Did you decide not to get evaluated?

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Hello.

I made this post to talk with people who have received a comment from someone they know saying that they could be autistic, or who have suspected themselves that they could be, but decided not to go through a psychological evaluation process or any kind.

I would like to know your reasons and chat with you too.


P.S. My native language is Spanish.

I didn't really get a chance to decide. My shrink told me I was. I was being treated for what I knew was depression and PTSD, but he figured out the Asperger thing back in 1996. I'm the same age as John Elder Robison, and was dignosed improbably in the same year, a time when adults on the spectrum weren't likely to be diagnosed as being properly. Just like Robison's diagnosis was a fluke, so was mine. I finally decided to seek some help. I didn't have insurance, so I did a walk in screening at a local mental hospital. They set me up with a program that was training medical residents. The doctor I had was on a path to be a child psychiatrist, but was working with all sorts of patients as part of his residency. Because of his background in child psych, he eventually picked up on it. He diagnosed me at first as having social phobia, which I knew was BS, but there was certain aspects to my personality that to his seemed like social phobia. He realized after consulting with his peers that I was Asperger. Remember, this was the year where the medical professionals in the US were first learning about it. With the social phobia out of the way, he agreed that I did have PTSD.

Sometimes it might be a good idea to not make it official.

This is one of those times where you can have your cake and eat it too. You can get evaluated, but choose to disclose to everyone, to nobody at all, or to a chosen few people. I don't disclose to that many people.

I haven't been evaluated. I was living in Canada for a while, where healthcare is much cheaper, and I was diagnosed with ADHD. I asked the doctor if she thought I also had Aspergers, and she said that in Canada, the government healthcare system doesn't do adult diagnosis. Now I'm in the USA, and the place near me that does assessment wants to charge around $4000.

I don't think it's worth it to pay that much for something I basically already know. I don't think that psychology is a very developed field, so their official stamp doesn't mean that much to me. I'm positive on all of the tests that people use for screening, so I already have my answer for free.

An assessment would have cost around $1500 when I first joined this group.

There are several good online tests available. They are not perfect but in general provide a good assessment. And they are FREE.

No, I decided to get evaluated.

I'm not sure that a professional evaluation would have picked up that my socialization issues are largely due to being transgender! When I first joined this group it was common for me to "male fail." I'd walk up to an ice cream stand wearing a tee shirt and shorts and they'd think I was a woman! Then there were those who couldn't figure me out and I could see the wheels turning in their head!

It seems obvious now that I fell into the "uncanny valley" between male and female. But I had no idea ten years ago that this was affecting my social skills!

Anyway, I now present as female and socializing is very easy now!

Initially I did not want to make it official, but then I decided to go through with it.

It's worth noting that there's a bit of privilege both ways. If you've already got a bunch of hardcore diagnoses you may not have a viable option to not get evaluated. And if you do get evaluated, there's a bit of privilege in terms of having access to the necessary care.

I'm personally curious about the folks that choose not to get evaluated, are those folks really able to manage to get to adulthood without a ton of crap diagnoses and need for accomodation?

I moved across the country to a new job and lived by myself in a 1bedroom apartment for ten years.

Although I am not autistic, I know that I have certain social difficulties, but I have been able to live my life up to this day. Here on this website, they shared two online tests with me and it turns out that I am NT; however, in the hypothetical case that the opposite result came out, if in the general balance I have been able to live my life satisfactorily and with my own tools and coping strategies (and I also do not like to feel under a label), I think I have a reason there not to go through an evaluation that makes an official diagnosis.

I have found that it doesn’t help do disclose my diagnosis to some people, as they think I’m full of bullsh!t, which is when the abuse begins. Thee only place that isn’t affected by my diagnosis is the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. I’ve disclosed to the previous pastor, who, with his wife, I found out we went to the same university (I graduated from there in 1980. With a BA in Music History, He graduated in 1981 with a BS in Computer Science, and she graduated the same year with a BS in Business Administration. They didn’t meet until they went to work for IBM. Last I heard of them, they moved to Arizona to be close to their eldest daughter and their grandchildren.

I got a professional evaluation by a specialist. Fortunately, I could afford it and lucked into a good referral. I'm middle-aged and high-functioning so I didn't need the diagnosis for accommodations. I simply wanted to finally, definitively define why I am the way I am. I also wanted to be able to talk about my experiences with the credibility of a formal diagnosis. The internet has unfortunately seriously impacted the ability of undiagnosed people to be taken seriously.

I diagnosed myself first. After studying ASD and ADHD enough I was able to articulate and organize my relevant symptoms into a multipage. This really helped the professional diagnosis.

Bienvenidos a Planeta Equivacado!

I was diagnosed with AS when I was 13. I didn't know what the specialist who was working with me
was talking about, but over the course of time, I have accepted being on the spectrum
as part of my human essence.