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Whole life history?

S

Schism

Well-Known Member
It's My Birthday!
So. Whole life story required for a diagnosis. Want the entire Book of Life. This would be longer than GOT extended edition!!

They, invasive, condesending, but terribly 'nice' interviewers want to know this, after 2 x meetings for approx. 5 hours. Why? Think I've had a traumatic life? Hell. It wasn't that bad! They talk to me like I am 5 (confession, I do Reddit).

I find this way beyond the call of duty for diagnosis. What's going on here? ADOS? What crap diagnosis is that? Is this a really bad sign that I am NOT on the spectrum & potentially a genuine life disaster?

Some people here have been diagnosed within 30 minutes. Totally angry right now. The prolonged agony is killing me.
 
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I believe a lot of what people do in this world is for the sole purpose of having done something and by having done something obtaining the feeling of having done something, thus legitimatizing whatever they'd like to legitimize. :)
 
I still think you know better than anyone whether or not you're on the spectrum..
Totally understand your frustration though..
If you really feel you need the official diagnosis, can you try a different place to get it?
 
I would say that is an awful lot to demand of you upfront. Counter offer them a half-life history.

;)
 
Thanks Fino for the translation. I get you now. Varzar, get you too, thanks for the input. Sad answer is no. This is the only path for me. Been waiting 4 years!

SPNOwl. .that's what they kinda hinted at. But it would also make a great book or a thesis project. I've had to sign over various confidentiality clauses pre-assessment which makes me kind of twitchy paranoia. They seem too interested for my liking.

Tom, yes, exactly!
 
I've said before - only you know what's going on inside of you. Seems these professionals have a variety of ways for them to determine whether or not they agree with the diagnosis. I mentioned to a psychiatrist that I thought I had autism and he asked why. I always try to keep things short, so I gave a simple, well, I don't know how to make friends for one things. He responded that sometimes people clash. So I clash with everyone? Anyhow, he had me talking to a therapist, so I took this book in about women and autism and showed it to her, explaining that I marked all the pages that I related to (95% of the pages had a sticker sticking out.) She just looked at the number of tabs and said, "Let me get you an appointment for a diagnosis". I was diagnosed (at age 59), but the process was stupid and I don't believe really answered any questions about whether or not I was actually autistic. It covered nothing that convinced myself that I was.
 
My diagnosis was over three meetings. Each took about an hours and a bit. The interviewer was clear and systematic in going through history.
 
Haha, it took me almost a year of appointments, tests, and questioning my wife as well to be diagnosed... In my opinion 5 hours is not that big of a deal. I also think the 30 minute diagnoses are a load of crap in most cases but the very extreme ones.
I'm not trying to cause a stir, but we definitely see this issue differently.
Sure, most people know what is going on inside themselves better than anyone else, but I don't believe we should be so quick to label ourselves and a diagnosis should be based on facts and not just speculation. Respectfully, in my opinion.
 
Granted, it's disturbing to consider the disparity between the most in depth diagnostic process and the most cursory ones where both arrive at the same conclusion.

However it would be difficult for me to disparage any sense of due diligence pertinent to a process of medical discovery. Perhaps if anything, concentrate on the end result. A positive diagnosis for autism. Regardless of how arduous the process may be.
 
Instead of a whole life history I think they'd be best asking you for reasons why you think you're Autistic and for you to provide examples why.
 
It's just disturbing to me that not everyone who administers such a diagnosis is on the same page. Yet in most cases they tend to follow specific protocols like the ICD-10 and DSM-5.

But then I could see any number of top physicians laughing, privately admitting that they all "freelance" their trade. Yet I suspect their malpractice insurers have other ideas. At least those not necessarily subject to socialized medicine.

- Kobyashi Maru. The "no-win" scenario. :(
 
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Schism said:
So. Whole life story required for a diagnosis. Want the entire Book of Life. This would be longer than GOT extended edition!!

They, invasive, condesending, but terribly 'nice' interviewers want to know this, after 2 x meetings for approx. 5 hours. Why? Think I've had a traumatic life? Hell. It wasn't that bad! They talk to me like I am 5 (confession, I do Reddit).

I find this way beyond the call of duty for diagnosis. What's going on here? ADOS? What crap diagnosis is that? Is this a really bad sign that I am NOT on the spectrum & potentially a genuine life disaster?

Some people here have been diagnosed within 30 minutes. Totally angry right now. The prolonged agony is killing me.
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I think it would be proper to tell the examiners how you feel, both the agony of waiting, and the discomfort of the lengthy assessment.

They probably wouldn't do anything differently with you, but it would be nice to get it off your chest and be heard. And it might alter how they treat other people in the future.

I've always found psychiatric intakes - when I am the patient - to be very uncomfortable. To shore myself up against the discomfort, I adopt a matter-of-fact tone with little emotion, which I'm sure gets written up as "flat affect" or even "denial."
 
Maybe they were trying to see if you were paranoid? Like if we keep you here for 5 hours, no bathroom breaks, bright light in your face, no food, and tell you bad jokes = massive breakdown. All you need is the Twlight Zone music to play, just for a nice comedic touch. I would be asking to leave, and l would become extremely figitidy, and l would start to get uncomfortable and ask if l could phone in my answers. I couldn't do that, l would say no, forgetta about it.
 
I was diagnosed with the criteria from the DSM-IV. I went to three different appointments of about a hour and a half each. The process was not unpleasant, I actually found it entertaining. The diagnosis was Asperger's Syndrome (DSM IV 299.80). I do not believe that I could even get a diagnosis with the DSM-V. I think that the changes made in the DSM-V were for all the wrong reasons.
 
Well done for sticking with it though.

One of the reasons I don't want a formal diagnosis is tgat I can't bear the thought of dredging up past that I have now made peace with.
 
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