Discrimination in Access to Medical Care?

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This is something that has happened to me here and there ever since I outed myself as autistic. I have neurologic and disabling chronic illnesses that have not been diagnosed, including a type of dysautonomia, inner ear problems, and neck issues.

I've seen it where my doctors will be rude to me when I cannot do certain medical tests in a convenient way because of my sensitivities. Another problem concerns that they will refuse to look at my paperwork and won't listen to me when I describe my symptoms if I come out as autistic, because they seem to think it's all in my head at that point.

A third concerns that the treatment they see most appropriate for me is counseling and some pathetic form of psychotherapy...they immediately turn their attention to the autism and how it is seemingly a problem for those around me, and stop caring about my documented medical needs that I came in for in the first place.

Anyone go through something similar?

Doctors are usually looking for an easy way to get out of having to do any real work, they would prefer to go about their day on autopilot if possible. Any mental illness or conditions like autism gives them an easy scapegoat to blame physiological symptoms on. Doctors in general make for VERY poor listeners with an average attention span between 12 to 18 seconds and many are heavily empathy deficient. Doctors usually make for some pretty terrible investigators and typically only solve the most obvious health problems, the rest can take years and many doctors until you finally come across a doctor who doesn't suck and will actually listen and is actually competent.

Ultimately patients need to advocate for themselves (a euphemism for "do the doctors job for them) constantly as doctors rarely for whatever reason have patients best interests in mind, rather they have their own interests in mind. Don't be afraid to speak up and stand up for yourself or have a third party come with you to the appointment if you struggle to stand up for yourself.

Try typing out your arguments, printing it off and handing the doctor a copy during each appointment. Words on a page, concise and neatly organized can overcome some of the communication problems you might have and they are easier to convey your arguments/concerns etc. Bringing in an iPad to your appointments with links open to google scholar or pubmed articles supporting any claims or arguments you make go a long way. Using an iPad or other tablet is better than printing off web articles as the amount of paper can overwhelm a doctor and make them not want to read as much had it been on a tablet.

Don't feel bad because you act assertively and say something to hurt their ego if their incompetence is causing you physical harm by delaying diagnosis and treatment for whatever health problems you are struggling with.