Opinion....please.

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(might be long winded....bear with me)

I was referred to a neuropsych for possible diagnosis or at least discussion of aspergers or autism spectrum disorder.
So i went to him for 3-4 sessions. I took the MMPI-2, and some memory/executive function/attention tests.
We talked about this and that occasionally.

So this last visit i was told this would be the "diagnostic appointment" where we put all the pieces together and come up with some conclusion.
Maybe i was expecting too much but i thought it would be like some kind of scientific theory where he'd given the variables tell me the conclusion is i have this....or that....or anything. But rather he instead came up with the conclusions of what my symptoms were. Such as my in ability to take information in if it isn't organized well, though i can follow stories. Then from the MMPI-2 he told me i am introverted, depressed, self loathing etc......

Other than the memory things which helped a bit to understand the things I am able to remember and the other disorganized things i am unable to remember, the information was not at all helpful. I already knew everything on the MMP-2, why would i need a reminder.

I was very confused as to why we weren't saying anything about aspergers or autism. So i brought up the south park episode aspergers.....which i thought was funny but mostly i wanted him to talk about whether i had it or not. I didn't want to come off as too abrasive to i brought that up instead. Anyways so we started discussing it and he told me yes i fit nearly all of the criteria, and can see that I behave very much like I am on the spectrum. And then he asked me if i have magical thinking because schizo type thinking is similar to aspergers i many ways but i couldn't give him any occurrences of that. Then he said well your mom said in this questionnaire that she filled out that you had friends as a kid, no speech delay, and were able to understand people then. Of that which I did not really know what to say....i didn't know so much weight would be put into this survey my mom spent half a minute filling out not really thinking it through. My mom isn't nor has she ever been very observant of my problems ever since i was a child, she's never been able to help me when i ask her because she has no idea what is going on inside my head ever since i was a young child. So it seems a stupid thing to weight a diagnosis. (He's never met my mom to observe how she might think and overlook things) He then says the schizo type scale is a lot like the aspergers scale and asks me if i have magical thinking again which i tell him no once again. Anyways his conclusion if you can call it one is that i have most if not all the attributes of aspergers but it is inconclusive.

So not sure where to go now....not sure if i want to go to this guy again, i like concrete answers and solid findings.

I would have rather he at least say I don't have it then to say...inconclusive....or that i do.

Just some kind of solid foundation to move on from and grow out of.

But this just leaves an unsavory flavor in my mouth.

Don't want to turn into a swbuto in some kind of paranoid limbo to nowhere.

Thinking of going to a different facility, forgetting about aspergers and just focusing on my depression/add instead and medicating that because this aspergers hunt probably won't yield anything.

So according to this guy:

"Magical schizo type thinking" ~ AS?
"Schizo type scale" ~ "AS scale"

Ummmmmmm...Methinks he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Hi Liveandletdie. I really feel for you on your journey to find out if you have Asperger's or not. Uh oh...I have feelings for your situation here---that means I must have empathy and we with Asperger's aren't suppose to have empathy.

I hope you get what I am saying here. That's like your mom talking about you having friends when you were a child. Well...so what---you had friends. I did too. However, does that mean we don't Asperger's. No. How did you feel around these children? For me, except for my best friend, I felt downright awkward.

I am a teacher, and I am around several autistic kids in my school. And you know what...they have friends.

I have read several of your posts here at the WrongPlanet. If I had to guess, I would say that you do have Asperger's. I even think the evaluator you had believes it.

Now...back to my empathy thing that I started with. Yes, I have feelings for how people feel. My challenge is showing my feelings to these people. That is the empathy issue. It is awkward for me to say these things. The same with friends. Having friends doesn't mean you don't have Asperger's---and you know that. So don't worry about the evaluation.

What I would do is find someone else. I know it's easier said than done. But there are very good professionals out there. I know it can cost dollars, but it can bring peace of mind.

There is something that you said that struck me. It was how you brought up autism to the evaluator---by not coming out directly with your question. You brought up South Park instead in order to try to get him to talk about autism. I am like that with many things. Sometimes it is difficult for me to come right out and get to the point---I have to hint around at it hoping someone else will catch on. For example, when I was younger and wanting to get a tattoo, I felt I needed permission from my mother. But I just could not come out and ask her. So I hinted around about it. I kept talking about how I kind of wanted to be my own self and do something to show I was different. I mentioned how I liked my grandfather and how he was different (and he had 3 tattoos). Finally my mother said, "You could get a tattoo." I about fell over. All I could say was, "Ok...I might do that." Well...several days later, I got tattooed. Then she thought I had mutilated my body and it upset her at first. I really felt terrible then. But we all got over it. Well...my point is, I have to hint around at things too. I don't know how "Aspie" that is, but I am officially diagnosed with Asperger's---and that's something I do.

From what I gather in your post, it sounds like the guy does think you have Asperger's. It is interesting that even after your mothers "half minute" response, he still seems to indicate he believes you have Asperger's because you match the criteria.

It should be simple, but because autism is a spectrum presenting itself in varying degrees on each part of the criteria, it can be complicated. But...as you look at each part of the criteria---do you feel like you are reading your biography? I mean, if it fits you...then it fits you. How about sensory issues with bright lights, loud noises, and being touched? That seems to fit a lot of us with autism.

I hope I have helped you. Don't get discouraged. I have read about so many people here at the WrongPlanet who have been frustrated about getting a diagnosis. Hang in there, and I feel you will get your resolve soon.

P.S. I also have OCD and feel compelled to proofread my posts. But this one was long for me. And I am not proofreading---sorry if there are errors in grammar, spelling, etc. Good luck to you.

glider18

Thanks for the encouragement...i will take it in strides...i must recover a bit from this session as I always must before I move onto next steps.

http://www.aspergerinfo.com/criteria.htm
A. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least two of the following:

(1) marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors, such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate social interaction
(all of the above)
(2) failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level
(currently all of the above, though in the past has fluctuated)

(3) a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)
(I never think hey i'd like to go do something with somebody unless it's with a girl for obvious reasons)

(4) lack of social or emotional reciprocity
When someone says how are you? I say good.
I don't reciprocate after something is said...i just answer the question.

B. Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

(1) encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus
I must have organized information, random things from every which way confuse me. I like to get categories and collect them, that is how i learn.

(2) apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals
Not sure one this one....i do things my way and people are not likely to change it.

(3) stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or complex whole-body movements)
I stim very often, though not often in the stereotyped ways most autsistics do....moving my legs around, rubing my head, tilting back and fourth, wiggling my feet in a repeptitive way, tapping on the table, rubbing the sides of my head, bouncing off of a wall,

(4) persistent preoccupation with parts of objects
i always fixate on object especially if i am in a new place i've never been or if there are a lot of people around helps me focus

C. The disturbance causes clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
I talk to 3-5 people a week and all of those conversations are awkward and end strangely

D. There is no clinically significant general delay in language (e.g., single words used by age 2 years, communicative phrases used by age 3 years).
no delay

E. There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self-help skills, adaptive behavior (other than in social interaction), and curiosity about the environment in childhood.
no delay...average to above average inteligence

F. Criteria are not met for another specific pervasive developmental disorder or schizophrenia.
I am guessing since part of the criteria overlap this is what is preventing him from saying it's not either schizo or aspergers though i've told him time and time again i do not have magical thinking.

I will be moving to a different facility....but dont think i'm going to persue aspergers....and just focus on my depression/add....
It's likely i have it but peopel don't seem to want to help me with it. Maybe if i am better from depression/add i will be able to help with it myself better.

In my experience, 'magical thinking' actually means 'high optimism'. Keep in mind that a key tenet, if not the only tenet, of science is skepticism.

It's not always Asperger's though. So many conditions can have similar symptoms. Many people can't tell the difference between their AS symptoms and ADHD ones, and I think you can add me to that group.

It's better to get things like depression treated before you seek a diagnosis of AS, just to be sure it's not the depression. I did that with anxiety but when anxiety went I still had my autistic symptoms.

See what happens when you get medicated for ADHD too. Usually someone with AS/autism will spend even more time on their interests, not want to talk to people or talk to people when it suits them (but may still not have very good social skills), they may be sensitive to medication and pick up sensory sensitivities (unless like me the opposite happens).