The Diagnostic Path Starts for me today

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I think it could very a lot depending on your income & where you go to have it done. Some places mite be willing to accommodate. A medical college, a charity thing or a state program mite would be able to help. I had mine done privately & I had health insurance but it never covered anything mental related. I discussed cost concerns when I was scheduling the test & they said they would charge me a certain amount but after it was done they sent me a bill for the full amount. We argued a bit & they reduced it some but still charged me a lot more than they said they would. I think I had to pay close to five thousand total. That was about six years ago

Yes, you might be able to find a university or teaching hospital that might be accepting cases on either a sliding scale, or free of charge, you just need to accept that the examiners are learning, and it may take longer to get a Diagnosis than if you went to a private practitioner. However, the cost is (normally) minimal....so..........

So, the formal testing review and probable diagnostic outcome is in 2.5 hours. I shall report back with findings and such.

Oddly enough, I am not excited or anything, sort of meh and full of apathy about this.

Time will tell.

It'll be interesting that's for sure.

Middle son did incredibly well on that block thing. She said she'd never seen anything like it. He just put them all into the right patterns as fast as his fingers could move without hesitation or even appearing to be making an effort. He got them all correct. He's an Aspie, so I guess that must be pretty rare. I think I remember finding that one confusing.

My kids tend to do well on the visual spatial reasoning thingy. It's the cognitive speed that seems to be the area of weakness for my two Aspies. Middle son still did the block thingy ultra fast even though his cognitive speed is relatively low compared to other subsets.

Can't wait to hear your details.

Hoo boy! Just checked the date and today's the day you get the results. I got done with my testing in April. Good to know that the testing seems like standard stuff. I too am interested to hear your results. Thanks for sharing with us.

Short Version of Events:

Doctor states I have Aspie traits that were it not being depreciated in the DSM-V would put me just inside the Aspie Bubble.

However, There are additional extenuating factors that also discount that somewhat.

Because I am married and shared tender moments with my wife, that is a small mark against AS.

Because I had Several bouts with Scarlet fever, as well as a few concussions, a case can be made for frontal lobe damage which can be reflected in AS like-symptoms, as well as Executive Dysfunction Disorder.

I am headed out to dinner now, will share more once I have an opportunity to sit down and process the report.

It sounds like you've got some answers.

My Aspie kids are very affectionate and we have very tender parent/child feelings. They are even cuddly. I don't think being affectionate with your loved ones should rule out AS.

If you've got AS symptoms and behavior but non genetic factors (scarlet fever, concussion) might have contributed, I don't see how that's any different than AS except if you're trying to figure out the odds of you spawning Aspie kids. If it quacks like a duck.....

my aspie nephew can be quite cuddly with his little sister. when he was younger he would often sleep in the same bed with her.

here are some aspie siblings being really sweet with each other:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0hLBDQngHo[/youtube]



agreed .. i think anyone who self-diagnoses and really identifies with Asperger's, if testing is then inconclusive, should consider that maybe even if they're sub-clinical, they've found the right toolbox anyhow. Ultimately what matters - and the only reason for diagnosis - is understanding oneself.

we're all people inside, not robots, no matter the diagnostic criteria. I read that something like 65% of the people on the spectrum are diagnosed PDD-NOS which makes me think there's something amiss in the diagnostic process anyway, if so few people fit neatly into the Kanner's or Asperger's box.

They are really cute! Such good looking kids and so sweet with each other. Mine have their moments. They fight and pick on each other, but they also do a lot of really cute stuff. The 13yo and 9yo were looking at a website with funny pictures (LOL Cats) and you could hear peals of laughter all through the house, it was really sweet. The 11yo was in with me making me oragami to cheer me up because I've been really off the last few days and he's worried about me (I am too, this isn't like me).

They have trouble in crowds and with strangers and stuff, and don't always connect easily to NEW people, but within the family and with close friends they are very outgoing. At church when we pass the peace they all run off in different directions to check on certain people. If their friends aren't there they will quiz me as if I did something to them. The two people they absolutely always check on are both older English Ladies, one of whom is fairly elderly and the other is their godmother. They are also very concerned about their cats and want to check up on all the latest feline news. Church is kind of crowded but it's such a familiar setting with so few strange faces they are very comfortable. They do not like going up for prayers when it's their birthday, but the Priest knows and kind of sidles over, so they don't have to go all the way up front and slips them in discreetly which they like. We had them baptised on a Saturday instead of during a regular service so it wasn't so crowded and then had a nice little tea with family and their special friends. Their not anti social by any means, they just have to work a little harder at it.

Sorry OP, your Drs comments have offended my motherly pride in my adorable children.

Social delays don't mean you can never ever be social at all, for crying out loud!

I did that one, too - and I didn't get the last one. It was very different from all the preceding ones. And just today I got a call from my therapist for an appointment to discuss "what they found".

I think it's odd that because you've shared tender moments with your wife that that is a strike against AS. People with AS still have feelings, they just...I dunno....are confusing!

I'm not surprised thay having tender moments is a strike against AS, It is a very common misconception that Aspies are not affectionate. I think the reality is that some(or maybe even lots myself is included here) of Aspies have a desire for affection & stuff but they have a very hard time being close to people because of the AS so therefor they appear not to want it. Also some Aspies(including me again) wer bullied or abused sot hey have issues with being touched(think Post Traumatic Stress). Some(or lots) of so-called experts in diagnosing AS had a lot of medical training wer taught a standard pattern to look for & it may not take into account each person's individual experiences. Some of those docs may not of gotten close enough to many Apsies to know about some of there more hidden traits/characteristics. I'm not sure if this makes sense

I know all too well what you are speaking about.

I like hugs, but hate being touched by strangers.

Love massages, both giving and getting, but it takes an enourmous amount of willpower to relax enough to enjoy the getting part.

I have a bit of a checkered past when it comes to human contact. My mother was quite mentally ill....and I endure many unkind things from her. The least of which left a 4 inch or so scar across my forearm where she sliced it open with a piece of glass to get the spider egs out she "knew" were in there.....so......

It takes a lot of effort on my part to even begin to fit in with people in society at large, add to that my other tendencies, such as the need to learn nearly everything I can about a topic, my utter distain for things like sunlight, some textures, sounds, scents....and my vulnerability to overload when exposed to them....and that is why he (the doctor) placed me on the as "bubble" but just could not push me all the way in since the frontal lobe damage is "more accepted"

Sorry, but to me it sounds like the doctor has a preconceived notion of what asperger's is and that because you have done or experienced certain things that you could not possibly have it. And when he says it's "more accepted", I would take that as saying it's more acceptable to him because he already have a preconceived notion of what/how a person with asperger's should be. While totally ignoring evidence from the testing and getting hung up on one or two details just doesn't make sense to me. Everywhere I read it's called a spectrum disorder meaning you will have some but not ALL traits.

Depending on the age of this doctor I would question on whether or not he has become jaded in diagnosing things. I know that's what can happen when professionals can get older...they get stuck into certain ways of thinking and anything outside that is conveniently disregarded to make their job/life easier. Unless of course the doctor is a specialist and deals with autism on a frequent basis then I'd lean towards what he says. But to put you in the "bubble" because of affection...I dunno. Something doesn't feel right to me.

It's like my general practitioner after I told him we discovered the Asperger's through testing. He said that it was ok and that people with Asperger's can still work just they have to work twice as hard. I wanted to smack him! Not realizing that was the problem in the first place and how I ended up at rock bottom. It's not a matter of working TWICE as hard it's a matter of working alongside the aspeger's.

I have to agree with Nick007 which you seem to as well. (Can I swing the gavel? lol)

Well, being married, as a male with AS, is a very, very remote possibility. The study they based the DSM-IV-TR on had a 1% marriage rate for those with AS [from their sample]. Those who are, are the highest functioning in most cases (Lorna Wing; the lady who defined what AS is today states such).

there are plenty of diagnosed married people here. a lot of adults discover their AS when their kids are diagnosed.

i read enough diagnostic horror stories that i wrote directly to Tony Attwood for a referral to someone in the US who specializes in diagnosing women. i won't waste my time with someone who doesn't really know what they're looking for.

I would like the point out that in order to be considered to have AS or anything on the spectrum; it has to be something that the person was born with & the symptoms issues, or problems could not be caused by something that happened to the person; in Darksideblues's case it would have to be proven that the fervor & concussions are not the cause. I'm basing this info on things I was told by specialist & by social services & programs here like the Office for Citizens With Developmental Disabilities witch AS falls under that category. Least that's how it is in the US.

BTW that was a real cute vid katzefrau. I only skimmed true it thou. I wish I could find a girl like her. she seemed very sweet