DogwoodTree
Still here...
So I found a small counseling service in my area that does psychological testing on kids, usually, and works with (mostly) kids on the spectrum or who otherwise are having challenges at school. I didn't have high expectations, since their office is in a rundown, old house near the town center. But I was surprised at how many people worked there, and how much traffic they had from clients.
Anyway, the woman talked with me for a while about why I was there and what I knew about myself that had raised the suspicion of being autistic, and why I wanted to be assessed. She asked about my childhood and current relationships. She looked through all of the paperwork I brought (online tests over the past year and a half) and asked me about parts of those. Then she conducted a more formal interview, and we talked about the questions as we went, since I wasn't sure how to interpret some of them. The final score could be in a range of 1-31, with anything over 15 indicating autism/Asperger's. I scored 29.
I asked her how this information might be helpful for my current therapist...how the dx might be able to inform the work we're doing on my PTSD issues. She also gave me some ideas to consider about how to deal with a couple of these things on my own.
So...there it is. It's been a year and a half since I first started suspecting and researching. It's a relief to know I don't have to keep asking the question, "Am I autistic?" Now I can really focus my energy on finding ways to use this information to help me make better adaptations to challenges.
Anyway, the woman talked with me for a while about why I was there and what I knew about myself that had raised the suspicion of being autistic, and why I wanted to be assessed. She asked about my childhood and current relationships. She looked through all of the paperwork I brought (online tests over the past year and a half) and asked me about parts of those. Then she conducted a more formal interview, and we talked about the questions as we went, since I wasn't sure how to interpret some of them. The final score could be in a range of 1-31, with anything over 15 indicating autism/Asperger's. I scored 29.
I asked her how this information might be helpful for my current therapist...how the dx might be able to inform the work we're doing on my PTSD issues. She also gave me some ideas to consider about how to deal with a couple of these things on my own.
So...there it is. It's been a year and a half since I first started suspecting and researching. It's a relief to know I don't have to keep asking the question, "Am I autistic?" Now I can really focus my energy on finding ways to use this information to help me make better adaptations to challenges.
