How do I get help when I can't explain myself (long post)

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Can you write down what your problems are and show that to the therapist?

"I went to the doctor with a numb left arm, heavy chest pains (after physical effort),"

You should go to a cardiologist to make you you did not have a heart attack that day. If that happens again go immediately to the emergency room.

I could write my issues down, the problem is, you cannot imagine how incredibly arrogant and condescending the bureaucracy is in my country...

I stumbled upon a text written by an Asperger who live in my area, explaining how stupid was the administration about dealing with his issues.... I have the EXACT same experience!

Can you use writing to communicate your problems to your therapist, then have your therapist write a list of your problems and reasons they prevent you from working for the govt unemployment agency?

If only I had a therapist

I used to have one, and after 3 appointments, I was told that she is out of her job due to illness (cancer)... I have no therapist since then...

Can you get a new therapist and write down your problems, starting with your speaking problem?

Well, I could do that... the problem is the absolute incapacity in dealing with issues like mine in my country. I had a lot of therapists already, none were of any help. When they are not condescending, they just have a big question mark in their forehead, like "what the hell is he on about". I don't think they know what Asperger is.
I was diagnosed with "school phobia" 15 years ago. It's a ridiculous, meaningless term.

As I read this, theres similarities with me with the shutdowns, nail-biting and what not.

When I had days when communication was poor, I often am more quiet and stammer which it gets difficult to think/

In those situations though, someone else has to talk for me. Someone who knows me like a parent that can elaborate for you.

Otherwise when my mind is focused enough, I'm often an elaboriate speaker and able to describe most things in writing when given a focal point to work from. That was put to the test when facing a medical health tribunal judge in a court to defend my state benefit. Though I won, it sucks that the communication deficient lose out without having a spokesperson to talk on your behalf

I have a friend who is French and I was talking to him about Asperger's, but he had no idea what it was and when I explained he said something like, "well, most of these psychologists like to throw labels around but they don't mean anything". I was quite shocked because I am at a university where most people are familiar with the condition, so I looked up Asperger's in France and realised that there is no general acceptance of the condition within psychological communities. When diagnosing children with Asperger's they will use terms like 'neuroticism', 'hyper-active emotional defiancy' (I am making these up a bit, the actual terms used are far more obtuse and vague). I am absolutely appalled by these standards within psychological communities in France and wonder what there attitude is to other conditions such as bipolar, down syndrome and tourettes. I also wonder what cultural attitudes are like with regards to mental health issues and mental illnesses and whether psychological communities are reflecting these norms or if it is the other way around.

That's right, in the French sphere, the Asperger syndrome is not well known. Even today, I'm seen as a lazy ass or a weirdo or what not due to my condition. I'm not considered as someone who has a legit concern.

I've got a friend, one of my best friend actually, who has a degree in psychology, is now studying "orthophonia" which is speech therapist. His psychology studies focused on Freud and Lacan, very ineffective as far as understanding autism is concerned.

Now that he is studying speech therapy, he deals with autism. When I asked him whether the autists he dealt with were Aspergers or Kanners, he acted pissed off and said "an autist is an autist!". I realized afterward that he had no clue what an Asperger was and what a Kanner autist was!

When you realize that most social workers who are supposed to judge whether you deserve benefit or not are less qualified than my friend, it's pretty scary...

@tchek

I think you might want to try to search around and seek treatment/therapy with different providers/persons. Sometimes a therapist and a client just can't connect and you need to try someone else. If you don't feel comfortable with your therapist you should ask them if they might be able to refer you to someone else, if you do so politely they don't really take it personally!

Writing what you want to discuss or even writing a letter sounds like a good idea! If I don't see my therapist without knowing what I want to discuss in advanced I will just tend to talk about something irrelevant, or ask her what's going on in her life. If you feel uncomfortable or your therapist said something that you didn't like don't be afraid to let them know. Especially since you're on the spectrum you're therapist might have a hard time noticing that you're feeling uncomfortable.

Another point to make is that psychologists and mental health professionals really don't like it when someone comes into their clinic having self-diagnosed themselves. Although it might seem simple, diagnosing psychopathology is something that takes years of education (In the US, a PhD) and it can aggravate professionals sometimes when they have a client who has already diagnosed themselves. The best way to phrase things would be to let him/her know what symptoms you have, how they are like ASD, and what impact they have on your life.

It depends on where you're living, but often there are many local support groups for things like ASD and there are people there who could also give you good advice and give you a chance to meet other people who are going through some of the same things. Often there are also resources (such as case management) that are available for people in your position, and will provide you with an advocate to help you setup different things and take advantage of resources in the community.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your post.

It's true, the biggest challenge for me is to communicate the idea, or to direct the therapist toward the idea that I'm far in the spectrum WITHOUT actually saying the word "Asperger" (which is almost fashionable these past years). That's the challenge. I've seen so many people proclaiming themselves as "Asperger", and who aren't, just because it conjures the image of the "smart geek" that so many hipsters wish they were that's unfortunate, because those who really are, and who are invalidated by it, are completely discredited.

The only visible symptoms I have are my heavily damaged fingers due to self injury.