Aspergers / High functioning autism assessment

[Gerard]

Tbh, if your therapist hasn't really justified the reason for exploring it I would question that. There are people diagnosed in their 50s and 60s, so late dx is not unusual as there would have been no resources for those people growing up. Those of us in our 20s or 30s may have slipped through the cracks hence the late dx.

Looking back on my report, I see the psych used Comic Sans font. Ugh. Couple of tests used on me included: ASQ, Diagnostic Analysis of Non-Verbal Ability-2 (DANVA-2), Maladaptive Behaviour Index, Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, others for depression and anxiety.

Tony Attwood is one of the biggest and well-established names in the field if you want to do some reading. There are some good videos from women on Youtube, also...but if you're pre-diagnosis I would be careful with Googling as you don't want to let those search results play on your mind too much.

[Tucan]

Tony Attwood is one of the biggest and well-established names in the field if you want to do some reading.

I got one of his books. It is good and useful.

[Lorien]

She has explained a bit about why she thinks that. It just feels like a reasonably bug thing to do. I mean people have been quite happy to peg everything in the loose ball park of personality disorder, but are really reluctant to be specific about why they think that. I don't really know which is right or if there is some validity in both.

I'm a bit worried that in asking someone the question outright it might give me a lot to try to get my head around.  Gerard, Toucan - did you find the process helpful? One of the main issues with things as they are is that people I encounter when I'm not really ok get really annoyed because I won't look at them and refuse to accept that the absence of crying and emotional explanation doesn't mean there isn't a problem. I don't know if that would be different or not.  The discussion around ASD in general has been quite helpful in me not being so critical of things that are helpful. If the assessment rules out an ASD I'm not 100%  I won't go back to being completely unable to let myself do things that are helpful.  It just seems like quite a big question. I will have a look into the Tony Attwood stuff.

[Tucan]

Yes I did find it helpful. It wasn't an easy process but it was a spring board toy recovery. It meant I could access stuff specifically for the aspergers, it helped professionals to adapt to working with me. I also got take more seriously, then again I think the stigma from professionals to people with personality disorders is awful. It also meant that I stopped beating myself up over my autistic traits. I accepted myself more and stop giving me such a hard time. For example I don't look at faces because I am not well, rather than I don't look at faces because I am rude and ignorant.

[Lorien]

Thats really helpful Toucan, thanks.  I'm glad it was helpful.  I think maybe I just need to bite the bullet and say that it's ok to make the referral.  I might write it down. Then I will still have a while to look into it and think things through. 

[Lorien]

I think being up all night has made things a bit

I'm not sure what I will think about it when I've had some sleep, but i think that maybe the long drawn out conversations I've had about this whole thing might have broken something in a good way. For the moment I think it has broken my ability to sleep, but hopefully that is temporary. Mainly I think it has changed how I see doing things that are helpful rather than s/h. I guess I kind of mean distractions, but I kind of don't. Most of the things are sensory things that I wouldn't allow myself to do before all of these conversations, even if I thought that they might help. So now I can do some of those things and it is helping (I've not done anything for the longest I've ever managed) somehow the things that go backwards and forwards in my head in arguments are less b*tchy and unhelpful...which again makes things easier.

But now I am second guessing everything because the last time I saw the Therapist, in fact the last few times, she has insisted that she has not been able to do anything helpful. I think I kind of blew my head up tonight with thinking about it. Now I can't work out if she is just being really self deprecating and incapable of seeing she actually achieved something I insisted was impossible, or if she was trying to make me do this, or if I am wrong and everything isn't different because I can do that, or I only think I can do that now because I am riding the lack of sleep and really I didn't get anywhere at all. There are 7 appointments left with her, so i could really do with her not losing it now, and not making me wonder if I've lost it either.

I also watched a series of Tony Attwood Youtube videos - which makes me less doubtful that it is an accurate description.

[Hyzenthlay]

I had an assessment a couple of years ago. I wasn't sure how to answer many of the questions, but the doctor gave me the diagnosis of Aspergers based mostly, as he said, on watching me. I have a lot of nervous habits like fiddling with my hair, earrings and necklace and I also stim and tap my feet. I refused offers of therapy etc cuz I am thirty seven years old and in that time, have learned coping methods. I can hold down a job and am in a long term relationship. Some help would have been nice when I was a teenager, but now I don't need any.

[Lorien]

So, they wrote the referral and I've got a copy of it. They sent it at the end of November,  but I've not heard anything, not even a thing to say they have it but there is a waiting list or something.  I don't see the Therapist now, I'm kind of wondering how long to wait for them to reply and what to do if they don't. I get that Christmas will have messed things about a lot, but it just seems really odd that I have no idea how long it will take for them to reply

[Rob]

Is it an option to ring and ask what the normal waiting time is? Seems an inoffensive enough question to ask.

[Lorien]

I wouldn't be able to do that, but I could ask my girlfriend.  She has actually already offered - but will it be annoying to them?