AS - How to be diagnosed as an adult?

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Hi,

So I introduced myself on this thread here: - ('Scored 35 on AQ?' -- I can't post the link as I'm still new to the forum)

As you can tell I'm still learning about AS. I've read enough at this point to know I share a lot of symptoms, that it probably explains a lot of my behavior since a young age (I'm 27 now), and that I would like to seek a professional diagnosis.

Could somebody please recommend how I can seek a professional diagnosis for AS/HFA as an adult? I'm currently in the USA (PA). Also what is the cost of these things and does insurance cover it?

Thanks

The northern-Indiana mental-health clinic where I had first gone and had been mis-diagnosed (in my own opinion) so many years ago more recently told me I would need a referral from a doctor, and that the initial battery of tests and an assessment could cost as much as $1500.00. So, that is where you might begin either before or after dealing with the matter of insurance or any other financial arrangement.

Any good insurance plan will cover mental health services, though often with strict limits. You also have to find a practice that will bill the insurance company directly or you will have to pay out of pocket and submit the bill to the insurance company.

PA is a big state. You probably will have to go to a fairly large city to find a qualified professional. Don't just pick one out of the phone book. Look for someone that specializes in autism.

See a GP ("I think I have AS or some other social and obsessive disorder"), get referral to see a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist, see them and tell them you think you have something like AS.

You can also call around for ASD specialists, but they'll need a referral too usually.

A specialist will probably cost more and a generic psycho/psychic will probably want to see you more before making a diagnosis.

I've never seen anyone charge more than $200 here in Oz, even specialists.

I just went through this, and my HMO has services, but they were not easy to access. Keep at it, keep getting informed, try to connect with local support groups and network a bit. I'm laughing, because networking in the ASD community is an awesome and awkward and wonderfully comfortable thing. Find out about local support groups and get in touch with them. Since I wasn't diagnosed, this felt awkward to me, but I finally got access to competent, affordable supports and yes, even adult diagnosis, once I made these connections. If you aren't comfortable talking to a support group or joining one, maybe go to a local conference on Autism/Asperger's, where you are likely to get better informed as well as hear from people who may be able to help you.

Best wishes.

As a self diagnosed adult aspie I would ask you this question - What benefit do you think there is in getting a "formal diagnosis"?

After you learn as much as possible about AS, compare your own life and symptoms and reactions and experiences, you should know if it's a fit or not.

If you go anywhere, you present yourself to a stranger and that person has to first learn about you, your life, your habits, your childhood, etc. You have to transfer the knowledge all about you to this other person. Then they make a determination based on what they've learned and read about AS.

You are already an expert in the subject of YOU. No one else knows more about YOU than YOU. So if you learn more about AS, you'll be able to see if it's a fit or not.

What can be gained by having a piece of paper where someone writes "Asperger Syndrome" on it after your name?

Thanks for the replies.

I made an appointment for mid-December to see a psychologist. Apparently it will take 4h to perform multiple cognitive/behavioral tests and for him to get an idea of what, if anything, is out of the ordinary.

Earthmom, I agree with everything you said. From what I've read so far I'm persuaded I have AS. I guess the reason I want to see a professional is to have my suspicions confirmed formally; this way I can confidently begin to make appropriate changes in my life to compensate for my shortcomings. Without this official diagnosis I won't be truly sure, and so I'll not really be sure how to help myself either and will have lingering doubts. Basically, I believe I need some guidance from professionals as I've tried dealing with things on my own before and it usually doesn't work out.

http://www.aane.org/about_asperger_synd ... dults.html


You might find this web page helpful.

Last edited by BTDT on 02 Nov 2010, 2:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If you're not struggling, then diagnosis doesn't help much, knowing and figuring out how to help yourself cope better is most important. However, if you are having difficulties, that diagnosis can open the door to support networks, services and the RIGHT kind of counseling so you can get the right kind of help.

BTDT, thanks that was very helpful.

pandorazmtbox, yes that's exactly what I feel I need, support networks and perhaps counselling from people who understand.

So I spoke to my mom about this diagnosis appointment today. She told me why do I want to be labelled? Just live my life and be happy. She said if I do go ahead with the diagnosis then to just keep it private, as before long people will start looking at my kids (I don't have any yet) and wondering whether they also have it. I decided to take her advice and to keep it private and will ask my gf not to mention it to anybody.

It seems as a scientist I'd be in pretty good company anyway (looking at the list of famous math/science types with AS), so maybe it's not such a bad thing in some ways. On the other hand we all know having good social skills can benefit one's career and I've already started to see how it can cause problems (e.g. getting job reference letters from boss's when I find it difficult to connect with them socially).

I'm rolling my eyes, because before assessment I got this reaction a lot. It's been really painful for me to have to convince others what I've known and desperately worked to hide all my life. Friends have laughed, family have protested (just as your mother did). It's been a difficult road, but ultimately I know I need the help at this stage in my life, even if I managed okay for quite a few years. Now it all is crashing around me and I need that help.

Your diagnosis is private and yours, share or not. Sometimes, it can give you the extra understanding and help that you need so you can do well. I've been told to take disclosure on a person by person basis. Good luck!

I was not diagnosed with AS until I was 35. My wife was doing some research on the internet regarding our son. She had seen a soap that had an aspie character in it and she was concerned about my son possible having it. Well the more she researched the more she started to think it did sound like our son, but instead sounded like me! I took several online tests and scored high in all of them, so we thought I should see some one to at least ask. I had been in counseling previously because of anxiety. I am a graduate student and also work as employee for the university so I went to the counseling and testing center. After about three months of testing, sessions and reviewing my previous file, the psychologist came back with the diagnosis of AS. He recommended I see the only psychologist in our area that has worked a lot with aspies and he confirmed the diagnosis and I have been his patient ever since.

I'm with you. When I first came across all this aspie stuff (much longer ago than my status here indicates), I wanted nothing more than to have a professional declare that I was who I thought I was. As time goes by though, I'm good with just being me. I'm glad to know there are others like me, but I personally have nothing to gain from a proper diagnosis. Give it some thought before persuing a label, that's all

What can be gained is access to professionals who can actually offer appropriate counseling and the RIGHT kind of help, should you need it. Whether you are currently in crisis, or simply planning for the chance that you might end up there, it is important to go to a professional who does not misperceive the issue and treat it the wrong way. If you aren't struggling in your life, it probably isn't going to help you much, but if you are struggling with relationships, holding a job, maintaining friendships or depression, (and any other common issues that surround being Aspie), it is important that you get the right kind of help from people acquainted with the issues.

I never thought my mother passing away, my marriage ending, the completion of my education, moving, crisis with my kids' education and the launch of a new career would all stack up on each other in a matter of months. Even a well-adjusted NT would be seeking counseling, and I couldn't figure out why none of it was helping me. It was because I was going to the wrong people and using the wrong approaches when the reason I wasn't coping and able to adjust to the life changes was the underlying ASD issues. Now that I have access to that help, I'm already starting to make huge strides and may even manage to save my career/job.

The thing about the label...it's a medical diagnosis. It's personal, private information and stays between you and your doctor unless you tell others. ASD tends to have physical effects, propensity toward certain other physical maladies and ailments--such as certain cancers, tumors and gastrointestinal issues. These are usually not connected with the ASD unless there is a diagnosis. Thing is, if you had diabetes, would you avoid diagnosis because you didn't want to be labeled diabetic? Just food for thought...

For me, getting a professional diagnosis is more about personal understanding. I am too old to benefit from services that would help in things like education and establishing a career. But part of my thinking requires the elimination of conjecture. Perhaps it's actually part and parcel of autism, but self diagnosis does not carry the same weight in my mind and I cannot leave the cognitive dissonance unresolved. That said, seeking the professional diagnosis carries risk. What if I am told I am not on the spectrum. I would be astonished, because there is a level of resonance with autism and the narrative of my life that is at times startling in it's strength and clarity.Since stumbling into this milieu, I have had numerous "HOLY RAP, THIS IS ME" moments. It is can be both a relief and unnerving.

What I am going to do with this new found knowledge is yet to be determined. I still have fantasies of breaking out of my mundane, unremarkable mediocrity and DOING something that feels like I have actually realized my full potential.