How can someone rule out AS just by looking at you?

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So the psychiatrist I went to said I don't have AS for sure without any tests and assessments. I mean its not the official diagnosis yet but she looked at me and talked to me for 2 mins and said i can't be on the spectrum. I guess because I made eye contact she thought I can't have AS. I'm going back again for an intensive testing session anyway soon.

There are a lot of those. But why were you trying to get a Dx from a psychiatrist in the first place? All they are good for is prescribe meds. You better get a good neurologist. The neurogist performed several physical evaluations to Dx my daughter with AS.

They shouldn't rule it out like that.

That's like saying someone isn't sick because they don't have a fever. you can't just look at someone and say they don't have something.

I would go see a professional not someone who will look at you and see you look them in the eyes and say you can't have it.

My suggestion is to look for an AS support group/community in your area/city. They probably answer the question frequently of where & how to gain a diagnosis.

Not all of us can be spotted on sight; that psychiatrist ruling it out after a brief discussion isn't doing a proper job. Instead of just saying "I don't think you have AS, so if you'll excuse me..." They should instead be telling you "I'm not sure if you have AS without running tests. Right now I don't think you have it, but since you're concerned we should diagnose what you do have."

Just because they have a PhD in Psychiatry doesn't make them good at it. (Grin)

Eye contact comes and goes. When making an effort or when insterested in not missing a thing, eye contact can last most of a visit/encounter. I've found that myself, but often I have the best conversations sitting next to someone and doing something with/for them or just looking out a window while I talk to them...usually telling them I like this and that it has nothing to do with interest level.

I never received an official diagnosis but I know that I will. Through my family doctor he had a mental health counsellor on staff and a psychiatrist who would come in one day per month. I talked with the counsellor & psychiatrist about Asperger's and how I wanted to know more about it. I rambled on for quite a long time. Afterwards he told me that he'd decided in the first 2 minutes that I did have it, but that wasn't an official diagnosis. I'm also fortunate enough that the university here has one of the world's top AS authorities. So at some point I do want to get an official diagnosis. When I talk to my family about AS...I still feel like they don't believe in it...like as if they're hearing about "magical alien dinosaurs from the 8th dimension" or that I'm having to give them a sales pitch on how it's real and that I have it everytime I want to bring up the topic. So communities like this one help, and someday I'll join the local AS community that we have in my city...especially since they have movie theater nights. hehehe

Hopefully part of what I said is useful or gives you an idea or a feeling of some community support,
Richard

Redacted.

My son was told by a psychiatrist, after a short meeting, the same.
The guy told me it couldn't be AS because he had theory of mind, and that he understood actions have consequenses.
So frustrating. To have learnt a pattern on consequenses of behaviours isn't the same as thoery of mind.
There aren't enough experts who know anything about asperger's, they seem few and far between.
And guess what, this psychiatrist said my son had no mental illness, and prescribed him antipsychotics.

One other thing is that it seems the general opinion around here anyway that asperger's isn't a mental illness, rather a learning difficulty. thats the way they treat it anyway. Then again, all the experts seem to say contradicting things about Asperger's here.

I think you are right, you cant dismiss it as a possibility after a short meeting. The psychologist my other son (with asperger's) is seeing told me it can be extremely difficult to diagnose people over 14 years old because they have often learned techniques and tactics that hide the traits well. Annoying that psychiatrists can dismiss it with such ease though.

It is hoped that one finds a professional that is an expert in the autism spectrum. But even that can't guarantee you will get a fair evaluation. There should be some measurement tool that you are evaluated against---like diagnostic criteria. And those should be carefully looked at and determined if you meet them. That is how it was done when I was diagnosed with Asperger's. I was measured against two sets of criteria. When my son was diagnosed with Asperger's, he too was evaluated against criteria. And then after his diagnosis, his school put together an expert team of psychologists who were experts in autism and they evaluated him by tests, and monitoring him in the classroom and school. Then they further confirmed his diagnosis of Asperger's. Then he was issued an IEP.

I don't get it. Are some of these professionals just too lazy to talk to someone for more than two minutes before determining that someone doesn't have something for sure?

Maybe everyone getting assessed should fall back to all their most natural childhood behaviors during the assessments. I only look people in the face as a courtesy. I would much rather stare at the mini-blinds.

thank you all. I spoke to a neurologist and I think I should go back to him now. he was the one who identified my traits but I didn't go back to him.

@MovieBuff333: no, not many people are aware of autism or the spectrum where I live.

and my own parents keep dismissing the issue when I bring it up. they then did some reading and are fairly certain I have/had many traits of aspergers.

Viera: I would also suggest finding a psychiatrist who specializes in ASD. That way, they have a better sense of what to look for, and I guarantee they won't dismiss your claims in 2 hours if you really have AS.

The first time I went in for a dx (like 6 years before the 2nd time I went in and actually got it) they basically did the same thing. They did a few tests, then decided I couldn't be an aspie because I didn't stim enough :-/. The second time I tried the doctor agreed that the first doctor was an idiot .

Ive learnt to make eyecontact. But i have heaps of people who are neurotyical and know or related to someone who have aspergers and tell me i cant have aspergers because im not aspie enough...
I tell them my social "norms" are learnt over much practice and ae not natrual.
No one takes me seriously when i say i have aspergers... N i cant even get anyone to give me the time of day to even be tested -_-