Had my evaluation... Total nightmare

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After four hours of tests and nearly no conversation with me, the doctor said I wasn't autistic.

"Autistics view other people as inanimate objects and understand only that they have feelings themselves. Not that other people do. You interact with people, you converse, and you have a sense of humor. You couldn't possibly be autistic."

He also told me that another sign was that when he gave me some plastic blocks with different colors on them it took me a minute or two to make them match a pattern on a printed sheet he gave me. He claimed an autistic person would have had the blocks arranged in seconds, so I can't possibly be autistic.

Does anyone here think this guy is 20 years behind the times?

Someone tell me, is this doctor a quack?

I'm devastated. I've suspected autism for years and a therapist (totally on his own) asked me if I'd ever been evaluated because he saw some indications. I figured an evaluation would only confirm what I've suspected. Now I don't know what to think.

Yeah, he seems shady. Get a second opinion, it took weeks and alot of conversation before I was "diagnosed" -like that b/c I's suspected for a while.

I think the doctor is a f**ktard who needs to lose his license, pronto.

Report him to whatever supervisory board you can find, and get another evaluation from someone who knows their AS from a hole in the ground.

Yes.

Yes.

Are the claims he made untrue?

Also yes, or at the very least, stereotypical. Autism is a "spectrum" for a reason--no two people with some form of it are exactly the same. He probably would have said the same thing about me.

Get a second opinion. Find someone who actually specializes in ASDs and has kept up on the literature (not sure how to check that one).

However, yes, this guy is completely clueless and incompetent, IMO. I can't believe he's still allowed to practice anything. What he said sounded like the ignorant remarks of some "laypeople" I've encountered who don't know any better...but then, they don't "have to."

Sona_21, BuyerBeware, AgentPalpatine (and anyone else who replies before I get this posted)-

Are you "officially" diagnosed/confirmed by a qualified doctor as on the autism spectrum?

Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!

Yes.

This sort of thing pisses me off to no end. So-called professionals, or those who think they know, always tend to view autism by what they've seen on TV. Can't count cards or fallen matchsticks? You're not autistic. Able to make eye contact? You're not autistic. Have friends? You're not autistic. Not mesmerized by twirling shining lights like Snow Cake? You're not autistic. What part of spectrum do they not understand! A diagnostician who knows the subtlety of this condition would suit you better, not some quack who thinks all autistic people behave like Rain Man.

Well-said.

Problem is, guys, I don't know who to go to now or what to do.

It took me months to find someone who'd take my insurance, and this had to happen.

Now I likely can't even get another evaluation, because I doubt the insurance people would pay for another. Not any time soon, anyway.

I'm even afraid now that this guy got my Social Security number.

Anyone have any advice on what my next step might be?

I've sent an e-mail to the Asperger's Society that was helping me try to find a doctor to do the evaluation and told them what happened and what the guy said.

Can't wait to hear what they say about it.

If you took the cognitive tests I believe it is your right to request a copy of any and everything in your file. Request a copy - you will have to give a written consent... and then take the actual test results somewhere to be looked at by someone more qualified.

That block test you mentioned... I couldn't do it... but math.. which I know many aspies are brilliant... she said.. well yes.. math is a problem.. but we won't go into it more than that...

problem.. ha! Epic fail. My point being that we all excel/fail in different areas. There are several cognitive types in autism. Some visual/some maths/music etc... Qualified specialists kknow this.. the cognitive results won't lie. Get them evaluated by a different specialist.

I am sorry your eval didn't go well for you.

Sounds like he's behind the times.

The things he said don't mean you're not on the spectrum.

Have you done any reading to confirm that you are? I highly recommend "The complete guide to asperger's syndrome," by Dr. Tony Attwood.

I'd do some reading and research if you haven't, then get a second opinion.

And thanks for posting this. It makes me want to be better prepared w/ some notes etc for when I go through this process so I won't have a lame doc like this miss anything critical.

I take it you are more than nine years old, yes? Because that's the age at which the average person with classic autism can demonstrate that they have a concrete, language-based theory of mind. His making this assumption would only make sense if you were about five years old, which is how old NT kids tend to be when they first reliably get their ToM. Since you're an adult who can use language, the presence of theory of mind doesn't say much about whether you're autistic.... autistic adults with language ability (which is most of them) are usually capable of at least first order theory of mind.

If you were good at interacting, good at conversation, and good at using humor, yeah, he'd be right to doubt autism. However, just being able to talk, answer questions, and use some kind of humor is not enough to rule out autism. Many autistic people can do this. Those with mild autism can even look normal for short periods of time.

This is not true either. Yes, many autistic people have visual-spatial strengths or even splinter/savant skills, and those people would indeed have the blocks arranged in seconds. However, many others, including the people with the Asperger's/NVLD pattern (Verbal > Performance IQ subscore gap) would actually be much below average in arranging those blocks, and more importantly below their own personal average, showing the scattered skill profile that is common on the spectrum (and also among those with learning disabilities and other types of non-typical wiring). Your lack of skill at arranging colored blocks is not a sign that you cannot be autistic.

From what you say, this person doesn't seem to know enough about autism to tell you whether you are autistic. I can't even say, "You're probably autistic and he's wrong", because with the information he seems to have, he couldn't identify a non-autistic person, nor an autistic one, with any sort of accuracy. Unfortunately, you're back to square one: You still have no clue whether you're actually autistic, and his evaluation has told you exactly nothing. This guy needs more training, and he shouldn't be doing evaluations for disorders he isn't trained in identifying.

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