Evaluation for Autism

Post Reply New Topic

Hi.
Tomorrow I get evaluated by a psychologist for Autism / Asperger's. I am down because my family rejects me. And I am nervous, because I don't know what to expect. Not looking for anything in particular. Just wanted to express that. I'm sure it will be alright either way. The main thing I am actually most dreading is driving through metro traffic (which I avoid except 2 or 3 times a year). Work was exhausting today. I love my job, but I just can't get through a day without a social or communication flub up. My coworkers are supportive and trying to understand my journey. They know I am weird and accept me the way I am, but I know I am annoying and confusing to them as they are to me. I hope this clinician can help get me some answers. Thanks for listening.

I struggle with similar issues. Every day becomes a crisis, trying to play a game to which I dont know the rules or understand.

Diagnosis was important for me. It gives me context for understanding what I am missing and how to better interact with others

Got my initial appointment done with psychologist "specializing" in Autism. No IQ test to check verbal vs nonverbal. No regular tests. Just an interview and then he says, "You are quirky which is Asperger's...but you have friends which autistics don't. I beg to differ...the young son of my best friend has autism and is a friend to many. This is disappointing. I know a lot of quirky ppl. Asperger's and autism is not about how weird someone is...it is about whether they can communicate, whether they can tolerate bonding or human interaction, and whether they have sensory issues. When I brought mine up (which are many and painful) he said that is for an OT to decide. Nope. This wasn't worth the trip through metro with the anxiety, rocking, stimming, and effort that wiped me out for the rest of the day. My friend told me to go to my GP. That is what I will do. None of this business of do you want to hurt yourself and do you take drugs.... I am needing an assessment for a developmental disorder. This guy needs to get over himself. No I will not be back in 2 weeks to pay him 40 bucks to probe with questions that have nothing to do with helping me with work and college. Just not happy. Sorry for the rant. I felt worse in his office than if I was on full sensory overload with no sleep or self care. Not worth it. Not for that.

And thanks Feral Botanist. You nailed it. About the game with the rules. I love that.

that is NOT an assessment. My assessment took about 5 hours altogether, with multiple tests (austistic spectrum quotient, etc.) and a lot of time interviewing with very pointed questions. Heck, the assessor even spoke with my mother (I can't remember much of when I was a child). So it sounds like, from your description, that you really didn't get a decent assessment, which unfortunately isn't surprising. First, it costs a lot. Second, it's very hard to find qualified people to do it. You might provide the rough geography of where you live and someone might have a referral. I live in the New York metro area, and so I was able to find someone really good. It took about 5 months from start to finish, but it was worth it.

You are so very right to ditch this incompetent "specialist" that is wrong in just about every way imaginable.

It took me a couple of painful tries to find the right clinician, too. It can be really painful to mismatched because it's so intimate. The first place I tried just doing the ADOS, since i had full pyscho-educational evaluations as a kid and I didn't feel that a new one was warranted. That was a terrible idea. The ADOS was not designed for grown-ups. And did not put me in any sitations where my challenges would be revealed. And I was too trapped by my communication/sensory issues to let them know what they were missing with me. Just terrible. The second one was MUCH better. We just talked and took surveys. He rubber stamped me. I was happy.

Thank you all for the support and advice. I live in Tennessee. I am quickly finding out this is not going to be a sprint but a cross country journey. And the more I look, the more clinicians I find. This guy had said that he did tests and his credentials said Ph.D. so I thought I was on the right track. I know it was a first impression, but my gut is usually right and it says to not go for a second visit. But it really helps to know if I was being impulsive cuz this is my first rodeo with this. I hate ya'll had to go through the crud but your experience is priceless. Thanks for taking the time to share it with me. I got an appt with the GP next Wednesday, so hopefully he can tell me something or refer me to someone who can. And part of my problem is not being able to communicate effectively what my challenges are. That sure doesn't help. But one would think a "specialist" in that ought to be able to be looking out for such a thing. What a trip this is. I hope ya'll have an awesome and smooth Thanksgiving. And thanks again.

It's really important to write those difficulties down before your visits. Do so in a form that will be easy for your doctor to digest, like a chart or a breifly worded list. Be sure to include how these problems are impacting you. (For example, the fact that my sensory issues make it difficult to shower was significant.) Some people even put the DSM criteria on one side and their symptoms on the other side of a chart. Bring that paper to the doctor for your evaluation. Everything will go much smoother if you do so. This is a problem with communication. Having a hard time communicating what problems you are having is pretty much diagnostic of being autistic, but somehow professionals have not caught onto this yet, and will often blow you off if you come in un-prepared, because we who are more socially able will tend to fall back on socially acceptable rote skills when we are in a stress situation, like being evaluated. And we look pretty normal when we do so, masking the extent to which we are affected.

Sorry to read that you are having the level of difficulty that you are. I know the process can be difficult at times. I wanted to offer a suggestion that might help you communicate your concerns and challenges better "in the moment" as I had a similar situation during my evaluation.

For the History part of my evaluation I had made a list of notes to jog my memory of events with a brief description so that I could better communicate the details of my life history. I did it on my smart phone, but it can easily be done in a notebook, or even a computer document that you can print out.

If your GP is able to refer you to another clinician try and contact the clinician before your appointment. (by email or phone) Inquire about how they do their evaluations. (mine was spread out over three appointments: History one day, IQ one day, and Questionnaires and Final questions on the last day) Will there be a formal written evaluation report at the end with findings and reccommendations? Ask them how long they have been working with ASD patients. If it is a clinician that you think will be able to do your evaluation I would also explain to them some of the difficulties you have already had as far as sensory and communication challenges with the past evaluator. If they are any good at what they do they should be understanding and reassuring about the process and may even prefer to observe the sensory and communication deficits face to face. I would also ask if there are any forms or parts of the evaluation that you can do at home if you think it would help. (I know some clinicians will do questionnaires through a secure website where you can do them on line and then they will be scored on the computer and the Dr. will get the results on their end)

For me the decision to seek a formal diagnosis at 43 was a challenging one. From there it took me three tries and four months to find a Dr. that knew what they were talking about. So I can relate to what you are going through. I hope that you find the answers you are seeking. I will say, for me, the struggle to find someone was worth it. Now, with a formal diagnosis I have identified everything that is present. Because of this, my therapy efforts are better, I am in the process of getting evaluated for sensory OT and In some ways "I have found my people". The bumpy road of getting the evaluation has started smoothing out. Kind Regards. Shark

Have a great Thanksgiving yourself.

100% agree with this. Very well put, and great advice. And ditto for me that the diagnosis has been a great help, better pinpointing what are (and what aren't) issues for me to work on, and how to best work on them. It was well worth it.

I'm sure there's someone in your area, but do the advance Q&A prior to meeting with them as suggested. They should be comfortable discussing what the evaluation would consist of (it differs according to person of course), how long it would take, what the results would look like, cost.

Best of luck and hope you find what you're looking for.