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StarTrekker
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08 Oct 2012, 12:11 am

I'm looking to get myself assessed for AS, and I'd like some details on the sorts of things you who were diagnosed as adults went through. Was it just asking questions, were there tests involved? Any insight you can give me to help prepare is much appreciated.


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Callista
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08 Oct 2012, 12:24 am

The first inkling the professionals had was just a conversation when I went in to get prescriptions for meds for depression... I had mentioned some things about my childhood, and how my mom had recently revealed to me that they had wanted to label me autistic when I was eleven. That started the process.

Eventually I had a full neuropsych evaluation. Half an hour's interview with a psychologist, some tests of memory, attention, sensory processing; an IQ test; some personality tests including the MMPI, which is probably one of the most boring tests in existence. I also had a vocational evaluation, which included things like testing academic skills and doing some tests that helped rate what my career goals and abilities were.

Not the end of the world, but it's new, unfamiliar, and you have to think hard; so you'll probably be pretty stressed out by the end of the day. I pretty much just flopped into bed after we finished.

Far as I can tell, this is on the more thorough end of things. Some psychologists might just do the interview and nothing else. Depending on your situation, that might be all it takes, especially if your case is fairly obvious. In my situation, they wanted a more complete picture mostly because I was trying to convince them that I could go to college, and they didn't want to recommend it if it was plain I couldn't do it. I must've done something right; I'm in college now.


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Sagroth
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08 Oct 2012, 12:34 am

Pretty much what Callista had, although there were some motor function tests thrown in(one of which, the tapping test, was excruciatingly painful for me).


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MindWithoutWalls
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08 Oct 2012, 5:49 pm

If you check my blog, I documented my two experiences - the first badly done, the second properly done. Both were stressful and tiring, but only the first left me freaked out and feeling horrible.


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Cash__
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08 Oct 2012, 7:44 pm

It consisted of my psych saying "have you heard of aspergers? I would like to add it as your diagnosis. It better describes you than the diagnosis's you presently have".

I had been seeing her for awhile. So she may have been working it for awhile, but that was the first I had heard of it. So I don't really know what process she used.



emimeni
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08 Oct 2012, 8:00 pm

I had a neuropsych exam, testing for ataxia (because of my CP diagnosis) a depression questionnaire (because of my depression diagnosis), and a chromosomal microarray, along with a chromosomal array I had when I was four, and the two brain MRIs' I've had over my lifetime.


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