Diagnosing AS.

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I'm not sure if this is the right forum in which to ask this, and it is probably a fairly exhausted question, but does anyone happen to know how a teenager living in Australia could possibly go about seeking a diagnosis for AS? I've been having some minor problems lately, and I think that having a 'formal' diagnosis might be beneficial - mostly in the case of school.

Sorry if this question has already been asked and answered a thousand times over, and sorry if it is not in the right part of the forum.

Hope everyone has been having as good a week as possible, and that everyone is safe.

I shouldn't worry too much about whether the question has been asked before, I think that it is a very important one for people who post to this board (and even to those who only read it).

I live in the UK, so our health system is likely to be very different to yours, however a few general pointers might help.

Do you feel comfortable talking about it to your family Doctor?

If not, could you speak to a counsellor/educational psychologist at School (I'm assuming here, that you might be either at school or in post-school education, eg college, university, etc)?

If you are not at school but pursuing a career, are there any occupational therapists/counsellors you could talk to?

How comfortable are you discussing the subject with immediate family, if so, what do they have to say about it?

Are their any AS/ASD societies/charities in Australia? (There must be; it is simply a matter of finding one near the area where you live). If you live away from a major city, then the obvious place to try would be one of the nearest cities.

Finally, if the Australian education and health systems in any way resemble the UK ones, it should be easier to seek help for this as you are in your teens, rather than, say, being in your late 20's or early 30's. Many health professionals that deal with people in your age range are probably more aware of issues around AS/ASD then they have ever been, so hopefully, one of the suggestions above might help you.

I'm sorry I can't help you any more than this, but I don't know anything about the schooling/education system or the health services in Australia.

Since the US medical system might be different I can't offer direct ideas either. Since we have so many Australian members I'm sure someone will be by with help.

Adversarial's post is excellent...lots of good ideas there.

If you are interested in contacting the Autism Society of Western Austrialia, here is there web site

http://www.autism.org.au

They might be able to suggest a doctor or, as Adversarial mentioned, you could start with your family doctor and get a referal.

Good luck,
BeeBee

Here in W.A., I know there are two ways to go about it.
It's easier if you are young enough to see a paediatrician, because they can diagnose it themselves and there is no need to go further.
However, if you are an adult like me, the process can take a while.
I got referred to a private psychologist (it cost a bit) who specialises in autism/Aspergers, by my GP. Her diagnosis needed to be confirmed by a psychiatrist, so I had to see one of those too.
That's the way things go here. I don't know if the Autism Association would have a different way to help you, I hope they will. The waiting around is a killer!

Alli,

I'm in the 'gong and have just gone to my doctor to ask about being referred. I just explained to him how I felt and at the end he asked me if I'd ever heard of Aspergers. ! !! !!

I now have a referral to a psychologist and I go to see them on Monday 18th. I would whole-heartedly say to go to your GP first, and see where you go from there.

Please, let me know how you go, and I'll let you know my progress also.

Twonky

I would say just check with WA's Autism Association first. Email them and ask how best you could go about it. Their website is http://www.autism.org.au/
You can email them at [email protected]

That's where I got my official diagnosis from, 10 years ago.

Thanks so much for the replies! They have seriously helped out! Also, Twonky, I'll be really interested to see how you go. Good luck!

Thanks again to everyone. I'll check out the links supplied. So helpful!