getting a daignosis w/o health insurance in US?

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I'm asking since I have pretty much no experience in this issue. I was in never "in the system" and don't know the intricacies of the autistic resources world and have bad understanding of the healthcare system in general. My mother is actually a doctor, but she has told me point blank "you do not have any aspergers". She acknowledges all the problems I have had that I believe are AS in origin, but doesn't agree that they are AS, just a combination of personality traits and random coincidences ( " Your dad was a picky eater when he was a kid. Your cousin was a picky eater. You wanna decide say their're autistic too?" ). So, I don't think she is going to help me with this.


Has anyone else here had this situation? I'm afraid to go to any random doctor that is available for free/low cost at autistic resource centers because I am afraid they are going to look at me and analyst based on the behaviors, speech patterns, lifestyle and personal image of AS individuals who have been diagnosed since childhood and say " uh, no, the clients I have be THRILLED if their children were anything like you".


Edit: Just realized I meant to post this in general. Is there any way to move it?

You might be able to find clinics in your community which offering a "sliding-scale" fee based on what you can afford. Unfortunately, the tools for diagnosing autism are costly, so be prepared to pay a certain portion of the whole bill.

That must be so frustrating! I'm not diagnosed yet, but I think my mouth and judgement may have cost me jobs, so I'm trying to figure this out too. I've read that testing for adults isn't usually covered by insurance... the idea being that if we've made it this far we know how to get by. I hope they're wrong! Anyway, if you have a therapist s/he might have suggestions. And about your mother, if she's not familiar with the spectrum it's hard for her not to see her child as anything but "perfect." My dad's the same way (though he could be aspie too!) My mother believes me because I 've always been "off". Best of luck and keep us posted!

Are you eligible for Medicaid?

Why do you want a diagnosis on a piece of paper? I think that is a valid question. There are lots of threads on WP detailing some of the pros and cons of being officially diagnosed so I won't go into a lengthy discourse on it.

But, for myself, I have survived a lot of years without a paper diagnosis and now do not want one. It would be a lot of dr visits, tests, and runaround and I know where my issues and weaknesses are. I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder so if I need the help of a therapist, I have it available. My therapist is knowledgeable about aspergers and works with my needs. She and I have both agreed that it is not worth the trouble of running all the official tests.

I understand why some people want one, for their own peace of mind, for work purposes, or such like. But I think, before you move heaven and earth to get a diagnosis, a fair question is what benefit it would be to you. It will likely be expensive if you do not have health insurance. If you are totally unable to work and qualify for Medicaid, it may be paid for. I don't know your situation.

I don't want a diagnosis following me on an official record. Autistic people are discriminated against, not officially, but unofficially in many arenas. I sometimes wish my child didn't have a diagnosis on paper but at the time it seemed like a wise thing to do. It has benefited him in some ways, and hopefully will not interfere with him doing what he wants to do in life when he reaches adulthood.

Hopefully the discrimination issue will change at some time in the future; but till then, I would advise you to carefully weigh the pros and cons of having an official diagnosis follow you.

Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

Hello, welcome to here

Hey, we're in the same boat. I hope you brought an oar because I didn't.

But seriously.

I'm 52 and have the same problem.

I would like support or to find support groups. I'm attempting to reenter college and a diagnosis might at least facilitate understanding from professors. Last time I was in school my "issues" caused all sorts of problems (with test taking, difficulty reading in a public place due to very sensitive hearing, etc.).

Mostly however, I would also find diagnosis helpful with family. Specifically a sister in law that is convinced that I am "mentally ill" despite the overwhelming evidence that I am more likely afflicted with Aspergers Autism or NVLD.

The latter is Non Verbal Learning Disorder and it manifests like Autism. I have "aphantasia", a lack of "minds eye" and my visual thinking/visual memory is 'static' at best but more often complete darkness. What visual memory I do get right appears to be because I may be processing visual sense input through my tactile/'feel' sense, in a type of synesthesia.

In short, there is hard evidence for an NVLD diagnosis yet that hasn't stopped my family member(s) treating me like I'm insane.

I'd love to see more responses as I'm sure we're not the only ones with this problem. However, this is likely an oft discussed topic here and I'll bet that there are posts in the site's archives that might help.