symptoms/traits that I thought might be relevant to the diagnosis. It made the diagnosis process efficient and also ensured that I didn't miss anything out. I think your parents may also need to be interviewed so that the psychologist can have a good idea of your childhood behavior. In my case, my parents were not interviewed because I'm an immigrant and I don't have my family here.

I had four sessions and got the diagnosis.

I hope what I have written here makes sense.

Welcome to the autism family, I hope you get your diagnosis without too much hassle

Thanks jk1 and Jakeday.

I've made an appointment with my GP for next week, and have enquired with our workplace EAP if there is anything they can do to assist. First steps and all that!

Will just have to wait and see now

Hi, DioMac. Always good to see Aussies on this forum.

I hope the process of getting a diagnosis goes well for you. I got my diagnosis last year. With the help of my GP, I found a clinical psychologist in my area specialising in ASD (including adult diagnosis) + a couple of co-morbid conditions that I'd already been diagnosed with (depression, social anxiety), and my GP gave me a referral. Because I had clinical depression at the time I was also put on a mental health care plan, which took care of most of the psychologist's fees – although I still ended up having to pay a gap fee of $30 per session, which was easy enough for me.

I went through about 3 or 4 sessions for the diagnosis. My psychologist conducted separate, in-depth interviews with my family and me, particularly focusing on my childhood development; she also looked at an earlier psychological profile, and I was given an IQ test by another psychologist (these aren't always done). It's good that you've read up on ASD; my psychologist strongly recommended it before I was formally assessed. There is a slight problem with overdiagnosis that the latest criteria are designed to address, so make sure your answers to any questions are honest.

Despite previous misgivings, it was quite a relief once I was diagnosed (Aspergers). For one thing, it led me to this site and I finally met people who were actually like me. In any case, I hope things go well for you, and I hope you're able to relate to different people on this forum. Cheers.

DioMac, thank you for sharing your story. Welcome to WrongPlanet!

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Katniss :heart:

I'm seeking friends to play games with on YIM, and maybe chat if we're comfortable. If not, that's ok too!
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Welcome from Brisbane

I haven't had my diagnoses either, but having one soon. Kinda worried about the comment that just any psychiatrist might be bad...may have to look in to that.

Hope you find what you're looking for here.

Welcome!! !