• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

How long did it take to receive your Aspergers/Autism diagnosis?

Droopy

Droopy

Founder & Former Admin
V.I.P Member
Some people within the Aspergers/Autism community complain that it takes too long to receive an official diagnosis. I have even read cases were people have went to private specialists rather than through the state health system.

For me, I would say it took a number of months for me to get officially diagnosed. I can't say what the exact time frame was as I was unaware that I was being examined for any sort of diagnosis (see my previous threads for more details). I would usually have seen a psychologist once a week and talk with him for about an hour each time. I also seen another psychologist at the same time who worked with the first one.

In addition, throughout the entire saga I was seeing multiple doctors, social services and education welfare officers as well. I doubt they had anything to do with the final diagnosis but no doubt that they were checking for other stuff that may have been "wrong" with me.

How long did it take you to receive a diagnosis? Are you satisfied with the length of time that it took?
 
There are no AS specialists for adults where I live. So if you want an "official" diagnosis you have to go to private practice. I'm in university and if I want accommodations I have to have an official full, psycho-educational assessment. The learning disability specialist and the counseling psychologist I see at the university agree that "AS-like symptoms" and related anxiety (not knowing how to act or the best way to articulate an idea, struggling with exhaustion from having to take in all the social info, etc) are the core of my difficulties, and I would benefit from various supports.

So I went and got an official psycho-educational assessment but it's taken since the summer to get it and I'm still waiting for the results. It's also still a huge gamble: if I get diagnosed with a "permanent disability" then I can apply to get up to 75% back from the Government of Canada. If not, if it's something I can "get over" then tough ****. I had to borrow the $2000 from my university, because I'm poor and can't get a job so let's hope I'm "permanently disabled".

Who knew "accessibility" services would be so, well, inaccessible?
 
I'm back.

It took us like several months for a diagnoses. I think it was September when I started seeing my psychiatrist and I wasn't diagnosed until early December. I was very hard to diagnose. Luckily I was a child when it all happened and my parents spoke about me to him about my history and current life and issues. I was seeing a psychologist since November of 96 and I saw her for an hour once a week. Psychiatrist, I don't remember. I don't even remember if anyone ever talked to me there. I do know I was asked three wishes and being left in the room by myself. Only mom and him talked and I just sat in the back all quiet. I'm niether satisified nor dissatisfied.
 
It took me about a month to get "a diagnosis". Although at first it wasn't one of Autism.

It took about 5 months from start to finish to get a diagnosis of Autism.
 
Nearly everytime I visited the psychologist or psychiatrist, I just shutdown. Six weeks ago, my parents and school had to fill out questionnaires - no response whatsoever since. Is it supposed to take this long?
 
SimplyDifferent said:
Nearly everytime I visited the psychologist or psychiatrist, I just shutdown. Six weeks ago, my parents and school had to fill out questionnaires - no response whatsoever since. Is it supposed to take this long?
Click to expand...

Well, it varies from country to county. Each psychologist is different in their approach and time frame. I would have thought that you would have had a diagnosis of some sort by now. When you say that you filled out questionnaires and haven't had a response since six weeks, that seems rather odd. Where you supposed to get a response? Are they ignoring/neglecting you perhaps?
 
It took a range of extensive testing and monitoring until i was completely confirmed, and i had many traits of typical autism but my diagnostician confirmed me having Asperger's syndrome but many thought i had typical autism but look at me now!
 
oskarandri said:
It took a range of extensive testing and monitoring until i was completely confirmed, and i had many traits of typical autism but my diagnostician confirmed me having Asperger's syndrome but many thought i had typical autism but look at me now!
Click to expand...

My story is similar to yours, I was first diagnosed at 3 with PDD only to be diagnosed again in high school with AS, then again with HFA. I wonder what the next diagnosis will be, schizophrenia? Social anxiety? Crazy?
 
For me, it depends when you start timing it! From the first time it was mentioned to me to getting a diagnosis was around a year. Apparently, though, it was first suggested to my parents about 25 years ago.
 
I'm not sure whether i'm just being ignored or not. All I was told was "developmental disorder", and that it needs to be narrowed down.
 
I've been diagnosed after 25 years of struggle with doctors and other so called specialists. I've been diagnosed with some general neurological disoder 1st, then silence, nobody wanted to deal with me any more, kept telling me, there's nothing wrong with you, just some minor neurological issues. I'm like, you know what you are all idiots, go to hell :)) I almost gave up then. When my son was diagnosed
With ASD and doctor explained me what it was in very clear terms, I could not believe my ears - he was talking about me. I actually used similar expressions when tried to explain my symptoms to doctors and none of them came to a conclusion that I had something like that. I knew nothing about Autism prior my son's diagnosis so it never crossed my mind. I went to a local Autism organization ( Easter Seals of Chicago) and talked to one of the coordinators about my symptoms, she asked their psychiatrist ( who asseses kids through their organization) to asses me. He did't have any doubts that I had Asperger's. It was a huge relief, finally someone's listened! Now I'm trying to get my older sone assessed, he might be on the spectrum as well, even though my husband believes he's got ADHD like he has. But my older son shows more and more signs similar to the ones that I've had in childhood. But we'll see, maybe my husband is right after all.
 
My son (4) was diagnosed with autism through the school, and it only took a few months. We started evaluations and testing in September, and by January, we had his diagnosis. After researching some information on austism, I came across Aspergers. I was reading some of the symptoms and tendencies associated with it, and realized that A LOT of them apply to myself. I talked to my son's teachers and the district's spec ed director, and they unofficially diagnosed me with Aspergers. They recommended I go to a psychologist for testing if I wanted something more definitive. I had a hard time finding a psychologist who would do the testing; everyone said they just worked with children and teens, and since I'm an adult now, why would I even want a diagnosis, since I have learned to deal with it. People are so judgmental! I just want to know if that explains all of my quirky behavior, social awkwardness, and ridiculous amounts of anxiety that have plagued me my whole life. Finally found one who did the testing; told me it would take about a month to get results. It's been over 3 weeks now, and I haven't heard anything. Would like to have an answer, though.
 
TsarinaMama said:
and since I'm an adult now, why would I even want a diagnosis, since I have learned to deal with it. People are so judgmental! I just want to know if that explains all of my quirky behavior, social awkwardness, and ridiculous amounts of anxiety that have plagued me my whole life.
Click to expand...


That's a question a lot of people (possibily) on the spectrum ask. "Why would I want a diagnosis?". If you live your life, have a stable career, job, education and all, everything seems fine. I think diagnosis is a tool for a lot of us to get that small bit of support we might need.

As for being judgmental and "forcing" that diagnosis on you. If anything, I'd say that testing without results and an outcome is a bit pointless I guess. Therapists don't really test in "private" (at least in my area)... if they test, it's healthcare covered and as such should have a use to "detect" anything that's different. NOt saying different is bad, not at all... but that's the way they measure I guess. If you want experts looking at your past issues and you want an explanation for that, it'll require some testing. If you feel you need that paper that confirms something, and what you do with that, is all up to you. Keep in mind, no one forces you to say "I've got Aspergers!". Even if you have it officially, you can just keep it in a safe and never look at it again, and keep it for personal closure.
 
My mom watched me and studied autism for three years before she told me that I must have Asperger's... does that count, even though I had no idea?
 
I was suspected of having AS at the age of 4 and was assessed at around that time but the doctor I saw said my results were inconclusive; this is what I've been told because I don't remember it, so I'm not exactly sure what happened there. However, I was reassessed when I was 9; this was after I moved school and we had to wait a long time for an appointment, in which my parents' and teachers' suspicions were confirmed and I was diagnosed.
 
King_Oni said:
That's a question a lot of people (possibily) on the spectrum ask. "Why would I want a diagnosis?". If you live your life, have a stable career, job, education and all, everything seems fine. I think diagnosis is a tool for a lot of us to get that small bit of support we might need.

As for being judgmental and "forcing" that diagnosis on you. If anything, I'd say that testing without results and an outcome is a bit pointless I guess. Therapists don't really test in "private" (at least in my area)... if they test, it's healthcare covered and as such should have a use to "detect" anything that's different. NOt saying different is bad, not at all... but that's the way they measure I guess. If you want experts looking at your past issues and you want an explanation for that, it'll require some testing. If you feel you need that paper that confirms something, and what you do with that, is all up to you. Keep in mind, no one forces you to say "I've got Aspergers!". Even if you have it officially, you can just keep it in a safe and never look at it again, and keep it for personal closure.
Click to expand...


I definitely don't want to make a big deal out of it IF I am autistic. The Aspergers characteristics mirror so many things I have done and continue to do, that an answer would at least let me know that I'm not nuts. :) I don't want an answer for anybody else, really, it's more so that I can try and make adjustments for myself, knowing what I'm trying to adjust. Making sense of how I see things will help me to explain to other people I work with why I do things like I do, etc. The testing was my idea; I'm pretty stubborn, so no one is going to "make" me do anything. :) I'm big on the "why" of things, though, and I've been trying to understand my "whys" for a very long time. Hoping to get the testing results back soon.
 
I personally don't see how it can take so long to get a DX. I for one was diagnosed after two seperate 45 minute "interviews" with my Psychriatrist. He knew right away that I wasn't Bipolar or just ADHD.. Ect. I didn't know what Apergers even was till he informed my mother and me about it. So I still am learning about it... today. Or trying to.
 
When I was kid they didn't believe girls could have Autism all they knew was that I was different. I reacted and acted different but they didn't know why. Then I was in high school saw a counselor to make friends because I was having such a hard time but no one thought to bring up Autism then I manged college and got into a program for my masters I had two internships where both of my supervisors suggested I get tested I was sorta tested in my second internship and I was told I had Aspergers. Then I got reevaluated for services and now have a dx of AS/pdd nos with nvld. Now I think sometimes its not only how long it takes for people to notice people are having trouble but also I found that when I was calling places to try to find a place to do adult evaluations they were months in advance due to the volume of people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom