Just had my official dx appointment

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I had to do a simple puzzle explain what I observed in a cartoon depiction of a city scene interpret images in a story book (Twice) give instruction on how to brush one's teeth and discuss various things.

I felt like I was being treated like a very small child however. The diagnostic material was clearly aimed at children and she tried to test my reciprocity with ridiculously contrived interjections like:

HER: "What are some things that terrify you"
PAUSE

HER: "You know something really terrified me yesterday" [in pseudo baby talk]
PAUSE (inwardly rolls eyes)

ME: "Umm ok what was it"

HER: "I saw a biiiiiig spider on the sofa next to me"

AWKWARD PAUSE (How old does she think I am???)

ME: "Ummm ok"

This happened twice and the first time I didnt show any reciprocity as I just felt ... cornered? Second time it clicked that she was testing me so I responded with what you see above. I did try to be reciprocal but all that sprang to mind was "Im not afraid of spiders" which just felt almost like a superior thing to say. I guess its just the way she suddenly interjected with something personal when the entire conversation was about me.
I interpreted the cartoon pretty literally which was mainly down to nerves. I did try to add some fictional backdrop but it was mainly: This image shows this which may indicate that the horses are about to stampede. I offered some conjectures on what might be behind the mythology in the story. Not a very poetic retelling but ah well.

The brushing teeth description was hilarious. I had an imaginary sink and toothpaste. I began by performing the actions and midway through it turned into a technical exposition on how to brush your teeth effectively all demonstrative actions were abandoned.

She now needs to speak to my mum about my early development. My mum likes to pretend that everything is normal so she wont mention stuff like clumsiness eye contact empathy that were present. How should I coompensate?

Last edited by Ectryon on 06 Jun 2014, 12:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mention your concern to the examiner? The only other compensation is to find a different one who will not require a parent to be present and there are plenty if you look.

It's all bollox, innit? How much are you paying her?

Last edited by MrGrumpy on 06 Jun 2014, 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If I were in that situation, I would have wanted to say, "Why are you talking like a baby. It makes me quite uncomfortable when grown adults talk like that".

I say wanted, because I probably would not have thought to say that in the moment, and instead just remained quiet.

For the purposes of the evaluation, it probably doesn't matter.

The way an autistic person interprets an image is different than the way an NT interprets and image. There are individual differences in the interpretation but there are broad patterns that tend to differentiate between autistic people and neurotypical people.

Part of my interview was a discussion of some art in the doctor's office. I thought it was part of casual conversation, but it was part of the evaluation.

I won't go into it, but I didn't do something that the majority of NTs do in that sort of interpretation and I did do something that many with ASD do and very few NTs would do--or so it was explained to me.

I think some similar thing goes for the brushing your teeth thing. The detail of the task is not that important, the way you respond is what matters.

That's pretty much how my meetings with the Specialist went (I posted it in detail on here somewhere...). She didn't talk babytalk to me, but she might as well have. I couldn't help feeling like she was used to diagnosing children and so used similar means for diagnosing adults instead of tailoring a more mature test.

Luckily I only have to pay transport but there really needs to be some better adult dx service in place. I understand that asperger's in this day and age is generally caught earlier on so a dedicated adult wing might seem to constitute useless expenditure but autism doesnt magically disappear once you hit adulthood.As it is all I was offered was a counsellor. The same goes for ADHD there seems to be this notion that theyre childhood conditions.

If there were better (dedicated) adult support services better adult dx services would automatically follow simply because psychologists would have far more experience with adult aspies and their specific issues.

What do you imagine better adult dx services would be like?
Is the issue that what they are doing now doesn't work, or that in some detail it wasn't what you expected, or that you just did not like it?

As for support services, since there is no cure, a counselor or group is all you are likely to get. The question is really if the counselor would be any good.

But I think the issue is that very intensive counseling and therapy (training and skills workshops, for example) would cost money that governments don't want to spend, so it isn't going to happen.

Thats precisely what's needed. Life skills coaching essentially. The counsellor will be a run of the mill type too I imagine. At least a counsellor who specialises in ASD's would be of some help. Group therapy would be super too so that you'd have a chance to get together with people who share your difficulties

If it is true that autism is hard-wired, then it is hard to predict the usefulness of the talking therapies. And my own experience is that there is little to be gained from getting together with people who share the difficulties - we either stare at each other in silence, unable to think of anything to say, or else the meeting is dominated by one or more individuals who don't know when to shut up. Empathy is usually conspicuous by its absence.

I hope my psychologist does not do this - I will get mad if she does.

The world expert in Autism is only a short drive from me, but even with gov assistance, the diagnostic appointment (2 hrs) will cost me $250. This is really a last resort.

Has your psychologist asked for old home movies? I'm organizing these to help her, as I'm unsure my mother will want to see her too.

Although, yes, the questions she asked may have been a way for her to find out, she obviously doesn't understand that children can often grow out of some traits/difficulties, and if you are a girl (like I am) you would have been forced to interact with people and would have socialized more than say, a boy would have. Also, if they ask you about things like art - what if art is your special interest and you answer it wrongly? I mean clearly there is a lack of understanding about Asperger's/Austism in front line mental health - even here in Aus.

I think Life Skills coaching would be a great idea to help adult Aspies!

Actually, the test the OP mentions (and therefore, presumably the one you took) was the ADOS-2, which has five separate modules for testing individuals from 12-30 months, up to adulthood. Module 4, the highest module, is designed specifically for adolescents and adults with normal language development. Some of the tasks do seem a bit childish (I for one had a hard time with the creation of a story using random objects), but often the only way to get an accurate reading on a person's baseline skill-level in a particular task is to give the simplest test of that task possible, which usually means it's something a child would do. For the record, the ADOS-2 is considered the "gold standard" of autism tests, with the highest accuracy rating for any autism test currently available, especially when paired with the ADI-II, a take-home questionnaire for parents to fill out about their child's early development.

Someone posted this, yesterday I think, I can't remember who it was, I'm not done reading but so far it is really interesting A survival guide for people with Asperger syndrome

Makes sense - thanks for the explanation. I won't get grouchy now if my psychologist does this test Is it just me, or do you guys find you can also be a bit controlling over situations out of your control? Now to look up those tests you mentions... obsessing continues

ADOS for adults with average or above intelligence is a f*****g joke.