Just a tip that worked with me. Do your research on autism first. You can pull up the DSM on-line and go down the list of diagnostic criteria. Does any of it apply? Now, here is where it gets a bit nebulous,...does it apply some of the time, or most of the time? Literally everyone can recall and "event" or "moment" in their lives when they experienced an "autistic moment",...and this is where "autism deniers" can loose context and perspective and be quite minimizing in their comments towards us. Sure, most neurotypicals are likely to have experienced a handful of "autistic moments" throughout their lives,...but it's the 100's of little things,...sometimes big things,...that are ever present and no matter how much time has gone by,...those things are still there. It's effecting our ability to keep a job, maintain a loving relationship, making us anxious, stressed, depressed,...the sensory issues,...all those things that culminate together and create this picture of a person with autism.
YouTube has a number of autistic video bloggers that put out regular videos on how autism manifests itself in daily life. I found several of them helpful. "The Aspie World" series often gets right to the point,...I like the way he does his videos. There are TED talks. There are scientific lectures. I am NOT a fan of Mark Hutton,...to me, he comes off as a neurotypical psychologist with a lot of "expert advice",...mainly directed towards neurotypical partners of autistics,...but clearly doesn't have the perspective to understand autism and it comes off as "minimizing" and "belittling",...and frankly, inaccurate, in the way he presents things.
The other part,...and this is a big one,...a psychologist will want to do an interview with you,...mostly to assess your reasons for being in the office in the first place, but secondly, he/she will be a trained observer, noting mood, how you dress, how you hold yourself, your communication style, reciprocity, etc. BEFORE you go in,...take the time,...sometimes weeks or months beforehand,...and start making your "You might be autistic if...." list. I wrote down an itemized list of all the things I am experiencing, all the things that I have experienced, my sensory issues, how I think, how I interact with people,...as much as I thought applied to my possibly being autistic. It took me a long time,...a 172 things. Typed it out onto a Word file and then printed it out for the psychologist on my first appointment. The reason: If you are truly autistic,...and being interviewed, and being asked pointed questions, face-to-face, especially about how you are feeling, etc....you might NOT be able to express it verbally in any sort of meaningful manner. This is an autistic trait. Help yourself out,...help the psychologist out.
Furthermore,...if you are on certain, as needed "mood enhancing" medications or supplements, nootropic "brain function enhancing" supplements,...even caffeine,...DO NOT take them prior to your testing. You have to drop your masking,...in some cases, feel like crap prior to walking in for your interview and testing,...literally, be "au natural" even if you feel your worst. So,...all my testing scores,...everything, was me, at my literal worst.
Ask about cognitive performance testing,...this is most helpful because most of the time you can't "fake" autistic cognitive performance testing,...it is what it is. Of course, they will likely have you do the usual written AQ testing, RAADS, etc. It is also important to deal with an expert in adult autism,...children and adults, due to maturity, due to psychological changes over time, due to brain development,...will present differently and need to be assessed differently. Remember this as well when looking at scientific literature,...there is quite a bit on children,...and children can manifest their autism differently than adults,...so whenever possible, look at the study population and make sure it is speaking of adults. Perspective and context matters.
