evaluation soon

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I managed to get an appointment in about 2 months for an evaluation for adult autism, mostly through my boyfriend's efforts. I already made a document going through the DSM V diagnostic criteria listing relevant behaviors/experiences, and going through the relevant "female-specific as traits" from help4aspergers, and my boyfriend sent it to the neuropsychologist when she expressed interest in it.

is there anything else I can or should do to prepare? what do I do if the grownups say no, I'm not on the spectrum after all?

sorry I don't really interact outside my own questions. thanks for reading.

Ask why they decided you are not autistic. Deal with whatever diagnosis you do receive. If you still disagree seek another opinion.

thank you. it's something I worry about a lot, and having at least some kind of plan makes it less awful.

That is the exact approach I took to prepare. It helps to have specific examples of situations where you have exhibited the behavior/traits you reference. The doctor prefers to also speak to people who know you because they have a different perspective and can provide information that you sometimes can't. I had some of my neurotypical friends tell me some things that I do/say/don't do that they think is weird. I looked at the criteria for diagnosis in different age groups and correlated them with my behavior at those specific ages up through adulthood. I hope all goes well for you and you receive a valid and helpful diagnosis and resources.

I have my evaluation on Monday, and my husband will be with me. Apparently it's supposed to take two and a half hours. I'm nervous that if I go through it and they decide I'm not on the autism spectrum, all I can tell myself is that I really am just a weird, broken individual for no particular reason...

I felt the same way, and I've read the same fear from a lot of other Aspies. Hopefully, you have a good doctor who can give you an accurate diagnosis. My evaluation took 8 hours because I did a lot of testing. I felt like, when I left, I would not receive the diagnosis I thought fit me. However, I did.

I think the appointments are split into two for me. The first appointment is paperwork and "interviews", and then the second is the "testing". I'm not sure what the difference would really be, but maybe the "testing" is what takes a really long time. Then he said he would take two weeks to put together the results and then meet for a third time about a diagnosis. It's nerve-wracking for sure.

pasty: thank you for the sort of overview. thank you also for being so supportive, both of me and of phoenixrain

phoenixrain: good luck! I'm glad you have someone to go with you, I know I feel a lot less pressure when my significant other comes to appointments with me. one of my friends pointed out that if they decide you're not on the spectrum, any decent human being would offer some kind of direction for you to look in, instead of just leaving you adrift, which kind of goes with what aspartofme said earlier in this thread. but you're not just "broken for no reason." that just seems kind of illogical, to me.

it's stressful, but we'll get through it.

While I was preparing for my diagnosis, I created a 10-page report on all the symptoms I displayed from childhood to the present, and listed them under their relevant DSM categories. I also took the RAADS-R test online and printed my results, and found a list of the most common traits in autistic females, and identified the ones I had. It was a bit overkill, and my therapist later admitted that she hadn't read my full report, but it helped me make sure I had all my bases covered, and that I wasn't missing anything important. The main thing to remember is to relax and do your best to be yourself. This is not a time to suppress symptoms you would normally hide out of fear of being seen as "not normal".

haha, I was tempted to do a long-form report like that (mine is only two and a half pages) but my friend said it would just make them mad. maybe I'll work on it anyway just in case.

are compensatory mechanisms and other tools of concealment/"passing" not part of being yourself? I'm not trying to be confrontational, I'm just trying to understand it better. they're things we learned to get along with other people, like all kids are taught to speak and share and say please and all that. but that's still part of them, isn't it? when someone tells an allistic to "be themself" they don't mean to revert/regress. but it kind of sounds like that's what you're suggesting, in a way? I don't understand all this very well, I'm new to the idea, so if you feel up to explaining I'd appreciate it.