Made an appointment

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I made an appointment today with my regular medical professional to see about getting a referral to a specialist to get evaluated for something on the autism spectrum.

I'm a bit worried that I won't be taken seriously, since I don't think it's particularly obvious about me.

Also, I'm wondering how much I should prepare for the initial appointment, and what kinds of things I should prepare so that the medical professional can have a fair and reasonable look at what they need to look at before making a referral.

A lot of people write a huge, long, autobiography of themselves... this seems to be so common that the fact you have done it adds to your case with some professionals.

But honestly, it's hard to know what to expect. There are a lot of different opinions and methods out there. No reason to stress out or look to eager, though.

I wrote two pages of stuff about me that I thought fit an autism diagnosis. When I went to my GP for a referral, she photocopied it, read it, and agreed to refer me. Then, we discovered that the professional I was asking to be referred to wanted my psychiatrist to refer me. So I had to do it all over again with my psychiatrist.

She was hesitant about whether she would refer me, but when I pulled out my pages of notes, she read them, photocopied them, and said "hmm, you really do sound like you could be on the autism spectrum."

So I'm glad I went in with notes, because if I hadn't had them, she may not have agreed to refer me.

I feel that my PCP doesn't usually take me seriously either. I plan on approaching a psychologist first about it. I know my PCP will eventually be involved in some way, but I feel more comfortable mentioning it to someone else first.

Once I can go for testing I am going to make an extensive list of past and current events and things I remember from childhood as a way to prepare. It seems very helpful, as Eristacrat said.

I think its also helpful to write down personality traits you see in yourself and maybe ask some friends and family to help. I only say that because people around us can sometimes notice things that we don't.

I wrote a long list of potentially relevant things, which the medical professional didn't want to look at because it was too long, but I think it was helpful anyways, because it provided me with something to look at to tell her about possibly relevant things, rather than me having to remember them on the spot.

I got the referral.

Tell us how it goes for you.

I plan to. I'm not sure how long it will be before I actually get the specialist appointment - the disabled students office at my university which recommended him as the specialist to see said that his waits can be up to 6 months long.

I'm trying to remember that I'm not looking for a diagnosis, I'm looking for a competent evaluation; I want to know where I fit and whether describing myself as autistic is appropriate. A diagnosis, if I get one, may or may not be of practical value.

I have my next appointment in the process on Monday. It's with the doctor who does neuropsych testing. The secretary who set up the appointment described it as an appointment to discuss symptoms and determine if tests are appropriate and if so, what tests should be done, and to let me know what to expect from the testing.

I'm kind of nervous. On the one hand, I feel like I might need to justify myself all over again and try to demonstrate that I think there is something worth checking out. On the other hand, I worry a bit that in the effort to justify why there's something worth checking out, I'll present a one-sided view of the evidence and not present the possible evidence that might count against a diagnosis, even though ultimately what I want is not a diagnosis but an accurate evaluation.