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"If you were on the spectrum, you'd know it" ???

Personally I never lose sight of how potentially precarious it may be to imply or advise to a medical professional what you think the issues or problems might be. That for some, maybe many you may be instantly challenging their ability and authority.

After all they are people too, and their sense of objectivity may go only so far, no matter how kind and caring they might appear. That's got to be a mighty fine line with how much you can say to whomever is diagnosing you to earnestly enhance the process. That line between aiding them, or aggravating them personally.

Not to mention that many of them may have developed "knee-jerk" reactions to patients who access the Internet in pursuit of self-diagnosis. I'm sure that chaffs their hide whether a patient is legitimately onto something or going in the wrong direction.

Yeah, scary thing to walk into their office hoping for a resolution dependent on what you say and do. o_O
 
My sister made it to adulthood, got married and had children before getting a diagnosis. She only was diagnosed after her son was.

I would have been diagnosed as a kid if my parents hadn't been listening to all the "ADD/ADHD is a conspiracy to drug the children of America" stuff. When my public school teachers started recommending me see a child psych, they pulled me out of public school altogether and put me in a fundamentalist private school where every problem simply was fixed with "discipline". There I didn't have sensory processing difficulties or dyscalculia, dysgraphia and executive functioning problems. No. I was a rebellious, lazy kid who simply refused to try hard enough and needed to be yelled at by teachers and spend tons of time in detention.
 
I don't know how I got my diagnosis or even who diagnosed me as I was 6 when diagnosed. Still I think the comments made to you were ? of somene who's supposed to be there to help people.
 
I had some very similar experiences to you from my GP and also a psychologist I knew personally. Only they both said I couldn't have it because ' they' would know!
There are some good YouTube clips by Dr Tony Attwood who really is recognized as an expert on Aspergers. He talks about how so many women fly under the radar precisely because of psychs like the one you saw. Many of them are too arrogant to admit that they don't know everything about everything, and defer to someone who knows more.
If you really need a formal diagnosis you will have to find someone who does specialise in ASD.
If you just want help in understanding your issues and some possible strategies you might employ, just hang around here for a while! No end of helpful folks here.
 
Judge said:
Personally I never lose sight of how potentially precarious it may be to imply or advise to a medical professional what you think the issues or problems might be. That for some, maybe many you may be instantly challenging their ability and authority.

After all they are people too, and their sense of objectivity may go only so far, no matter how kind and caring they might appear. That's got to be a mighty fine line with how much you can say to whomever is diagnosing you to earnestly enhance the process. That line between aiding them, or aggravating them personally.

Not to mention that many of them may have developed "knee-jerk" reactions to patients who access the Internet in pursuit of self-diagnosis. I'm sure that chaffs their hide whether a patient is legitimately onto something or going in the wrong direction.

Yeah, scary thing to walk into their office hoping for a resolution dependent on what you say and do. o_O
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Well Judge, I agree to a degree- I think it depends on the professional how they react to patient input. I usually tell my docs what I think may be going on and they usually agree with me! Maybe I'm just fortunate to have good docs. I think that a good professional will at least hear a patient out and then if they disagree explain clearly and logically why. But as we all know, there are some doozy professionals out there and doozy patients too who may present in a know it all or belligerent and demanding way. Nothing to do with being aspie or not.
 
Fitzo said:
Only they both said I couldn't have it because ' they' would know!
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I always wonder if there are feelings of defensiveness in those kind of responses.....like if they just admitted they had never noticed or put things together, they would feel guilty or foolish or something.
 
the_tortoise said:
I always wonder if there are feelings of defensiveness in those kind of responses.....like if they just admitted they had never noticed or put things together, they would feel guilty or foolish or something.
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I agree, that could easily happen. Especially with some of us, who have learned to mask our true reactions and responses.
 
the_tortoise said:
I always wonder if there are feelings of defensiveness in those kind of responses.....like if they just admitted they had never noticed or put things together, they would feel guilty or foolish or something.
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Contradicting information can be a threat to the social self or the professional self (ego)
Standard practice to interpret reality in terms of this self
So contradicting information is intepreted seamlessly..

But we know its putting the cart before the horse
 
Also, I think the psych's response indicates some "rules" in their head about autism that are not true. I never had trouble with eye contact unless the person was hostile, for instance. Yet that is the first thing most people think about the spectrum, even professionals.
 
Ames said:
The first time I met with my new psychiatrist, she responded positively to my questions about ASD diagnosis and support. She said she would look into finding resources for me. When I asked about ASD evaluation and support during our second appointment, she dismissed me. She said there was no way I could be on the spectrum because if I were, I would have been diagnosed as a child, there was no way I could have "gotten this far" if I were actually on the spectrum. I said that what I had been reading indicated otherwise, and she cited her degrees and profession and said, "I can't account for what you find on Google."
As always, I didn't know what to say. I don't know what she meant by "gotten this far" - my age? Or the fact that I managed to get a few degrees in school? She seems to think people with ASD are easily spotted and always diagnosed during childhood, and perhaps unable to have any success in life, like earn a degree? How can the stereotypical Aspie be working in Silicon Valley, a programmer, or a physics professor, yet I managed to get a bachelor's degree, so there's no way I'm on the spectrum? I can make eye contact and usually hold a conversation, but I have struggled my whole life and never held a real job, so I guess I'm just "lazy"?
Feeling very lost and alone. Reading about females with ASD and realizing they were me changed my life, and yet I can find no support. I have no way to navigate through this. I feel like I can't "come out" to my family or friends without an actual diagnosis. When all the "support" I get is like this psychiatrist, I feel stupid for even trying to get help.

Thanks for letting me vent.
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One thing and say don't hide your traits I think the only reason I was referred to a psychologist was because I looked typically autistic when the doctor saw me almost low functioning autism if I done the usual and masked my traits I probably wouldn't be alive.
Thats not hypochondria ,i would not have been given welfare!!!! benefits!!!!! and I would've been very very ill .
 
I wasn't diagnosed until I was in my early 40s, in fact, the idea of me even being on the spectrum wasn't even brought up until I was in my 30s... Of course, I came up at a time when people didn't know much about autism, if people were aware of it, they probably thought everyone with autism was on the lower functioning end of the spectrum.
 
I wasn't diagnosed as an Aspie until I was 46! And even then, I had to go through two psychiatrists; one of them thought that I was trying to get disability for it when I was already receiving it. The other one was snooty and dismissive, after giving me tests that were meant for children and then patronizingly telling me that I had a high IQ. Then I found a psychologist and after two weeks observation, she said I was definitely on the Spectrum.

I have often read of people having negative experiences when seeking a diagnoses from psychiatrists. You are better off seeing a psychologist because they don't have a medication agenda. Sorry you had to endure that a**hole.
 
garnetflower13 said:
You are better off seeing a psychologist because they don't have a medication agenda.
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I agree, but here, you need either a ASD-specialized* neurologist or psychiatrist to get an official diagnosis. Since I have not been prescribed any psychotropic drugs, I do not need further follow-up by either of them. An ASD-competent psychologist is good enough.

*Neurologists may have other specialties, like Alzheimer's, dementia, TBI, etc.
 
I know what you mean. I'm English, and we have to be referred through our GP; when I ventured to mine that I think I'm autistic, she was very nice, but didn't believe me either, even though I was a new patient so she didn't even know me. She stated that it's a spectrum, which I already knew, then said she didn't think I'm autistic as I'm very intelligent, married and have held down jobs, even though I told her I struggled in the last two areas, and mentioned an obsession I had as a child that went on for a long time (she said it was normal, and classed it as imaginative play - it wasn't, it was very repetitive!). As it happens, it doesn't matter so much at my age (I'm 58), and I tell people I think I'm autistic as I can't get an official diagnosis.
 
My diagnostician said I'm "quite the anomaly" because I lack so many of the usual behaviors; I'm more adaptable to new things (but we moved an average of once a year during my childhood) and such, but nonetheless, especially after an interview with my mother :) she said I had autism.

And I had read about autism. I worked in IT. I was above-average-enlightened about it. And I still went for decades not knowing.

This person is really out there.
 
Yup, she's a dumbass.

I'm 29, I have three children, a long term partner, have lived independently since I was 16... And I have Aspergers Syndrome, that I was only diagnosed with in October.

Find another professional.
 
Katherine Rawstron said:
I know what you mean. I'm English, and we have to be referred through our GP; when I ventured to mine that I think I'm autistic, she was very nice, but didn't believe me either, even though I was a new patient so she didn't even know me. She stated that it's a spectrum, which I already knew, then said she didn't think I'm autistic as I'm very intelligent, married and have held down jobs, even though I told her I struggled in the last two areas, and mentioned an obsession I had as a child that went on for a long time (she said it was normal, and classed it as imaginative play - it wasn't, it was very repetitive!). As it happens, it doesn't matter so much at my age (I'm 58), and I tell people I think I'm autistic as I can't get an official diagnosis.
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Where do you live? Where I got diagnosed I didn't need a GP referral, I could do a self referral. Perhaps there's something in your area that does the same?
 
Ames said:
The first time I met with my new psychiatrist, she responded positively to my questions about ASD diagnosis and support. She said she would look into finding resources for me. When I asked about ASD evaluation and support during our second appointment, she dismissed me. She said there was no way I could be on the spectrum because if I were, I would have been diagnosed as a child, there was no way I could have "gotten this far" if I were actually on the spectrum. I said that what I had been reading indicated otherwise, and she cited her degrees and profession and said, "I can't account for what you find on Google."
As always, I didn't know what to say. I don't know what she meant by "gotten this far" - my age? Or the fact that I managed to get a few degrees in school? She seems to think people with ASD are easily spotted and always diagnosed during childhood, and perhaps unable to have any success in life, like earn a degree? How can the stereotypical Aspie be working in Silicon Valley, a programmer, or a physics professor, yet I managed to get a bachelor's degree, so there's no way I'm on the spectrum? I can make eye contact and usually hold a conversation, but I have struggled my whole life and never held a real job, so I guess I'm just "lazy"?
Feeling very lost and alone. Reading about females with ASD and realizing they were me changed my life, and yet I can find no support. I have no way to navigate through this. I feel like I can't "come out" to my family or friends without an actual diagnosis. When all the "support" I get is like this psychiatrist, I feel stupid for even trying to get help.

Thanks for letting me vent.
Click to expand...
She’s a moron
 
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