ASD? Wait and see...

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Tuesday of last week was my birthday. Unrelated to the topic, but a nice point of irony. I ended up having a panic attack which led to a meltdown that landed me in a mental hospital. The psychiatrist I saw was quick to identify major depression and anxiety, but I already knew about those. While there I brought up my suspicions of ASD. His answer was that while depressed we tend to view ourselves in a negative light and all screening instruments are designed to catch any and all possibilities resulting in many false positives. His suggestion to me was to reassess myself in a few months after the depression clears a bit.

I didn't challenge his suggestion at the hospital, but in retrospect maybe I should have. The thing is, I, like several here, don't see ASD as a negative. I'm a huge proponent of the notion of neurodiversity whether I'm on the spectrum or not. Furthermore, looking through the questions posed in the AQ, RAADS-R, and AspieQuiz several items seem to have more of a correlation with aspects of ADD and OCD than to symptoms expressed through depression or anxiety.

So, what's your take? Should I do as the doctor suggested and wait it out or press the issue elsewhere?

Press the issue, probably with someone who takes you seriously. This is so stupid. Did he/she even consider what CAUSES the depression and anxiety? Plus, you're right;it's not a negative thing necessarily. Often, people feel relieved to finally know why they are different.

This is coming from someone (me) who was OBSESSED with finding out what was wrong with her. Ever since I got my diagnosis, it all stopped. I now know what's always been different about me.

Oh, one more thing: I can almost guarantee that person did NOT perform an ADOS test. Having someone look at you is not a good indicator for an ASD diagnosis unless they are very experienced. Actually, I can pretty much tell you if you ended up in the mental hospital, they don't really do intensive testing for anything. In modern times, mental hospitals are usually a 2-3 week stay to regulate medicines (hopefully).

There is no point in challenging a doctor because they dont listen to patients opinions about medicine.
If you just went to another doctor and said things to him that are on the aspergers symptom list he would get the idea that you are aspergers and it would be HIS idea so he would go with it.

It might be necessary to see a psychologist who specializes in autistic spectrum disorders (and has some experience with this in adults). I've known for most of my life that there was something more deeply different to me than just introversion or a Melancholic personality. I spent hundreds of dollars on a more general therapist a few years ago and was told that I just needed to socialize more and work on my social skills; when I went to a specialist last month she knew right away that I was probably an Aspergian, and I was even able to go through a counseling ministry that helped reduce the cost of therapy.

Also, it might be very difficult to pursue a diagnosis of ASD while you're depressed. I remember that the psychologist had several depression-related questions for me to be sure that my experiences were long-term and normal for me rather than the skewed viewpoint of the depression-monster.

Any sort of anxiety or related disorder would probably skew results of an ASD test way more than depression. This is why people who do evaluations ask you about your childhood.

Any sort of anxiety or related disorder would probably skew results of an ASD test way more than depression. This is why people who do evaluations ask you about your childhood.

This is actually a good thing, this is how all diagnoses should be done. They shouldn't just diagnose after a first meeting when you're at your worst, or even in a couple. It should be a process. To ensure your problems aren't better explained by mental health issues. Your doctor might have some integrity. And also you should be critical of it as well. You should really think hard about whether you're just convincing yourself, and if you fit the criteria to a degree of impairment.

Why do you think you're on the spectrum if you view it as entirely positive?