What was your Asperger's assessment like?

Post Reply New Topic

I have an assessment coming up and i am wondering what everyone else's experiences were like at their assessments. What questions did they ask, did they do any tests, how long was the appointment, etc. And what area/country did you get diagnosed in?

http://turtleisaverb.blogspot.com/2011/ ... sisprocess

(I'm in the US)

Mine was done right here in sunny Seattle. It lasted 90 minutes. (I know a therapist around here who's assessment is over a two day period but she costs $350. The one I went to only charged $150).
The assessment will be exactly like you think it'd be. They ask you questions about your past. They ask you why do you believe you may have Asperger's. They ask you questions just like those on the online Asperger's tests. It's a very comfortable and relaxing interview. I imagine they're also taking notes of how you "look" - that is, if you're stimming or displaying quirky behaviours/movements or if your speech patterns are normal or unusual. It was cool.

I'm in Ohio, in the US.

My "assessment" was actually very simple: I talked to a doctor who knew what autism was because she had an autistic son. She diagnosed me after a few appointments.

However, the full evaluation took longer. I went to a neuropsychology testing center and did about eight hours of testing, including testing of things like memory, concentration, manual dexterity, hand-grip strength, and academic achievement, as well as a full IQ test and personality questionnaires. The tests were fairly straightforward. Some of them I was good at; others not; but it was relatively easy to know what I was supposed to be doing. I also had an hour-long interview with a psychologist. I didn't think he did too bad of a job, mostly because he didn't need to do anything other than confirm what we already knew. He wasn't an ASD specialist. I had a minor meltdown toward the end of the day, but I did not hurt anyone or hurt myself, and was able to get to a restroom and calm myself down without trouble.

I also had a two-day career assessment, which included some more academic testing, some interest/talent questionnaires, and some testing meant to test some of the skills you might use at work, such as typing or looking for flaws in machine parts. Once again, the instructions were relatively straightforward, but I found I was very good at some things and very poor at others. The tests involving concentration and multi-tasking were especially frustrating.

For both tests, I insisted on receiving a full report on the results, and these have been useful both for self-knowledge and for obtaining accommodations from the school's disability services office.

I don't know whether your testing will be as extensive. It could be anything from an hour's interview to multi-day testing, or anything in between. But I guess the best thing I could advise you is to be honest about yourself and your daily life (we are often so used to faking NT that we forget that it's possible to tell people we do struggle with things), and not to worry too much about the testing--the instructions tend to be doable, and they haven't got anything against your asking them to explain again if you don't get them the first time.

I will be attending mine this coming Tuesday. I will return to impart the episode afterwards.

With my first, I was just asked a load of questions about my childhood, friends, school, etc. I was also asked about other disabilities and he explained that I'm harder to test due to this. I was then given one of those online test things to complete. I have a second appointment on Monday.

Talking and going through the DSM-IV-TR step by step and in-depth over a couple of sessions for one

The other was...me just telling them I have it (this is at Attwood's); I guess I presented quite stereotypical. O, they spoke to my mother too for a little bit

Mainly just their observations of me.

One session with specialist going over DSM IV criteria, brought in my mother the 2nd time and gave referral to DVR.

I'm in Ottawa, Canada. My assessment/diagnosis was in 2001, while still in my 20s. I told the psychiatrist (who was a woman about my age in residence at the hospital) about all my behaviours perceived as quirky and that I didn't think it was a big deal, I was just being "free". Like the times in my mid-teens when I walked around outside in my socks in the yard in spring, and didn't think it was a big deal as long as I didn't walk out to the street, but my Dad got really mad about it. And I thought, well, there's no way that a rookie shrink will figure out what I have, if anything. But you know what? After she told me on the 2nd visit "you have Aspergers" I immediately looked it up and read a ton on it. It had me astounded, because prior to that, I had seen a much older psychiatrist for 2 years who seemed to have no clue, he kept telling me that I had ADHD with depression and social anxiety, even after seeing my school records which reported on my odd behaviour. I always suspected that something wasn't quite right with what he was telling me, but I thought, well ,he's experienced, so he must know...turns out that he was just too stubborn and jaded to realize that what he knew several years ago no longer applied today. Something that a new psychiatrist would be better attuned to oh, the irony!! !

diagnosed yesterday. much more informal than i thought. i was evaluated in the US at the University of Iowa Behavioral Health place. it was the closest place to me that did adult diagnosis.

first off, i've read and agree that trying to "prepare" for the evaluation could possibly lead to a misdiagnosis. i tried to remove myself from doing research, but OCD is a b****.

my evaluation started with a third year resident where she asked me various questions. she also asked what "quirks" i have and asked me to expand on those occasionally. my wife was there with me and they welcomed her in to the evaluation. questions were also asked of her when i didn't know how to answer or she would correct me when i wasn't being entirely transparent. after about 2 hours and a lot of notes, the resident left for about 30 min. she returned with a senior examiner that went over my diagnosis and confirmed aspergers.

as a little history, i don't believe in self diagnosis. i believe if you think you have something, you can convince yourself to exhibit the symptoms. after reading about aspergers i wanted professionally diagnosed as soon as possible. the entire exploration started 2 months ago as a simple online search to determine why i don't communicate and interact well with my 3 year old daughter. i'm not looking for government assistance. i don't want any meds. i'd prefer this not show up on my insurance. i've been very fortunate in my life and have found a niche that suits me well that i exploit to the extreme.

based on this history, i believe the psychologist may have done things a little different for me since i requested that there not be anything filed with my insurance. my diagnosis has been written up and sent to my general practitioner doc and hopefully that's all. i'm self insured and don't want the "hit."

A social worker kept suggesting aspergers and she found out there was apparently a specialist living near by with 20 years of experience so i ended up going along for an assessment mainly to go "see its not that".

After going over my history, childhood, how i view people, my interests. He sat there and told me that it normally takes a few sessions, sometimes even months for him to diagnose someone with aspergers but in my case it only took him 45 minutes.

It suprised me to say the least

I was only 8 when I was assessed and diagnosed, and I really can't remember actually being officially diagnosed. I just remember attending behavioural clinics with my parents and sobbing the whole time because I wanted to be like the other kids and not having to go to these places. I felt insane, and I could tell, deep inside that my parents just wished I had been born NT with no other psychological problems and was just a normal, happy, mentally healthy, typically developing child like everyone else's children were who they knew.

Mine was 60 minutes or so. Questions and talk. That's about it.

1.5 to 2hr interview with two professionals from my local autism association. One asked questions and one just observed. I also filled in a lot of self-report forms. Wasn't expensive ($70 I think) but I did have to wait a year for an appointment.

I'm planning on getting a referral for assessment so I've got a question, how probing were the questions and how much anxiety did you feel? Or was it pretty relaxed, relative to situations where you've felt social anxiety? Do they do anything like make intense eye contact alot just to test you, or other sorts of stress/failure testing?

It was torture not only did I have to answer their questions I didn't feel like talking that day btw these nazi doctors gave me a shot to help me relax so I could answer my therapists questions. About a hour later I got a diagnosis and it was confirmed that I have Asperger Syndrome then after that bad experience I had to go see them every year until I was about 14 years old then I quit going to see them.