Any perspective on non-American/non-British diagnosis?
So, hey. I'm quite new here, been reading a lot, but this is my first thread.
I'm a 29 year-old female, not yet diagnosed. I've had some clues - including someone blatantly suggesting that I may be autistic - in the last couple of years, but dismissed them as I didn't fit the stereotypes. Recently, though, the topic ressurfaced in my life and I was able to study it a bit more. And, to my surprise, I found myself relating to most of the symptoms/traits of an autistic person. Even the things I didn't think quite fit had to be reconsidered as I recovered many memories from the past.
Now, I'm not one to self-diagnose, especially because, if I really am autistic, I don't think I would have enough input to analyse if I truly have the symptoms - I'm quite sure I am, following the autistic perspective, but a NT professional might feel differently about it.
The problem is, I really want to see a psychiatrist, but there's little information about autism support groups in my country and it's quite difficult to find a doctor down where I live - a small Brazilian town - that deals with autism. Not only that, being female also gives me a lot of insecurity because I feel my case wouldn't be properly assessed. It may just be a misconception - I certainly hope so -, but I'm starting to become very unsure about seeing a doctor here, and this is very bad because I have no other option.
I know there are tons of other threads about it, but I decided to open this one especifically because I was curious to see if there was any other Brazilian out there or possibly a non-American/non-British who may have had the same problem.
Fingers crossed in hopes of responses.
MissAlgernon
Deinonychus
Joined: 18 Feb 2016
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Posts: 382
Location: Aperture laboratories
I'm mot Brazilian, I live in continental Europe but I hope my post will still help.
Beware of psychiatrists, if you want my opinion. Autism isn't their specialty, as it isn't a mental illness. Many psychiatrists were taught while being students that autism is some kind of psychosis due to a mother who didn't show love during childhood ("fridge mother"). And many of them confuse symptoms of autism and also comorbid disorders with schizophrenia and bipolar personality disorder, so that's how you can end up diagnosed with weird things...
Wihat you need is a neurologist, and you'll find good ones in hospitals in the largest cities. And it might take long to meet a reputable one (6 months for mine). So I guess you'll need to do some research and have to travel, maybe to the other end of the country if necessary.
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