"No, you don't have it...."

Post Reply New Topic

".....because you have a job." What? Seriously?

I just got back from a consultation with a psychiatrist about the possibility of having Aspergers. For one thing, I had ALOT of things written down that support my theory of having it and he says he doesn't have time to 'read' all those pages. Everytime I say something he cuts me off as if he's heard enough. Uh, hello? If I say "I don't like making conversation." Or " I like being alone." he cuts me off so I can't finish explaining WHY I don't like conversation or WHY I like being alone. I can't quite figure out how he's able to come to ANY kind of conclusion from short undetailed sentences I have uttered without at least delving a LITTLE bit further into the meaning of things I"ve said.

He says I definitley have schitzoid personality disorder because I am introverted and the SLIGHT possibility I am bi-polar because I have clinical depression that alot of different kinds of anti-depressants don't completely take ALL of the 'symptoms' away. Yeah, because what I have, anti-depressants DON'T help.

I'm pissed and frustrated. I've lost all faith in any kind of serious help whatsoever right now. NO ONE can know how I feel inside and I am so lousy at trying to explain how I feel. I really thought I was on to something when I watched an Asperger's video and could say "omg that's me" to pretty much everything the guy said. I guess I"ll never find out because a) I'm a failure at explaining things or even REMEMBERING what I want to say let alone get it out so someone UNDERSTANDS what I mean. and b) I can't afford to have a psychologist do an assessment and even if I did I'd be a failure at that too.

Anytime I try to explain to someone what I go through or how I feel I get shot down and made to feel like I"m an idiot for feeling that way or thinking that way. Screw the world. Apparently I'm in a world of my own and NO ONE will ever get it. All I want is to be able to say "yes, this is what I have (whatever that may be even if it isnt' aspergers)." Sure, I probably have schitzoid personality disorder but the reasons he told me I have it just don't really emcompass even a quarter of everything I feel is different about me.

Sorry for whining and venting but I'm hoping maybe at least one person can relate. If no one does then I give completely on making myself better.


(38 yr old female, same job for 3 yrs, married, 2 kids with diagnosed clinical depression and have always known something is "different")

Go somewhere else. You need to find a professional that you are comfortable with. Maybe you aren't Aspie or maybe you are. Maybe you ARE schizoid. But you won't believe the diagnosis if you have no confidence in the practitioner.

In the U.S. at least, I would recommend against a psychiatrist. They have increasingly become little more than dispensers of medications. A psychologist specializing in the autism spectrum is a better choice. I called Autism Services and they gave me a list of practitioners that deal with autism. Best is one that mentions adult diagnoses as part of their practice.

I went through the exact same thing when I told my pdoc. He said I am at university so I can't be autistic. I am now labled as a paranoid schizophrenic.

Ouch.

Was that diagnosis offered after any extensive testing or just a few verbal interviews? Did they put you on meds?

Being married, having children and working are a few big strikes against having a diagnosable ASD. Usually, people with an ASD don't reach these milestones, but if they do, it's usually one or the other rather than them all. The social impairment usually precludes marriage, as well as work (the repetitive behaviors influence the latter too).

Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's uncommon.

There's no help available anyway, unless you're looking for work or are homeless; job placement services are around for people with an ASD, as is government housing if you need it. There's disability if work doesn't work.

I was fantastically lucky. I married a woman that for some strange reason accepted me quirks and all. We have had three children that I wouldn't trade for anything.

But to say I have not been impaired is laughable. My primary employment for the first 15 years of marriage was entry level s**t in restaurants. With my innate intelligence, that is egregiously underemployed. I could not navigate my way through a university education even with excellent grades. I currently have a well paid IT position but am always on the bubble of losing it. It is only the good graces of my boss that have kept me here and even his tolerance has limits.

It really gets my hackles up when the measure of impairment is so simply defined.

He made the diagnosis after 6 months of therapy. I'm on anti psychotics and anti depressants now. I'm at a point where the AS diagnosis doesn't matter anymore.

If you are 'better' than I suppose it doesn't matter. But that's a question only you can answer.

Whether you're Aspie, schizoid, or a purple-polka-dotted cat-person (yes... joke)... this particular psychiatrist seems to have no desire to listen to what you say, and that means he is missing a lot of clues.

This is not the kind of professional you want to trust, and you're right not to trust him. You need to find someone who will actually read what you write (alternative communication is communication too--I have a feeling he would probably be the sort to force you to speak English if you only spoke fifty words of it and had a native-language interpreter with you...), and someone who can make enough time to listen to what you are saying. If he doesn't have enough appointment time available to do that, then he needs to tell you that and say that you should schedule another, longer appointment so you can get all your ideas across.

I don't trust a diagnosis coming from someone who refuses to collect all the information available to him. I wouldn't trust it if he said you were autistic and I don't trust it this way either...

Why does your profile say you're 39 if you claim to be 38 in your OP? Typo I assume?


Anyway if having a job keeps you from having AS, that means Temple Grandin doesn't have it either nor John Robinson nor Alex Plank, nor Laine Holliday Willey.

I saw a psychiatrist once. He admitted he knew nothing about autism. After a few minutes, he said he didn't think I was autistic. I said "I'm not... I have Asperger's". Didn't shut him up though. Jerk. All day long.

Get a second opinion.

Refuse to pay, argue in his waiting room with a loud voice. Every time they send you an invoice repeat being bothersome. Tell them they wasted your time and were rude to you.

If they keep demanding money, keep reappearing at the waiting room or protest outside their building till they wipe the bill.

Go see a doctor who specializes in autism.

Agreed.
Ignore the guy, don't put out any money, and find someone else.
The best thing to do is check the diagnostic criteria, forums, personal stories, etc regarding all the other "disorders" and "syndromes" out there. Even the ones that sound scary. And find out for yourself, decide for yourself, if you have any of them.

But seriously, if someone doesn't let you finish talking, and besides that they decide you're ineligible based on eye contact, marriage status, job status, etc, then they know nothing about you, and probably nothing productive about psychology/psychiatry.

If you DO wind up back there, or with another one who cuts you off... IGNORE them and finish your statement. I was in the same situation not too long ago and rather than throw a fit (since I was seeing an assistant, and the main shrink is next so I don't want to piss anyone off) I simply gave up about halfway through and took over the room for the next 5 minutes, totally ignoring him and saying everything I could think of in relation to the original question he'd asked. Of course, he was probably ignoring me too, but at least I got to be an a@!@#$#@ back.

I have met some doctors like the one you described and it always takes a long time to get over. [I'm still angry at a doctor I had nearly 9 years ago and haven't had one since.] However, there must also be some good ones out there. I agree you should look for someone who specializes in ASDs.

While it's less typical (hehe) to be married and have a job, I didn't see that as a disqualification on the DSM. In my case, when I was 19, I happened across someone who was just as weird and antisocial as I was. We were both working in a field that favors that type of disposition. We have a good relationship, probably in small part because he's gone for work most of the time and I don't have to try to hold down a job of my own. He also balances out my brand of crazy, so it's a win-win for us. [I'm not dx with anything; I'm just giving one example of how love might play out.]