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guzzle
Veteran
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08 Mar 2014, 5:11 pm

Can anyone read this and tell me if it is OK so far? Have no one around for a second opinion and really need one. It is only part of the letter but an important bit. Thanks


Dear V,
Allow me to write this in English. I find it a more versatile language for the purpose of expressing myself and it allows me to do a spell check.
You told me that the hardest part was yet to come and as per usual it has taken a while for the real impact to seep through to a level where I can make sense of it.

I am still waiting for the test results as you know. What you have sent me I so not consider the test results but more like your interpretation of those results.
What you consider your report I consider no more than a badly veiled case of plagiarism. You have done no more than paraphrased my own writings and that constitutes the bulk of the resulting report. Now if you expect me to fork out 350Euros for your 'work' I should point out to you that despite my average intelligence I still consider it an insult.
Hence me asking for the individual numerical test results and maybe my average intelligence might find them more constructive than your educated plagiarism.
I have no idea how much longer I will need to wait for them. I have informed myself and am aware that I am entitled to them. I have no intention of paying for anything other than the individual test result regarding ALL of the test you put me through during the course of the testing procedure.
I have learnt in life that justice is for those that can afford it. If this should come to court it might just be the straw that broke the camel's back as I am not in a position to afford a lawyer but will be damned if I pay for your report as it stands.

I can not even begin to point out your inadequacies in the report.
1) You state that I refused to be filmed. You fail to mention that I froze when I walked into the room that morning and saw the camera. You state: “Ze weigert zich te laten filmen” (she refuses for us to film her). So in my opinion that alone is a fundamental attribution error. That in turn on your part would then be considered self-serving bias but let me explain..
For reasons I have never understood the whys of, having my image immortalized in any form causes me to freeze. It is something I have learned to live with. I have no issues with the concept but looking at a lens is something that is just not me. So that morning I find myself in your office with a camera all set up ready to go. There was no warning at the previous appointment this would be the case so neither was I in a position to prepare myself mentally for what I was facing. You observed and noticed it was causing me severe discomfort and asked why. I had no answer beyond that the answer lies in in my beliefs. Since belief is not something that is rationally explainable I resigned to the fact I would never be able to explain to you why I was by that point on the verge of tears. Tears because yet again I found myself I a position where logic couldn't help me out. They were tears of frustration in my inability to justify my beliefs from a logical viewpoint.
You proceeded by suggesting that the testing could commence without the film footage as it seemingly was causing me a lot of stress. Of course I agreed, weight of my shoulders and the 'lens matter' can be mentally filed till the next confrontation. Had you insisted that the filming happened I might have suggested a break to compose myself but we will never know. What I do know is that. for you to state in the report that I “refused' to be filmed is a distortion of the truth. Not that you will ever admit it on paper. Enter self-serving bias.



Aspendos
Deinonychus
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08 Mar 2014, 7:51 pm

I assume this relates to your diagnostic assessment? It's not what you may want to hear, but ultimately every professional assessing someone for autism, but particularly those assessing adults, has to rely on that person's self-description, what they remember from their childhood, and so on, in addition to observations the assessor makes during the interviews and possibly tests. So, yes, you should get the results of any tests they did for the assessment, but no, you should not accuse them of plagiarizing your self-description in their report. Would you prefer they just made something up? 350 Euros seems reasonable for an assessment, by the way.

Do you know if the recipient of your letter speaks English? The quote in your draft is Dutch, I believe. So by answering in English you may only increase the confusion and frustration on both sides. That said, the point about not wanting to be filmed is valid, and they should clarify in the report why you did not want to be filmed.



guzzle
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Joined: 25 Sep 2013
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08 Mar 2014, 11:03 pm

Aspendos wrote:
I assume this relates to your diagnostic assessment? It's not what you may want to hear, but ultimately every professional assessing someone for autism, but particularly those assessing adults, has to rely on that person's self-description, what they remember from their childhood, and so on, in addition to observations the assessor makes during the interviews and possibly tests. So, yes, you should get the results of any tests they did for the assessment, but no, you should not accuse them of plagiarizing your self-description in their report. Would you prefer they just made something up? 350 Euros seems reasonable for an assessment, by the way.

Do you know if the recipient of your letter speaks English? The quote in your draft is Dutch, I believe. So by answering in English you may only increase the confusion and frustration on both sides. That said, the point about not wanting to be filmed is valid, and they should clarify in the report why you did not want to be filmed.


I wrote it all down some years back. More than anything it was a chronology. I had given it to the assessor in the hope it would prevent me from having to repeat the whole story once more. The plagiarism is in the fact there is no mention of the info having been supplied in written form by myself. The self-description mentions no individual instances, no emotions. Not one word was asked about my childhood beyond what I gave her in writing. When I later mentioned something her reply was as to why I didn't tell her at the time. I told her she never asked.
The recipient is a Dutch speaker indeed who did not have a problem with me addressing her in English before. I do speak and write Dutch. Maybe you do too? Here is the rest of the letter:
You also stated that “Ze kan geen Nederlands schrijven”. So for the purpose of proving my point how wrong you really are here I go. Belgisch Nederlands is een kaktaaltje waar ik me ontzettend aan kan ergeren. Er is een zogenaamde TaalUnie en behalve dat het wat academica in het werk houdt vraag ik me echt af wat het nut ervan is. Wanneer mijn dochtertje met haar Nederlandse vriendinnetje speelt is er zo veel spraakverwarring dat het gewoon makkelijker is om haar te verbieden tussentaal te spreken. Dus bij ons wordt er niet gekuist maar gepoetst. Een kleed ligt op the vloer en een tas is om boodschappen in te doen. Botten geef je aan de hond en alsjeblief zeg nooit tegen een Nederlandse kleuter dat ie op z'n poep moet gaan zitten. Poep is ontlasting en komt uit je kont.. Ik hoop dat dit voldoende is om u ervan te overtuigen dat er echt wel onwaarheden in uw verslag staan en om te verwachten van mij dat ik 350 Euro betaal voor een verslag dat mij omschrijft als iemand die geen Nederlands kan schrijven is toch echt wel belachelijk.

This is my real gripe. I do write Dutch. I answered the questions on the Dewey Story Test in English. Partly because I was fed up by then, it was the last test that day and partly because I could detect the English syntax within the stories. So beyond her jumping to conclusions that that must mean I don't write Dutch I have no idea where her statement originates.

I have no issues with the amount or even paying it. It's just that I really want the test results rather than a paraphrased copy of my own writings (3.5 A4 sides) and some vague interpretation of the actual tests (half an A4 side). Oh, and 15 whole lines of their conclusion.

Thanks for the feedback btw. This is really getting to me :roll: