You can't have Asperger's because...

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I have reason to believe I have Asperger's, so naturally, I went to see someone about it because I can't stand not knowing whether I do or not, and apparently my own opinion is not good enough, I need to have a professional's opinion even though many professionals don't seem to know as much as they think they do...

So... I went to see someone that has maybe seen me for a total of two hours previously for something completely unrelated, and I asked them about the possibility of me having Asperger's. What they told me was that first of all they would have noticed when I was a kid (I just turned 18 last month), and secondly, because I want to become a neurologist (or something in the medical field anyways, though not a general doctor, definitely a doctor in a specialized field. Neurology interests me a lot though, everything from biochemistry of the brain, and nervous systems to the various diseases and disorders of the entire nervous system! I even bought a big fat book all bout the brain and other parts of the nervous system, my mom thought it was a waste of money but it was worth every penny.) .

Am I right in thinking this is a bit stupid? Mind you, this therapist must have noticed I wasn't very impressed as she told me "I know stuff about this, its my job." But by the things she said, it seemed as though she was basing everything she knew about Asperger's on the fact that she sees 3 kids with it somewhat regularly. (I assume, as she did not specify since it isn't my business I guess.) This bothers me, because I don't think she knows as much as she thinks she does. I told her I would like to see someone who knows more about it and she said she couldn't refer me, my doctor had to, but she'd call my doctor and ask him to refer me to someone specific who apparently really knows their stuff. (Entire reason I went to see this therapist is because I thought she could refer me directly to someone else, but apparently that's not the way it works...)

So hopefully in a couple of months I'll have an appointment with someone who will be able to give a more educated answer, but in the meantime I would seriously love to know if saying I don't have it because I want to be a neurologist is an accurate statement or not, because personally I don't think it is, but although I hate admitting it, I recently noticed I have a very hard time accepting being wrong about mostly anything, so I think it would be best if I asked opinions from people who probably know a decent amount about this sort of stuff.


TL;DR : Please don't answer if you did not read, thank you.




I like this emoticon because it looks funny.

The doctor just sounds ignorant. Many people have gone into their adulthood undiagnosed. Instead they be misdiagnosed with other things instead in their childhood or had other labels. i don't see what being a neurologist has to do with AS or not.

you gave a whole lot of unnecessary info with the wanting to be a neurologist thing, I think that's grounds enough to state you have it. in any event, the doc sounds like she doesn't know what she's talking about, and only recognises the traits for more severe cases.

in any event, good luck.

I have no idea how to answer your question about not telling anyone you may have AS in order to get a job, if you have a hard time accepting things though, that might mean you would be supervised.

What does TL;DR mean?

Too long; didn't read

The first time we mentioned that we thought I had Asperger's to my doctor he thought we were nuts. We came back to the next visit with lists of things, and my mom even wrote a commentary on a list of symptoms regarding how they each applied to me. He has now agreed to refer us to somebody who knows what is what.

My recommendation, if you think that you're doctor is disinclined to believe you, would be that you gather what information you can and highlight things and apply them to yourself (honestly). Give the doctor reason to believe that you have reasonable grounds to pursue a diagnosis and he (or she) will be more likely to refer you.

I'm not sure what to say about the therapist. Sounds like she was no help so I guess ...forget her?

Hit the nail on the head there. Being fascinated with neurology is pretty typical for an Aspie. I know, 'cause I'm fascinated with neurology and I've been diagnosed autistic by several real doctors. You'll see us around here, jabbering on about fMRIs and mirror neurons. I'm going to school so I can design assistive technology for people with atypical minds. Right now, that means psychology and engineering degrees, and then graduate school for human factors engineering or similar.

I've apparently got a pretty severe case of autism for somebody who's living on her own, however precariously. Oh, and I wasn't diagnosed until I was 20. So yeah, it's plenty easy to get a missed diagnosis when they're not looking for it or (as in my case) your parents are in denial.

I'd say neurology, medicine, anything science-y or so specialised is a pretty typical aspie interest.

Yeah, seek another opinion from someone who isn't so instantly dismissive.

because... you didn't get a referral from you doctor.

So I take it this is a NHS thing and you are from the UK?

The 90% of the times, it's the truth. But this doesn't mean you can't be diagnosed as an adult. I've known aspies who had been diagnosed as adults, and they certainly had the syndrome. About the fact you want to become a neurologist, it has nothing to do with having AS or not.

Yeah, I wasn't diagnosed until I turned 20.

If you have it, you have it, and it doesn't go away, therefore you can be diagnosed at any age.

Go so someone who knows what they're talking about - this guy doesn't.

Exactly. I was diagnosed at 27. The psychiatrist that diagnosed me said it's more difficult to diagnose in adults because we develop "coping mechanisms" that can mask the symptoms. It's always present, but adults can "hide" it more easily. So he interviewed my mother as part of the diagnostic process, asking her extensive questions about what I was like as a child. I think that if your current therapist doesn't care enough to have you tested, you should find someone who does.

My thoughts exactly.
Don't forget that "it's my job" does not mean in any way that that particular doctor knows what she is talking about, and the way she reacted probably means she's a bad one when it comes to this. Many doctors are ignorant when it comes to these issues. Just go see someone else that would actually look into it, a psychologist or a psychiatrist.

Remember that in order to be diagnosed with Asperger's, one must exhibit several symptoms of it to such a degree that one's day to day functioning is markedly impeded. Many people exhibit some symptoms while still falling within the parameters of normalcy, so there you go. The way I see it, the fact that Asperger's has been a perennial flavor of the month diagnosis for some time now has caused a large amount of people wishing to explain away their unhappiness in life to self diagnose. Anyway, just something to think about OP.

First, it seems to me the problem is, this therapist is supposed to be a "professional" and thus to be able to spot things like Aspergers. For her to admit that you might have it and she didn't spot it would imply she isn't as good as she seems to want she thinks she is. In other words, she's protecting her professional reputation, at your expense. I was a professional genealogist, and I watched my colleagues do this (in different ways, obviously). The people who resort to this are generally not half as good as they want people to think they are.

Second, "you can't have Aspergers because you want to be a neurologist" is a statement that makes about as much sense to me as it would to say "you can't have cancer because you want to be a photographer". In other words, I wouldn't trust this woman at all. She sounds like a total idiot.

And finally, when I read your description of the book you bought, and the fact you thought it was worth it, the first thing that came into my head was that you sounded just like any aspie pleased because they just dug further into their special interest. That isn't enough to prove you have it, obviously - but any halfway decent professional ought to at least look into the possibility a lot more deeply than this woman did.