Who in the world can diagnose AS?

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I mentioned this briefly in another thread, but who in the world is qualified to diagnose AS in adult females?

I've been to 9 doctors, 4 of them who deal almost exclusively with people on the spectrum, and they say I don't have AS. Yet I must have it, social things have been extremely difficutl for me all my life and I never know what to do; I lack common sense, can't think on my feet, am subtly literal minded---thte list goes on and on. I"ve heard other Aspies say people find them shy, and people find me shy and overly "nice". Yet I can't get diagnosed. I know part of it is that while I feel I need to be diagnosed so that my problems can be identified and worked on and certain people will stop thinking I'm just too anxious or just not trying hard enough; I also have some weird fear of being diagnosed with AS, which I wish I could get rid of. However, this fear causes me to seem like an anxious NT in doctor's offices instead of an Aspie, and causes me to bring up factors in my childhood that could have caused someone with my behavioral problems without tbeing on the autism spectrum. Perhaps they are afraid to tell me I'm AS for fear I will react badly? Anyway, I have written reports from 4 people with a lot of experience with people on the autism spectrum and 3 of them state that I'm not autistic (the 4th, a neurologist, referred me to a neuropsych for more testing. I went to her eventually and got the usual result, though she did identify a visual-processing problem I have.)

Yet when I talked to a doctor in NY by phone who is mentioned on the GRASP site, he had never heard of any autism doctors in the Seattle area where I live, and mentioned a doctor who did a lot of research at the University of California, which would be closer than me coming to NY.

Anyway, could anyone here please recommend anyone in the US or Canada who has diagnosed 40-something adult females who also have a lot of anxiety and might present more NT than AS? It's OK to email me off site if you want to keep the name private. I might not be able to afford to see them immediately, but at least it would give me some hope.

Everyone can, all they need is an internet connection and a link to AS on Wikipedia.


Seriously though, the diagnostic criteria for AS has only been around for a few years, the world expert is Tony Attwood (based in Aus). He's trained some people so try his site for links or recommendations.

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/

i think alot of people especially women walk into a doctors office looking for a dx. thats the problem right there, dont go looking to get anything, because if your looking chances are you dont have aspergers but something else

Dear NorahW,

You’re caught in an interesting Catch 22. That’s gotta be painful. On the one hand you believe, sincerely and honestly, that you have AS. On the other hand there are a handful of professionals telling you that you don’t. You want a diagnosis so your problems can be identified and worked on, but at the same time you have a weird fear of being diagnosed. Are you interested in exploring a nonpathological explanation for your differences and social problems? I can’t guarantee you that it’ll fit, but at least it’s an alternative that respects both sides of the question.

geezer

Non-pathological?

Have any of these drs told you exactly why they don't think you are AS?

Could you explain this more? Looking for a diagnosis immediately precludes a person from fitting that diagnosis? And why especially women?

They think some of my social difficulties were caused by extreme overprotection as a child.

no i'm just saying that people who go into a doctors office to get a mental eval done and then come out of it unsatisfied with what they were dxd with is wrong. it is what it is. shopping around for a doctor who will give you what you want is not right. thats what alot of what seems like women do becaue aspergers is almost an exlusively a male disorder

But another way to look at it is this: Women are DX'd less often than men, not because fewer of us are Aspies than men, but because we are presenting differently. Maybe our social difficulties show up differently or are less noticeable, our interests may be more mainstream, or?? I'm not sure why. Maybe doctors are seeing "male with social difficulties" and thinking "AS", but when they see women with social difficulties they're thinking "social anxiety disorder".

well if women are presenting differently i'd like to see a sound scientific study on it, and have the current diagnostic standards for having As to be wrong. and not just some feminine bs either i dont want to see no links on some womans plight because shes been to every doctor in the world and they keep dx-ing her with social anxiety disorder, but she really has as

I have to agree with norah... I think when a female presents a same symptom as a male, the psy is more likely to "see" it differently. For instance if a woman goes into an office and says she is self-injuring, I think a psy is probably going to think "PTSD" or "borderline" whereas if a male goes in who is self injuring they might be more likely to think "stimming due to autism."

Norahw,

Some consider AS a disease or "pathology". ACTUALLY, AS is one diagnoses AS people MIGHT look for! Maybe the doctors are confusing it with the catch 22 theory.

The catch 22 theory refers to the statement in a novel called "catch 22". Supposedly it refers to a military rule that states people wanting to get out of the military on the grounds of being crazy weren't crazy because it showed a perfectly sane action they might be expeccted to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22_(logic)

Klinger in Mash wanted to get out, but everyone knew that, and couldn't take him seriously.

An AS person will RESEARCH, LEARN, and LIKE the idea of finally finding out what is wrong.

BTW I have ALSO been classified as shy. My senses being skewed, narrow focus, failure to understand some cues, etc... Make it a rather complex diagnoses. AS FITS! Good old Occam's razor! Even the parts that DON'T seem to fit really do or have. A LOT can change in 40+ years.

I used to be able to quote chapter/verse where information was.
I used to be able to learn quicker.
I used to be stubborn, and go without if things weren't just so.
I used to be VERY quiet, and sometimes very frank.
I would correct people, get upset at broken patterns,
I seemed more arrogant.
There WERE a few events that, in retrospect, were TEXTBOOK autistic. Perhaps because I looked at them as I did, they were rare.

Today I don't quote chapter and verse, but the info is still there.
I learn event things quickly, but otherwise need to improve.
I'm not so stubborn, but STILL have some ideosyncracies that stand out.
I can seem to be talkative, etc... but it is still a struggle.
These days, I am angry at myself as much as anyone because I don't feel as smart as I once did.
Broken patterns STILL upset me, but not as much.

Steve

If you're willing to travel, there's a gentlemen by the name of Dr. John M. Ortiz who runs the Asperger's Syndrome Institute in Pennsylvania. I don't know how often he does diagnoses since he seems to have a heavy conference/travel schedule along with his regular clients he sees. But it's worth a shot. Here's his website with contact information:

http://www.asperger-institute.com/

Thanks, I'll check that site out.

Nonpathological, yes. You’re getting plenty of advice that will lead to the same conclusion: You’ve got AS. You owe it to yourself to explore the alternatives.

You interested?

g