Therapist shakes head twice, when you mention aspergers

[WereBear]

Imagine your own therapist being passive-aggressive. But then there's no telling how many in the medical field are instantly offended if you as a patient offer any medical input. Particularly if you acquired it from the Internet. Where at that point there's no telling how many condescending gestures may be coming your way.

Yes, they went to SCHOOL for this! How dare we!

Though we actually have far more experience

 

[WereBear]

Another bizarre thing I've noticed is how people can act all reassuring -- oh no you don't have it.

Like it's a bad thing. And I tell them I don't think it's a bad thing at all. Throws them for infinity loops.

 

[Streetwise]

Yes, they went to SCHOOL for this! How dare we!

Though we actually have far more experience

 

[Judge]

Yes, they went to SCHOOL for this! How dare we!

Though we actually have far more experience

Such dynamics between doctor and patient have given me a healthy respect for women in general who are inherently apprehensive about dealing with male gynecologists. Reflecting a similar dynamic to one who is Neurodiverse being assessed by one who is Neurotypical.

Where your well-being is entirely in the hands of someone who approaches you entirely from the standpoint of being book-learned, who has no firsthand understanding of your medical concerns on the most basic levels.

Which prompts the obvious question, with an equally obvious answer.

Of two medical professionals of relatively the same experience, would you prefer to be assessed by one is who is Neurotypical, or one who is Neurodiverse ?

 

[WereBear]

Of two medical professionals of relatively the same experience, would you prefer to be assessed by one is who is Neurotypical, or one who is Neurodiverse ?

I would like to try an ND doctor. I don’t want coddling, I want facts.

 

[Rich Gray]

Some people think that you do not have a thing without a diagnosis . . . as if having the diagnosis created the thing. Things exist before they are given name.

 

[LiberationBattle]

I spent half of my life going to a psych for depression (which I do have) and the meetings would go like this:
“Hi Brandon, how are you?”
I would answer briefly and he would ask about my medication
"How well would you say it is working?"
It never gave me jitters or really had much effect, at the most it kept me stable.
He would prescribe a higher dosage or a new medication and the meeting would be over.
TEN YEARS!

It wasn't until my father passed and struggled through a mental ward that they actually said "yes, you have ASD".
Going back to the psych (which I immediately switched out of), my mother confronted him and he said he had no knowledge of the spectrum. Well great.

I went to many many therapists and one even tried to push hypothetical questions onto me when my new psych said she should have been fired for doing so.
For example, she would ask "How would you react if I were in a bathing suit instead of this attire?"
"What if there was a giant snake in the room?"
Seeing as there wasn't, I said nothing at the time.

Now I have a wonderful male therapist who understands the spectrum and is working well with me. He says the "new way" will be to focus on my strengths, not my weaknesses. That's how it should be. I think it was Aristotle who quoted ages ago that the future doctor will not give meds but solely advice. All this medication is exacerbating the problem for many children when all they need is to be listened to and comforted that they are not so different after all.

Now, I don't have a traumatic disorder, and that's different, but I can say that my job at Stop & Shop and taking the Communications course at Massachusetts Bay Community College has made me a much stronger, more capable person. Driving is out of my capabilities, and I've worked around it with Uber and getting my state ID, but besides that I am much happier because I choose to live as such.