Problem With Getting Diagnosed With AS

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Sorry in advance if my post is excessively long. I went to a doctor today in an attempt to get diagnosed with Asperger's and it didn't go too well. Before I say anymore I guess I should give a list of some of the symptoms I have in common with it:

Difficulty making small talk/conversation (not just nervous about talking to people but also unsure about how to talk/interact with people at social occasions.

Synethesia (associating letters/words, numbers and sometimes music with colours)

Obsessive over my own grammar/spelling (I take very long typing up e-mails and text messages. I spend a lot of time re-reading, editing and correcting grammar and spelling before sending them. I've even done it while typing this out)

OCD (for example having to take an even amount of steps when walking, an even amount of bites when eating, excessively rinsing/washing hands)

Like animals more than people (animals, especially cats, are more predictable and less noisy than people)

Routine (always like to sit in the same place in the sitting room, on the bus, in the pub etc. Feel annoyed when someone else takes my place)

Clumsy (often bump into people/things, ungraceful)

Possible monotonous voice (not sure if I have this or not)

Possibly have ADD/ADHD (easily distracted, often find myself zoning out, often procrastinate, restless while waiting)

Don't like showing emotion

Prefer to work by myself and don't like being observed while working

Don't like making eye contact

Don't like my head being touched (feels almost painful and makes me quite angry)

Obsessive interest in one or two musical artists

Don't like crowded areas

I have done quite a bit of research on AS and I am fairly confident that I have it. The doctor seemed rather doubtful about it and seems to think that I just have social anxiety. I'm 100% that I do have social anxiety but I think it's part of AS and that I don't just have that on it's own.

Anyway, I'm just looking for some advice on what to do next and maybe you could give your own thoughts on whether or not I have AS. Thanks.

Last edited by RedDeville on 23 Oct 2013, 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

this is a test docs use to diagnose AS. take it and if the results are positive, print it out and show your doc. www.iautistic.com/test_AS.php

I decided not to go the medical route and instead starting seeing a therapist, not specifically to get a diagnosis but to better understand myself and to engage in discussion with a neutral party. I have found it very useful and after only a short time my therapist diagnosed me with AS. I suppose it doesn't count as a true "medical" diagnosis, though I could pursue that by asking her to refer me to a psychiatrist. We both agreed that wouldn't be necessary for a variety of reasons. She is highly qualified and having her professional opinion has only solidified further something that I already knew about myself.

What type of doctor did you see? It's best to present your suspicions to a psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in Asperger's. Also, how did you go about addressing the topic of diagnosis? Most doctors don't like the patient telling them that they diagnosed themselves (with anything) and are only looking for confirmation, mainly because it a) can appear disrespectful given it's the doctor's job to figure out a diagnosis, and b) many people are wrong.

I think it's best to gently voice your suspicion in a way that sounds like you are asking for an opinion, and are just trying to give the doctor as much info as possible to make a diagnosis. I also think that seeing a specialist shows that you are trying to get an accurate diagnosis, rather just the diagnosis you want. A specialist should also be more able to readily recognize Asperger's, which is particularly helpful, because it's their job to evaluate the possibility of you having another condition that either mimics Asperger's or causes you to think you have it. It's not hard for a smart person to look Aspie on paper, Aspie or not, and plenty of smart people are mentally ill. Honestly, if the doctor is worth anything, it really should take at least a few visits, even if they think you have Asperger's right off the bat. The protocol and skill to accurately evaluate for multiple conditions are what make the diagnosis medically valid.

edit: I think that many of your symptoms could be attributed to social anxiety and/or Asperger's, and that this will make a diagnosis difficult to make for someone without much experience diagnosing both. I think it really might be a matter of finding a doctor with the right experience. I would use the search features on psychologytoday.com and findapsychologist.org and search by specialty. That's what I did.

It was a doctor at a mental health centre. He said that he's going to speak to a consultant and get back to me tomorrow about whether or not they've decided to send me to a psychologist.

I had gone to my GP already to get a referral so he already knew that I suspected that I had AS. I just gave him the list of symptoms and he read through it. I didn't really say that I had diagnosed myself, just that I had a suspicion of it.

why do u wanna be diagnosed?

here take my diagnosis. I don't want it anymore.

I get that "maybe its just social anxiety" thing from so many people. my personal observations have lead me to the understanding that RARELY do people without Asperger's think that they may have it and MOST people that suspect they have it do in fact have it. It's easy to spot other Aspies but I find it hilarious that other's can spend so much time around you and not think you are abnormal. It's like there is something inside me that says "there is NO way everyone else's brain is like mine". It's annoying that you have to prove so much to get a diagnosis when a lot of the experience is internal and to the experiencer it's so obvious. It's like how does NO ONE notice any of this???

Hey that's funny

That doctor probably wasn't qualified to make that kind of diagnosis, of course he wouldn't tell you so. There are very few doctors who are specialized enough to do autism diagnosis in adults. You need to be referred to those doctors, probably be on a waitlist for months, then have between 5 to 6 sessions and numerous tests done to get an autism diagnosis. It cost me a bit over $1500, though I heard it can be cheaper in US, it wouldn't be small change. 10 - 12 hours of a psychologist's time are probably pricey everywhere.

I have had similar problems, can you please explain why the doctor denied it?

Here's what mine said: you have obsessional ocd that you have ASD. and his reasons were that people with ASD shouldn't read facial/body/voice/etc language as easily as I can(I already told him this is my only non ASD symptom which is why I'm suspicious only).

My last meeting should be next week, but currently my suspicions is that I just have OCD + mild Adhd + social anxiety which happens to be comorbid conditions with ASD. also anxiety can make facial and speech impediments which can make you not express yourself.

I think its probably me being obsessively exaggerating how similar my traits are to those with AS, the traits could be easily the same by chance and similar lifestyles. I can still have ASD, i'll try to give an update on this next week.

I had that feeling since I was 3 or 4 years ago, I just never knew how to describe it and never did until I found out about Aspergers by accident. I'm an intensely skeptical person but I eventually reached the point where I had to either accept I had it or lie to myself about what I knew to be true. I saw a psychologist who picked up on it almost instantly although she is not able to formally diagnose it in adults and it's outrageously difficult and expensive to diagnose. Most competent experts even tell me they question why I can't settle with the semi-self diagnosis I have now.

I know I have (or had) social anxiety but that's only because I was rejected over and over again in my teenager years for seemingly no apparent reason due to Aspergers. No doctor seems able to make that connection though. Like my intense shyness as a kid, it was a defense mechanism for dealing with constant putdowns no matter how nice I was to other kids.