PSYCHOLOGIST MADE A FOOL OUT OF ME

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I had a ridiculous time finding doctors in my area. Through reading i learned that most don't know much about Asperger's. And really, if you think about it, all professions specialize these days as there is just too much information in every field for one professional to cover all bases. I only made appointments with those listed as experienced with Autistic Spectrum cases. There were very few in any case but almost nil for adults. I think there may be 2 or 3 in my entire state. There were more doctors with the background for children and and a few for adolescents, but even those were booked out 6+ months! Long story short, i called the one who is experienced in the realm of ASDs (he's even written about it and continues to research) and deals with adults and drove 2 hours to get diagnosed. He got past my communication troubles (Shouldn't that be their job if they know what they're doing?) by asking me careful questions and, i think, watching me closely. It is well worth the drive to see him.

I started out here:
Autismsource.org
There is a search page (don't know if this link will take you straight there) where you can look for all kinds of resources including doctors-neurologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists who list themselves as working with ASDs.

Even if none of those on your search work out, the ones listed can also give you another name that you can try. You can follow the chain until you find the doctor you need. Don't be afraid to ask good questions of him/her before deciding to make an appointment. And check out those credentials like EvilKimevil suggested. I also just plain Google them and find out a lot.

Hope you find what you need quickly!

Oh, P.S. I have always had difficulty getting diagnosed for anything. My learned strategic plan is to have an idea already what it is, go to the appropriate specialist, then list only my symptoms unless they ask what i think it is. With my AS doctor, i named it specifically because they asked. Once there, i just let him ask the questions and answered. Hope this is all helpful.

I can't imagine any reason for bothering with those scumbags.

There ain't a damn thing they can do for an aspie, except maybe prescribe some antidepressants. Like life as an aspie is wonderful, and the only reason you aren't happy about it is because you've got some chemical imbalance.

If you're real perceptive, you'll notice that the only time they care about you and they're interested in you is when you're paying them, and then they're watching the clock like a factory worker.

Wait till a situation comes up where sticking up for you or telling the truth might make their job a tiny bit difficult. You'll find out everything you need to know about them.

If you're gonna pay somebody to pretend they're interested in you and they care about you, a prostitute would make more sense.

Last week I had a first visit with a psychologist to try CBT, and he told me "You DON'T have Asperger's. I've met Temple whatever her last name is and you're NOTHING like her". Period.

Won't be going back.

It's important to trust your doctors, whether medical or psychiatric. Keep looking till you find one you feel "gets" you. If you need a list of clinicians in the US who know about AS, here's a link from OASIS:
http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/

Well if you're in the US, the thing that Tony Attwood calls Asperger's is actually PDD-NOS to most psychologists here. So instead of saying "Hey, I've got AS", maybe try "Hey, I've got PDD-NOS" instead and they'll be more likely to take you seriously. But you really should be going to someone who specializes in the autism spectrum in the first place. I wouldn't as the typical therapist if I had an autism spectrum disorder any more than I would ask a chicken-sexer if my kitten was male or female, they're just not gonna know.

WOW! I have a coworker I think has AS. He is as I used to be, and many here say they were/are! He is ACERBIC, etc... GUESS WHAT! People LIKE him! ALSO, under normal day to day events, he is fine.

Anyway, I heard of a LOT of psychologists, and people planning to get a psychology degree, that have a "mental illness"!

Actually sadly they don't have many neurologists that are trained in PDDs, and they are mostly for children.

People mistakenly think that ASD is diagnosed from nuerofunctional point POV, but historically it is diagnosed from a behavioral POV, and mostly this is the case to this day. Probably NLD was the first PDD' to have a nuerophychologial criteria, however as it turns out that is just a subset of ASD anyway.

It is like trying to describe a big object in the dark by feeling different part of it. Really they should do both.

Last edited by 0_equals_true on 25 May 2008, 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

lol that a joke an a half..but we won't go there

Here are some things I have been told:

GP / Doctor who has patients with AS:
"You don't have Asperger Syndrome as you have developed a meaningful relationship to the extent of marriage. You don't have Aspergers because you are married."

Psychologist who isn't specialised, is a nice guy, but has met a few AS people:
"I don't think you have it, man I've met some people with AS and they are pretty messed up"

Autism Hotline (from an Ad on TV speaking to my wife):
"He should be ticking and jittery all the time, should get anxiety or change moods due to bread and milk, I sure hope your husband doesn't have AS, you don't want that, its horrible and a very hard life."

I haven't seen one yet, but I strongly suggest going directly to the root of the problem and see a specialist in Asperger Syndrome in adults. As far as I can see and have read it manifests quite differently in Adults than it does to children, in that the symptoms have been "modified" by years of developing coping mechanisms and experience in social environments.

I don't know about that. Even though I've already been diagnosed with AS, a former psychaitrist first tried to diagnose me with "Asperger's NOS." When she looked it up and saw that wasn't a real diagnosis, she thought we should "consider changing it" to PDD-NOS. She was clearly using PDD-NOS to mean a milder version of AS, which may or may not have been appropriate. But then, when I told this to my therapist, she was completely shocked and thought this was very wrong. She seemed to think that the PDD-NOS diagnosis is for people who are "severely delayed." Of course she's also said to me before that, "you're not autistic, you're just on the autism spectrum." I don't get that particular distinction, but it apparently fits better into her paradigm. The point to all of this is that every psychologist is going to have a different interpretation of the spectrum and the different "categories." I'd reccommend someone who specializes the autism spectrum to anyone who wants to know for sure. It's still not 100% objective, but specialists are far more knowledgable and qualified.

WOW, What a way to get cured! HEY, Any women here want to get cured of AS or autism!

Naw, I'm just kidding. It is just funny how some "professionals" really put their foot in their mouths!

I think it's a subliminal discouragment from those on the spectrum to have relationships as they may spread their genes.

In my "quest" for a diagnosis, I also realize that this type of professional hates when you see them saying that feels to have AS.

They ego is hurt maybe, or they don't realize that AS is something that you can diagnose by yourself...

Yes it is funny that diagnosticians confuse themselves about what "Not Otherwise Specified" means. It is not that hard, but even so called expert try to make a specific diagnosis out of it, even though PDD doesn't necessarily imply autism at all. I made that point at the befriender talk I did. I find it pretty amusing that somebody diagnosed with Asperger's-NOS, that is hilarious it is even more absurd that PDD-NOS.

I believe that terms like Asperger's, NVD, Kanner's, PDD-NOS, etc., while they have some historical significance, are not fit for purpose. The whole point of a diagnosis is it is supposed to be useful and not rely on arbitrary or 'cookie cutter' like requirements that are lost for meaning. I'm a proponent of calling spectrumites ASD. The other labels don't actually give you actuate information about the person, in fact often they give quite misleading information, if you want more details than you are going to have to look at the person medical notes or get to know them better.

That makes sense. Some people get upset and think that because they went to school for it they are the ones who are in the know and you are just trying to take away their jawb!

How many assessments have you been to now?

To me reading all the posts you have made since I have been here it seems like a diagnosis of AS is the only one you are going to accept. When it was suggested possible mental health issues such as BPD you made some quite insulting comments towards people who have had mental heath problems.
Are you willing to accept that maybe the route of your problems is not Aspergers but something else because if you go to see doctors or psychologists or whoever and don't accept that it might be something else then you might just keep on having assessments.

You have to be open and willing to accept whatever comes. Not the first diagnosis by any means, just when you go, you have to be open to suggestions if that makes sense.

Same here. I was diagnosed at one time with borderline disorder after several suicide attempts in my late teens & early 20s. I was never a 'cutter' but my attempts to end myself were creative, to say the least. The reason I gave them for the suicide attempts comes right back to AS and they didn't see it at the time. [My reasons involved the fact that I'd always felt there was something fundamentally 'wrong' with me, people always thought I was weird and no matter how hard I tried, no one wanted anything to do with me. This brought on social anxiety and a profound, deep depression I couldn't shake). For one thing, AS was almost unheard-of back then and none of my doctors had ever dealt with it. I was in my mid thirties when AS finally came onto their radar screen. When I found out that AS might be my problem, my whole outlook on life changed. I wasn't 'crazy,' I was just 'different.' It answered a lot of questions for me and, in a sense, brought about a peace of mind.



At that point I would have got up and walked out of the office after telling him to go back to college and take a few more courses on patient relations. What a sh*tty way to treat a patient, AS or not! Part of this is the 'fad' going on right now with people thinking they might have some kind of ASD &/or Aspergers. When they hear a new patient bring up the subject and start quoting DSM-IV criteria, they think, "Here we go with another one..." I believe that my son was misdiagnosed when he was little - they insisted he had ADHD when even at the time I suspected he might have some form of autism. I didn't know much about it back then or I would have taken him to a different doctor - one willing to listen - and this might have prevented my son from being prescribed Ritalin and Dexedrine, medications that didn't help him and only made him thin and sick-looking. A good psychologist has an open mind and considers all options and they NEVER say something to a patient like what the one said to you, above. That is disgraceful and in my view its a violation of the hippocratic oath.