Fake Diagnosis?

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I got diagnosed with Asperger's two weeks ago. But I'm not sure it was a "valid" diagnosis.

Before I get into that, let me just go ahead and say I really DO think I have Asperger's. I talked to both of my parents, got them to read up on AS, and both of them think I have AS. It fits, and it really does explain so much about my life.

But here's how the diagnostic process went:

Hour 1 - The lady asked me a bunch of weird questions that seemed completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. (Why does it matter what my father does at his job? It has nothing to do with AS!) I eventually get frustrated because I don't think I'm giving her a very good picture of the actual problems I have because her questions are so irrelevant. I hijack the conversation and try to explain why I have AS. End up talking about why divorce and college suck. She says time's up, I leave feeling incredibly dazed and confused. When I got home I realized all her weird questions were probably meant to spark conversations, but I answered them factually and without elaboration, completely missing the point.

Hour 2 - I decide to bring along a ridiculously long list of symptoms, anecdotal stories, and explanations I typed up to explain exactly why I think I have AS so we don't end up wasting another hour. I also bring back the form she wanted me to fill out (I think it was the GADS), sit there while she scores it, and think about how I'm going to start my argument. She says I scored a 102 where 80 is something like "high probability of AS." I say OK, what now? Turns out, we're done. I'm diagnosed. She asks if I want to do social skills training, I say no. She types me up three shiny new letters saying I'm diagnosed with AS. I spend the rest of the hour looking at some of her books on AS.

On the one hand, I am super grateful it was so easy to get a diagnosis after hearing all the horror stories from people who didn't find it easy. Maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

But on the other hand, I kind of feel like that diagnosis was... not a real diagnosis. I don't know, it just messes with my sense of "fair play," I guess. There I was, prepared for a huge, epic battle to get a diagnosis and all I get is a cardboard villain. Not that I wanted it to be a struggle, but in a way it just feels like I could just as easily been diagnosed with anything I came in there thinking I had. Like I could have taken an anxiety test and ended up with GAD or SAD, or a personality disorder test, or any other test and ended up with any other diagnosis I scored high enough for.

I've got my personal validification. I think AS fits. My parents think AS fits, so I know it's not just all in my head. But I feel kind of weird saying "yeah, I'm a diagnosed aspie" when the diagnostic process felt so... fake. I even felt kind of guilty changing my profile to "diagnosed."

So, I figured I'd ask other people who've gone through the process. Was this diagnosis a complete joke? Does it even matter? Am I being a complete baby about this? @_@ All comments welcome, even if you call me a baby. XD

Was this the first time you ever met the person who gave the diagnosis?

I'm glad for you that you've got what you needed, but what you've described doesn't sound very thorough.

It was the first time. She had technically seen me for one hour and two minutes at the time of my diagnosis, as I was diagnosed two minutes into the second hour-long session.

It wasn't thorough at all, which kind of concerns me! Can I with a clear conscious say that I am a diagnosed Aspie when I have not, in fact, gone through a valid diagnostic process?

But at the same time, I kind of feel like even if it wasn't a valid diagnosis I wouldn't bother getting reevaluated. Maybe in a couple of years when I'm on my own insurance and wasting my own money, but for now my parents believe me and I've got an official diagnosis to wave under people's noses if I ever feel the need to.

That was nothing like mine. I didn't get some take-home test. What they did with me was... well, first I should say that it was a re-assessment. I was diagnosed when I was a kid, essentially nothing came of it and I eventually got another one ten years later just to be sure.

Anyway some old guy put me through a several hour long intelligence test. May have been called a WAIS or something, I don't know. Started with a W. I didn't even get an overall score out of it or anything but apparently the score was indicative of Asperger's. I couldn't tell you what the original assessment was like. I have no memory of it.

To me your account of the assessment is very suspicious.

Did you get a report detailing why the person you saw arrived at this diagnosis? If not maybe you could write or email them for the information.

Like you I'd be concerned in the sense that I like things to be done properly, but from a practical point of view I wouldn't worry too much. You obviously have your reasons for seeking a diagnosis and that is what you have now got. Also, you must have been fairly sure yourself that you had AS so at least you have convinced another person of this, even if it does seem "too easy".

Yeah, that was what I was expecting, actually, a test of cognitive talents and such. Basically, all this lady cared about was having somebody who knew me give evidence of AS traits.

Blegh, I think maybe I should just say I'm self-diagnosed and be done with it. >_<

Check that the diagnosis is official and real. If it is, who cares?

I'd definitely go and find somebody else though if you want further treatment and whatnot.

No report, but I kind of doubt there'd be much in one if I got one. She basically told me that her opinion was that with a high score on the test and proof from someone who knew me well, that was all she needed to make a diagnosis. I mean, I guess it could have some other stuff included, like indications of poor eye contact, difficulty with unclear instructions (I kept asking her to explain her questions), and maybe a bit about my posture and tone of voice? I honestly don't see it being incredibly informative.

That is actually a really good way of putting it. I don't feel like it was done properly. Haha, yeah, I guess so.

I don't want to misrepresent the autism community, but since I got my diagnosis (well, more since I convinced my parents) I've had this urge to do some youtube videos talking about my AS stuff. Dissemination of knowledge, and all that. I love that kind of stuff. I think everybody should have their autism-experience out there for others to see and relate too. Buuuuuuut, if it's not a valid diagnosis I really wouldn't feel right about doing it. : \



What exactly does that mean? I'm not myself knowledgeable of how official documentation in the world of psychiatry works. She basically just gave me a sheet of paper that she typed up that says I'm diagnosed. She said it was official documentation, as in I could use it to get accommodations at school if I needed to. It's got her information and everything on it, but it wasn't like... filed into my black box permanent record or anything.

What does it work like when it's official and real? Do you get a certificate to pin up on your wall? 0-o That was only half-sarcastic.

I could not say whether your diagnosis is valid or not. Some evaluations take hours and even multiple sessions to complete but obviously not all clinicians do these and whether their methods are inferior, I couldn't say as I would have to speculate beyond the limits one should speculate.

Sometimes questions in psychological evaluations might not make sense to the patient and will seem out of place. Some of these evaluations and tests, have been designed in a rather clever fashion in order to extract pertinent information without your conscious mind becoming aware and causing you to give biased answers.

I'm saying if they can make up some BS assessment they can make up a diagnosis. That's all.

What does it work like when it's official and real? Well in this case I'm talking mainly about healthcare benefits. Does the government recognise it as a valid diagnosis?

Last edited by The_Perfect_Storm on 08 Sep 2011, 7:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

When I was first diagnosed in March with Aspergers (I actually have classic autism), the diagnosis was not thorough. I went in for 45 minutes in January. She asked me some questions. I went back in in March, and was told I have AS. They would not give me a report. She did tell me she would write up a "summary" for another 100$, but that was all she would do--and she seemed very confused that I even wanted one. She saw I was on the spectrum, but the diagnosis really wasn't all that thorough. I went to a second psychologist who gave me a much more through evaluation. She did the ADI-R interview with my father (it is important to know about childhood and such, not just about conversational skills today--my first diagnosis was wrong because she did not delve into my history). The second day I went in (alone), she did the ADOS evaluation with me where she observed my behaviour and such herself. None of it was self-reflective, which is a good thing because people often have a distorted view of their symptoms (over or under exaggerate them).

You should have been offered a real report as well. I would say to find another psych and go through a fuller evaluation. If you need the report for services and such, you probably won't have a choice. If you don't need the services and just wanted some professional verification, then this might be good enough for you. It wouldn't be enough for me because I require services, but some others might be fine with that.

I was asked lots of seemingly useless and often annoying questions too.

My diagnostician did it on purpose which didn't occur to me until later/when I read my diagnostic report. My facial expressions when I was engaged in "small talk", my body language, what I thought they'd want to know (as opposed to what others would talk about), the mass of factual information and lack of emotional context and private information, my rigidity and difficulties to reciprocate were probably one of the best indicators of my autism.

When I was diagnosed with dysthymia it took about 30 minutes and most of the questions didn't relate to me directly. When my daughter was diagnosed with Aspergers, it took 2 hour long meetings. The first one she talked to my daughter for 5 minutes and then talked to us. The second visit my daughter wasn't even there.

I would look and see if it says you have Aspergers, or "Asperger-like Symptoms". The difference is mild and mostly relates to the ADA. Either can help in school, as the public schools and colleges have to make accomodations for any "disability", but if you need help doing other things, or will need certain ammodations in employment then you'll need the "Aspergers" diagnosis along with a full report detailing any special considerations and requirements for your condition.

We were told that a diagnosis of "Asperger like symptoms" for my daughter would make it easier to navigate the school system but still allow us to get the help she does require. And when she's older if she doesn't need any special help she can hold off getting the "full" diagnosis. That way she won't be required to report her condition to potential employers.

It doesn't make it a "fake" diagnosis. Most of the people that run into issues getting diagnosed are adults in their late 20's and older. Since we've learned to cope and cover up a lot of the "weirdness" whereas even a teenager won't have learned that enough to completely cover it. But if they know their job, the psyhcologist should be able to spot it even in well-studied adults.

LOL! I was DX'd in about 5 min during "grief therapy". I did not even ask for it.
Of course since then I have had several "confirms" of this DX.

There is no GOLD "standard" for an ASD DX. That said, the Doctors at OHSU around Portland want to see an ADOS sort of assesment before they accept a child for research programs. So they are setting that as the "Gold Standard" around Portland. It costs around 1400 dollars to do and involves a series of assesment tests like IQ, etc. It is useless to do that unless you have a program you want to participate in that will not take your current DX.

In other words... you have a perfectly valid DX. Most of the people who have trouble with DX do not display it like I do and/or are seeing doctors who do not know how to DX it or have no real knowledge of ASD.

I have a full diagnosis, and I am not required to report that I have autism. I am pretty sure the employers can get in trouble for coming out and asking if you have a disability--and nobody should be applying for a job they cannot do, so there shouldn't be a problem.

What's a full diagnoses? Is that where they make it official and say you have AS by making a report on it?