Is it harder for a woman to get diagnosed?

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My husband is pushing me to get a diagnoses and I kind of want to get one too, that way people won’t be able to say I’m just making it up or I WANT there to be something wrong with me (why would someone want Asperger’s?). So what have other women on the spectrum done to get diagnosed? Did you talk it over with your family physician first and get a referral or go strait to a psychiatrists or psychologist? What do you do if they want to put you on medication and you don’t want to be medicated? Is there a website to look up psychiatrists or psychologists that are specialized with dealing with women on the spectrum?

They cannot forcefully medicate you. At least not in the US, unless you are a court proven danger to yourself and others, and the court is usually just concerned about the danger to others part, and only in very particular situations, which, as a law abiding citizen (I assume), you likely will not find yourself in.

To answer your initial question....probably. It has been the observation of myself, many in the psychiatric/psychological field, and other women with AS that yes, it is more difficult to get a diagnosis as a woman because women are adults (strike 1), women may present a little differently (strike 2) and women do not occupy the place in a clinicians mind in which AS is defined....a boy or man does (strike 3).

However if it is your husband who brings you in and works as your advocate, that may facilitate a more thorough review of your condition such that the idea that you might have AS, should you actually present with the approved criteria, might not be such an impossible one to exist in the clinician's mind.

Last edited by Chronos on 24 Jun 2011, 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

A few years ago, I brought it up with a male clinician who evidently had very little experience with AS. He told me that while I did present some symptoms or characteristics, it was "very unlikely" that I "actually" had AS because it's "so very rare in women." Looking back now I can laugh, but at the time I was 'so very' upset.

A bit later, just largely so as not to feel like a hypochodriac, I went to a psychologist experienced with adults with ASD for a full battery of tests and was accurately dx'd. Unfortunately, she does not work with insurance (or at least she did not at that time), so her patients pay out-of-pocket, but she seems to know what she's doing. She is down in my area, but if you have difficulty finding someone experienced in your region, I guess it could be worth a day trip. www.margaretkay.com

Good luck!

About eight years ago, I was picked up as being on the spectrum by a psychologist (who did not specialise in ASDs) during the course of therapy for GAD. I refused to believe that I was on the spectrum at the time (I had never even heard of Aspergers), largely because I was adamant that one day, I'd wake up and all the problems I had (and they were and are, quite considerable) would somehow have magically disappeared, and I'd be free to live a normal life. I therefore stopped seeing that psychologist.

It took another two years of thinking and struggling (including starting, then dropping out of college) before I began to concede that maybe I was on the spectrum. I made up my mind to go for testing with an ASD specialist. The first thing I did was to go to my GP for a referral. She told me that I could not have AS because I was in a relationship. I insisted that she provide a referral, but she didn't know of anyone, and said she would have to research it and get back to me. She never did. I waited months, and when my partner finally phoned the clinic, my GP had left and moved interstate.

Before I went to my new GP for a referral, I researched ASD specialists in my state, and had exchanges with some of them to ascertain whether they had experience in diagnosing Aspergers in an adult female. Once I found someone who had experience in this, I went to my new GP with that psychologists details, and asked for a referral to them. The GP (who had never even met me) initially baulked, telling me that Aspergers was 'the flavour of the month' and that half of the people living in my city thought they had it. I told him outrightly that I would prefer to take the word of someone who actually has expertise in the area (yes, not very diplomatic). He gave in, and wrote the referral to the psychologist, who was then able to do the appropriate testing and make the diagnosis.

My regular psychologist (not a specialist in ASDs) pointed it out last December. I was diagnosed with Aspergers in March by two psychologists who are qualified to diagnose. I was told by the the disability specialist (who is also a counsellor) that she is shocked it took them more than 20 years to find it when she thought it was obvious in the 10 minutes she was with. I also just finished having a more complete diagnostic evaluation this last week, and we shall see what the outcome of that will be next month. I think I have classic autism (due to discovering I had a language delay and regression). I will be shocked if the results come back negative, especially if I am told they are negative because I am female.

What makes you think you need medicating? Maybe your husband is just looking for an explanation\reasons why you're a little different......

I was given the top sekrit phone number of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge to call. I first spoke to SB-C and then to one of his colleagues. While they normally don't take self-referrals, the fact that I had the number and did the usual Socially Inept Asperger Comedy of Errors on the phone was enough to get a fast appointment to be assessed.

Although I am female and adult (or at least play one on the Internet) the clinical diagnosis was immediate and unequivocal.

I was diagnosed over a year ago and I still have yet to come to terms with being on the spectrum.

Last edited by DreamSofa on 03 Jul 2011, 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: It took me five years to get diagnosed for real, or 28 years if you look at it another way. Mostly because I am an adult female. Women with Autism and Asperger's present differently, and a large part of that is cultural expectation. There is infinitely more pressure on women to conform socially, so they are more likely to come up with coping strategies. They are also more likely to be actively given guidance on "how to act properly", whether they want it or not.
My advice is try to find someone who specializes in ASD. Although that's not always going to work out. I saw one woman who mainly worked with autistic kids. After several sessions, she said I had been "traumatized by experiences so as to enter a near-autistic state". WAT? Ha ha, that woman also thought that being raised by a single mother meant that I "had no stability" as a child, and that my mother was promiscuous! What an effed-up lady.
A second piece of advice: be persistent, and don't get discouraged by idiot psychologists and the like.