Wife doesn't agree with my AS diagnosis...

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Hi everyone,

I'm new to this website, this forum, autism – everything…so - hi!

I'm a 40-year old adult who about 6 months ago now – quite unexpectedly – got diagnosed with a AS after a full psychiatric evaluation (this came about when originally met with an autism-specialist psychiatrist to have my daughter assessed, and he suggested I'd get evaluated as well).

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Here's what my "DSM-IV" diagnosis turned out to be after a 3 weeks of of testing/evaluating (I'm still trying to figure out what it all means):

Axis I:
1. Asperger's Disorder
- with symptoms of ADHD
- with symptoms of rumination and compulsions
- with symptoms of social phobia
- with symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder
- with symptoms of difficulties with transitions and change

2. Multiple specific phobias

Axis II:
No diagnosis

Axis III:
Sensory integration difficulties, hypertension

Axis IV:
Psychosocial stressors: High-stress management profession and care of 2 children (11 and 3), both suspected to be on the autism spectrum.

Axis V:
GAF=58

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Now, here's the kicker. My wife – who is a psychologist (PsyD) – disagrees with the AS diagnosis, and strongly feel that the psychiatrist might have mistaken sensory issues and social differences from overall *giftedness* with Asperger's symptoms. (She agrees on the ADHD/anxiety assessments however).

I went to see another mental health professional (PsyD) for 8 sessions to get a second opinion on this, and her assessment was "both" (AS +giftedness).

Who should I trust on this - my wife or the psychiatrist/psychologist? I really would like to settle it and get a final decision on if the AS diagnosis to be true or not so I can set up a good plan for how to maximize happiness for me and my family, and choose treatment plans etc.

Any suggestions of next steps?

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More details:

I have been struggling with my anxiety issues since early 20s, and have been prescribed a variety of anti-depressant/anti-obsessional medication over the years, but nothing has really helped other than occasional, short-acting sedatives (but of course, that's not something you can go around taking on a daily basis).

I've never had any motor skill or linguistic problems (quite the contrary). My IQ scores range from 140 to 160. I skipped a grade in elementary school, but I barely finished high school (got "distracted" with my passions…). I prefer solitude, and have problems related to most people, but I've developed masking mechanisms over the years, so if I am forced in to social gatherings, I can function normally (i.e. no one would suspect I'm actually in agony behind the scenes).

The ADHD medications I'm trying out are actually making a fantastic difference in my daily life – especially professionally. They give me a sense of calm, clarity and focus I have never before experienced while working, and my productivity is through the roof at work.

The panic/phobias/sensory issues are still severe and unresolved, however.

Any thoughts/ideas appreciated!

// Martin

Last edited by mlindhe on 18 Dec 2011, 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

To be honest you sort of sound like a general aspie. I don't go with all the deeds on wiki or stuff because I've realized Autism Spectrum is so broad and people are all different and unique, especially when they have multiple disorders. Like myself. You can be aspie and tons of other things at once. I would go with the diagnosis after you talk to more aspies and stuff. See if you relate. You should definitely try twitter if you don't already. Lots of older aspies and friends who can help and make it easier for you.

The question is, what do you think? Deal with the symptoms that bother you, never mind the label.

Shoe fits about 50% nowadays (would have fit more like 85% in my 20s). I guess I've developed enough coping strategies with most of it that it's potentially irrelevant at this point in the game, but...



Well, wouldn't the treatment of the various symptoms differ depending on the root cause of them? I don't care about labels so much per se, I just want to get it settled so I can focus on what the best treatment strategy would be.

Or are the treatment options identical for the anxiety/ADHD symptoms regardless?

The panic/anxiety/sensory issues bother me the most. They are quite severe, and my life gets organized around avoiding things, like noisy places, air travel, background music/radio, tunnels, crowds, loud places... And no antidepressant seems to help with this...

Yeah, I've gone to one group meeting (last week) and it was a very confusing mix of "wow, finally some people that are like me" and "Whoa, I must have walked in to the completely wrong group – who are these people?"... in other words, like you say, the spectrum seems to be very wide indeed.

But I feel uncomfortable with the idea of just "deciding myself" regarding the diagnosis depending on how comfortable i'd be with it... I mean, I'm not qualified to diagnose myself - and my wife certainly wouldn't be either, by definition.

So what would the next step be to be more certain? Go through another full psychiatric evaluation by a specialist for a third opinion?
Or just conclude that i *do* have AS since 2 professionals have said so already, and call it good?

I think that you should go with the diagnoses of the two professionals, since they agreed with each other and presumably you, unless you don't agree that you have ASD.

Or maybe this is too new to you to agree or disagree strongly with your diagnosis. I think that forums and meetings can help a lot in that case.

Is your wife a clinical or academic psychologist? Also, is her work at all related to psychpathologies?

Redacted