How to get diagnosed?

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Hi there! I just turned 40, and I'm pretty sure that I have Aspergers, but not totally sure. It would certainly explain certain things about my life. I'm wondering about the best way to get diagnosed? I live in the Los Angeles area but have no idea where to go (or how much it costs) to find out if I have this thing called Aspergers. That's such a scarry sounding name. I think we should change the name to "Jones Syndrome", that sounds so much better (and cooler...)

Thanks for any info you can provide...

Jeff

Hi,
For my diagnosis i went to see a psychiatrist, in the United Kingom that is free. It depends on where you are weather it is free or not, i think that it costs money in the United States, and i am not sure about other countries?

I would try to find a psychologist who specializes in AS, that would increase your chances of getting an accurate diagnosis, and it will probably be expensive as it should take several visits I would think. I'm 34 and will be tested next week myself. So good luck.

Thanks for the advice! Since I'm rather poor right now, I think I'll wait a while before I go to a psycologist Maybe I could just decribe a few of my symptoms here...

1. Since I was a child, I've been very sensitive to audio and visual stimulus, especially audio. Loud noises would cause me to go into a crying rage when I was little, and sudden loud noises still set me off, though I've gotten better at controling my reactions. I was also born with "Perfect Pitch" and amused my parents my parents at age three by lining up sea shells in order of pitch on the fireplace and playing "tunes". Visually, certain things can send me into extasy, like the desert for example, and I'm always interested in patterns, shapes, etc. In fact, looking out the window right now, I'm so much more interested and fascinated by the slight breeze blowing the leaves on the trees outside than the damn golf game that's on TV right now. I love going to the desert, exploring and looking for patterns, scenes, etc. which you can see in my photography at http://www.animalu.com/pics/photos.htm

2. I've always and still had a HUGE fasination with maps, aerial photos, satellite imagery, etc. I could look at and study cloud patterns for hours (if I only had the time...) Google Earth for me is like a dream come true. It's nonstop facination zooming in and moving to different locations. I simply can't get enough of it. Luckly I do have SOME self control

3. Eye contact is a big issue. I'm never more uncomfortable as I am when sitting around a table facing people and talking to them. I just want to get up and run away. The intensity of this feeling seems to vary and can be quite unpredictable. At times, depending on the person I'm with, it's tolerable, but at other times it's a downright crazy feeling. I simply need to get away from people at times. On one ocassion, I traveled to Japan for two weeks with a friend and his brother. I get along with them very well, but having them in the hotel room with me at night kept me totally awake. I had to REALLY train my mind to be able to relax, and after three almost sleepless nights, I finally found some peace. Travelling on the trains in Japan really helped as scenery moving by very quickly is for me the equivalent of getting a brain massage...

4. I've always felt very awkward in crowds and meeting people for the first time. I often feel as if I'm being stared at. Parties and bars can be torture, and I'm always thankful when the music is so loud that general conversation is impossible I tend to say silly things when meeting people for the first time, but luckly I'm good at making jokes about myself to soften the blow...

5. When I was smaller, I had very strange routines and habbits. Few found out or knew about them because I knew they were a little strange and I was able to control them when others were around. One such habbit was that if I was walking along and my arm brushed up against something, I felt that I had to do the same thing with the other arm. (Luckly if I acidentally brushed up against a person, I was smart enough to forget about the other arm...) But it went further than that. Once I brushed with the other arm, I felt I would need to reverse the process, to form a symetry, brushing with the second arm and then again with the first. Then of course the entire four brushes could be reversted, etc, and so on. Luckly, I grew out of this one, but there are times when I still do the first and second brush...

There's more, but I don't want to bore you! Any opinions?

Thanks so much,

Jeff

You sure sound like an aspie but be warned that many psychologists don't really diagnosis AS that much. This is mostly do to either reluctance or lack of knowledge

If you're employed your health insurance may cover most or all of the expense. I was diagnosed just before my 40th birthday. It took a little over 3 hours during 2 visits a week apart. I went to a private clinic that charged Cdn$150/hour, and my health insurance from work paid for 90% of it.

Thanks for the info and advice...I'm currenly a freelance artist, just getting ready to get health insurance again (after being laid of from my last full time gig) so I'll be sure to get a policy that can handle my Aspie diagnosis.

Thanks also for taking me in here, I'm feeling better already!

Jeff

This depends very much where you live. I'm in the position of strongly suspecting I am an Aspie but there are no resources locally that can confirm this. Doesn't seem at the moment that there are any mutual support groups locally either. We might have to start one ourselves!

Thats interesting because I'm flying out to LA today at 11:00 and will be staying there until the 18th. I'm in Washington DC right now.

When you are ready to get the diagnois, I'd seriously suggest you contact your local Autism Society and ask for a doctor who works with adults. Diagnoising children is much more common and adults don't present like children. You have had 40 years to learn coping skills. Unless the doctor figures that in, you're not likely to get a good dx.

You can find your chapter here.
http://www.autism-society.org/site/Page ... pterMap#CA

BeeBee

If you do not have insurance but are planning on purchasing it and you have not been diagnosed with any PDDs in the past, I would not mention it to the insurance company at all. By asking pointed questions, they may be able to deny you or say that it is a pre-existing condition and as such, deny you coverage. You can request to see a sample contract and look at the mental health coverage. That will raise less red flags to the insurance company.

Thanks again for the great adivce. It's true, I've had 40 years to learn to cover up my aspie traits, and I suppose I'm so good at covering up certain things, they might not even factor into the diagnosis. When I do go to get diagnosed, I'll have to try to let it all hang out I guess. And yes I probably would have asked if aspie was covered by insurance, so thanks for the advice about not asking up front...

Jeff