Diagnosis Problems

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I don't like the word "diagnosis" as it pertains to AS, but I thought I would post my issue on here and see if anyone could relate. Two weeks ago, I went to my doctor asking for a referral to a specialist. I have suspected for a couple of years that I have some degree of AS or HFA. As I did my best to explain what I knew about the disorder, why I suspect I have it, and why it mattered, she stared at me like I was an escaped mental patient...I haven't gotten a call back.

The question I have is: Has anyone else had similar experiences? It is sad to see that AS and related disorders aren't taken seriously.

And now I'm sitting wondering if I'm just crazy.

Cheers,
Mark

time for another doctor. Or you call them back and ask about it.

find another doctor that will listen to you.

firstly, find another doctor. (ask for another referral if needed)

secondly, maybe you approached the doctor in an aggressive or more assertive manner than she's accustomed to. that's an aspie trait.
perhaps simply take a more seemingly passive approach and tell your (hopefully new) doctor that you suspect you've got asperger's syndrome and would like a professional opinion.
that was suggested to me here on wrong planet when i finally decided it was time for me to get a professional opinion.

all i had to do was to call my doctor's office and ask them for a referral to a psychologist who was qualified to make an assessment. the nurse suggested a certain psychiatrist in town who could make such a referral. when i went to him, i felt that if i'm truly aspie, the psychiatrist would pick up on it enough to make the referral. he did, and so had me go to a psychologist a few hours away.

it might be more prudent for you to forget your doctor and just make an appointment with a psychiatrist on your own and ask him if he'd refer you to a specialist.

I think it matters how old you are. Half the threads sometimes are about dxs. However, there is very little about what good a diagnosis does for an adult. It seems the psychologists and psychiatrists that work with Aspies usually deal with kids and teens. When you get older these folk in the helping professions are going to give you magic pills for anxiety... or for whatever problem you present to them.

Some months ago the school psychologist called me and told me she would have called me back in a few months at the end of the session. She has never done it.

Many "doctors" know nothing about mental health or autism. It's better to go directly to a MH specialist or Neurophych.

Yup, go outside of your doctor. I just went straight to a psychology clinic--my doctor knew nothing about what I was doing. I didn't feel I needed his permission to go for a diagnostic test.

Yup, I had the exact same experience with my doctor, but I managed to make enough noise to at least get referred to a psychologist, but the two I went to was just the same, they seemed to think the biggest problem was that I *thought* I had Asperger's, not that I actually might have it.

In the end the last psychologist I saw agreed I might have AS, but then flat out told me it didn't matter since there wasn't anyone qualified to diagnose adult females here in Norway, and the only thing they could do was treat comorbidities like anxiety and depression.

So I simply gave up trying to get a diagnosis..