Initial Assesment

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So, after 5 months waiting for what I was hoping to be an appointment with a specialist, I had my initial assessment down the road with a junior doctor who basically admitted to not knowing a great deal about aspergers. We then went on to talk for an hour about how much I drink, my parents separating (in my 20's!), my self harm (including a request to inspect my scars - that doesn't seem right!?).

Admittedly, he did have some notes I wrote and sent to my GP but, still, I sort of expected to be talking more about, you know, why I believe I have aspergers. I guess that he was trying to rule other stuff out but I feel very uneasy about the whole thing. Will wait and see what his findings letter says.

I waited a long time for my eval too... They focused a lot on past suicide attempts and cutting for me as well. But after many more questions about schooling and family life she came to the conclusion she thinks I have asperger's and Borderline Personality Disorder with Dissociative episodes. I am sorry to hear in the end you got someone not familiar in Aspergers... I can't imagine how frustrating and disappointing that is.

I wanted to let you know though that they focused on that stuff you mentioned for me too. I hope you get the much needed answers to your questions.

Well it seems like they are only looking at ruling out the possibility that I have mental health issues causing me to suspect AS such as hypochondria or schizophrenia so once that stuff is ruled out I should be at least on the waiting list for a AS specialist who might understand this stuff at least.

I hope it all works out for you. Not an easy process for sure.

I do not know if this helps. However, parents with kids on the spectrum will recognize that my son is autistic in well under a minute. Likewise, I tend to recognize autism in kids rather quickly. If you have friends on the spectrum, then you might want to ask for their opinion.

"It takes one to know one."

While they will take into account your theory as an area to look especially closely during assessment, these initial interviews are standard broad psych assessment with questions about a wide variety of mental health problems. They cast a very wide net at first, then get more specific as they get a better understanding of your psyche, personality, and the problems you are experiencing in your life currently and in the past.

It is unusual for a doctor to ask to see your self harm scars, yes. I have never had a GP, therapist, or pdoc make that request to me.

edit---- also, about waiting lists and referrals: in my case, I was referred to hospital psychiatric department by my GP. They conducted a short telephone screening interview with me, then I was placed on the waiting list. Five months for me also. At that time I did a 90 minute interview with a psychiatrist and a resident doctor in training. I did one followup interview with those two, and was then referred for neuropsychological testing. The waiting list for that was an additional six weeks or so. The neuropsych testing is the very detailed and thorough series of tests for autism spectrum and potential comorbids.

It's a long process.