Do most therapists really not understand AS?

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I know what you mean. I rigidly follow rules of hygiene when I know that I have to deal with people, because I don't want to offend them. When I don't expect to need to do this, I can get very careless. Taking care of myself is a ritual that I do, part of my script for social interaction. I have very little desire to do it for its own sake.



Yes. The DSM clearly talks about difficulties. It says that you need to have a certain number of difficulties in various areas. It does not say that you can't do things. It does not say that you have to have all of the possible symptoms. It does not say that the lack of a particular symptom automatically disqualifies you from a diagnosis. I really wonder if some of the so-called professionals even bother to read the diagnostic requirements. Their rules just seem so arbitrary.

The way that I see it, pre-2000 psychology is like trying to do medicine without a microscope. You can see the symptoms, but you are limited in the progress that you can make, because you can't see the disease organisms. Post-2000 psychology is like medicine with the first, crude microscopes. Science is just at the point where they can actually start seeing the real causes, but there is still so much of the basic functioning of the brain that is not understood.

I selected a therapist that was an expert in Asperger's. The sessions I had with him I felt like he was more of a friend than a therapist. He listened to everything I said. He wanted to meet my family (my wife and two sons). We had valuable sessions together, and we all learned from the experience. He never put any pressure on me. He worked with me as long as he felt I needed it, and then one Saturday morning he said that unless I felt I needed it, I required no further sessions to deal with the issues I wanted worked on.

He seemed to have a very insightful grasp on Asperger's. He appeared to know the way most of us think---although unless you have Asperger's it is hard to know how we think. But he did seem to have insight. So, I will give my therapist as being a wonderful professional who made me feel better.

Obviously, if you don't commit suicide, you're not really autistic.

Thank goodness somebody had an excellent experience! Thank you for sharing that glider18. I hope there's a million more like your therapist!!

psychiatrists cannot psycho analyse people with AS, because they are neuro typical and aspies are Autistic typical (atypical), so what chance does a therapist have, none is the answer. Wipe your bum on their knee and say hows that for autistic behaviour!

While that may true of most therapists, my experience with my therapist was positive---and he did understand me and my Asperger's. So I can say there are a few therapists that do have a good understanding of Asperger's.

That's good to hear. I'm glad that there are some good therapists out there.

I have to say, that overall, my therapist has been pretty good for me, in dealing with the secondary issues which were the consequence of AS. His weakness has been in dealing with AS directly. His view is that people are all a bit different to begin with; beyond this, we learn some dysfunctional ways of thinking. He doesn't fall into the trap of thinking that everything is due to the wrong way of thinking.

The interaction is like an interaction of multiplying positive numbers and negative numbers. any two of the same and you get a positive.. any crossover and you get a negative.

I'm not sure how any therapist gets a handle on what Asperger's really does to people's lives - not just non-existence in the social world but ignorance of the condition and of what's really going on out there can really twist the lines between feeling and action.

I think a NT therapist could understand and learn to properly identify and treat AS patients with patience, time and experience. The therapist would really have to use the textbook symptomatic behavior as a guideline to see how behaviors are manifesting in the unique ways relevant to each individual patient and gain the experience of having many AS patients who will all manifest symptomatic behavior in their own unique ways. The NT therapist will need to have that Big Picture view of the condition and have the investigative skills to navigate the patient's individual personality to see if the diagnosis fits.

For example: I've already mentioned that Manny Misdiagnosis told me that I'm not cold and emotionally distant to my spouse and children; therefore, I do not fit the diagnosis of AS. But Manny Misdiagnosis failed to apply the information, despite repeating my words back to me at one point during the session, that I had described my mother as "defensive, violent, paranoid, sharp, vindictive, cold, and uncaring." Could he have pulled that information into this inconsistency and asked me more questions about why I parent my children the way that I do? Do you feel disconnected from your children? Why do you think it is easy to feel the way that you do about your husband and kids? These are key questions. He could have solved this mystery by himself. Manny Misdiagnosis tried to pin so much symptomatic behavior on my experiences in my first marriage, which was abusive, despite that I told him I had experienced these behaviors since childhood, for as long as I can remember. Yet, despite his ability to understand the possibility of a change in behavior from trauma, he did not see that I willfully parent my children with connection, love and affection because I was traumatized by my mother. And I sat there and said nothing, because I know the worst thing a patient can do for themselves is start telling the therapist how to do his job.

But there was a way that he could have done it. I believe a therapist, NT or not, could have pieced together the puzzle if they had the professional experience to have the tools and know how to use them.

My son and I have a great neuro-typical psychologist who really understands Aspergers.
I have however come across a lot of ignorance among other professionals in regards to AS and it is very frustrating.
Love the comment re: hygiene!! !!
I have a friend whose daughter is 15 with an eating disorder - father is clearly AS - undiagnosed. I suggested that they ask the psychiatrist working with the young girl if she could have AS; the psychiatrist immediately went to "yes, she does seem to lack empathy".
Experiences with resource teachers, nurses, social workers - all who think they "know" AS but who believe a "stereotype" have bothered me in the past couple of months.

well i have had two seperate therapists in my recent years, one who myself and my family were/are patients of for over 20 years at various times, so i trust him and his viewpoints of diagnosing me (mild aspergers) and my father at age 57 (severe aspergers). i had to switch therapists and my current therapist is more on the fence (mentioning on occasion certain traits/behaviors/comments of mine). my first therapist and his co-therapists specialize in autism and my current one says he is aware of autism (but not overly specialized). i think it also comes down to the therapists own personal philosophy/viewpoint as well their own therapy methods/goals/procedures, etc. also i think if a therapist seems to come across as a person who understands your views/actions/behaviors and then tries to give you advice/other insight/interpretation and even include a practical action plan for whatever it is that is the root problems/situations/etc. and also not all therapists are exactly the best at their job as some can even treat it as just a job which just causes us and their other patients frustration and is a disservice to the true professional/insightful/powerful/meaningful idea of what therapy is all about. the only thing that pisses me off every once in awhile is that im paying this person a couple bucks for them to listen to me about my problems, none of which they would truly give a s**t about if i wasnt paying about, so i take therapy for what it is hoping that the therapist is about as knowledgeble/personable/adviceable/moral/ethical and truly sound in their therapy background.

and jesus if the hygiene thing is a sign of autism that a lot of your therapists are pining on, i would say that i must meet a least 1 or 2 smelly individuals everyday when im work and that does not include just customers. but thats beside the point and those therapists are seriously missing the f*****g points about autism you know as a SPECTRUM. so yes some are probably totally clueless about autism while others are very well educated about it. it is what it is.

Have you noticed all of his misdiagnosises are conditions treated by a host of drugs. I read an article that stated that psychiatrists are getting paid extra by insurance companies to diagnosis these conditions to push drugs which the insurance companies are getting some sweetheart deal with drug companies to do this. You need to find a more ethical psychiatrist

He's not a psychiatrist. He's a therapist who is being supervised by a licensed psychologist. I haven't gotten to the psychiatrist, yet. I'm already on Wellbutrin and this therapist has no ability to prescribe any medications, nor can his supervisor.

I've seen several therapists and they all didn't know much about AS. It's fine if they'll admit they don't know much about it, but some think they do and actually don't. Of course there are autism/AS specialists out there, but I worry about seeing them because I feel like specialists tend to look for what they know the most about. It's like you have to diagnose yourself first, then find a specialist for it to be official. It's hard to get someone who knows about a lot of different conditions.