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ColdBlooded
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15 Jul 2009, 10:51 pm

I haven't got the results back yet... But i'm almost positive that i'll get an AS diagnosis.. Because the test lady seemed really impressed and said i was smart and am the only person she's ever tested who got to the last part of all the sections of the intelligence part, whatever that means(so, i don't have below normal IQ, and my "rote memory" must be alright, lol)... and because it seemed like i was racking up a TON of "yes" answers on one of the Aspergers quesnionnaires. And on the other Aspergers questionnaire i think every answer was either "sometimes" or "frequently".... I also noticed myself rocking for most of that four or so hours, and, as usual, i think anyone can see that my "eye contact" is definitely not up to par. The personality type parts seemed like most didn't apply to me, though. I don't know what physical pains and allergies stuff have to do with personality, either.. The only questions that really struck something with me were the ones about getting nervous in group settings. And it'll probably show that i have a somewhat pessimistic view of others', 'cause i answered yes to a lot of things like "do you think most people will lie to get ahead?" But, yeah. There's were also some questionnaire thingies that they wanted me to take home and have me, my mom and my sister to fill out that seemed to mostly cover things that look related to ADHD type stuff and executive functioning. Like whether or not things distract me, or if i can plan things. I've never really said anything about ADHD, but maybe the executive functioning types questions are helpful is detecting AS too. Some questions kind of confused me, so i'm hoping that that doesn't screw up the results. Like, whether or not i can plan things.. I sort of answered it as somewhere in the middle because it can be at either extreme depending on whether they mean actually planning my life and future(can't AT ALL), or planning something i'm about to do like a vacation(which i have had a tendency to do since i was little).

Anyway, if i don't get an AS diagnosis after that... then the world must have stopped making sense somewhere along the line :lol:

Anywho, i just felt like sharing that while i await the results. This Tuesday at my next therapy session i believe my psychologist is going to go over the results with me. I don't know if it's weird to be extremely excited about getting feedback from a psych test, but i can hardly wait.
Oh, and if anyone else wants to share anything about any kind of testing or whatever, go ahead :D



Acacia
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15 Jul 2009, 11:05 pm

Congratulations! I hope you find what you're looking for :)

I sort of wish I were in your shoes. I need psychiatric evaluation for AS... badly.


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ColdBlooded
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15 Jul 2009, 11:10 pm

Acacia wrote:
Congratulations! I hope you find what you're looking for :)

I sort of wish I were in your shoes. I need psychiatric evaluation for AS... badly.


Do you have any psychologists in your area that have some sort of experience with diagnosing ASDs? I think there are probably a lot more psychologists around that have expeience testing for different things like that than people realize. I had no clue that the place i go to did that until i showed interest in getting a diagnosis, and then my psychologist set up a testing appointment with another psychologist at the same practice. It still might not be the same as going to a special center than specializes in only ASDs, but they had me take a few different diagnostic AS tests... Not just a simple look at the DSM and that's that.. So it seems that it was pretty thorough.



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15 Jul 2009, 11:48 pm

Good luck.

(I'm just checking in so I get the update next week.)



Acacia
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16 Jul 2009, 12:35 am

ColdBlooded wrote:
Do you have any psychologists in your area that have some sort of experience with diagnosing ASDs?

Yes, of course. My obstacles to diagnosis are financial.
I'm hoping to land a job that I've been after, which has benefits including insurance, so that I can finally go see a doctor about this stuff.

The paradox is: I have to manage to overcome my AS traits so that I can get this job, thereby enabling me to afford getting an AS diagnosis. Kind of backwards... :?


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ColdBlooded
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16 Jul 2009, 12:39 am

Oh, that really sucks :( I'm lucky to still be on my parents' insurance for now(not much longer, though 8O ), and it pretty much covered everything. I wish you luck with the whole financial situation!



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16 Jul 2009, 1:05 am

Acacia wrote:
ColdBlooded wrote:
Do you have any psychologists in your area that have some sort of experience with diagnosing ASDs?

Yes, of course. My obstacles to diagnosis are financial.
I'm hoping to land a job that I've been after, which has benefits including insurance, so that I can finally go see a doctor about this stuff.

The paradox is: I have to manage to overcome my AS traits so that I can get this job, thereby enabling me to afford getting an AS diagnosis. Kind of backwards... :?


I had financial issues with regard to getting a diagnosis. I have insurance, but I decided I'd rather spend the money and find someone with experience diagnosing adults with AS than pick a name out of my insurance company's directory. I got a referral from a local autism society chapter, but she's "out of network" so I have to spend the money up front and then hope I get reimbursed later by my insurance. I hope eating Ramen soup for the past couple of months is worth it. :eew:

And to ColdBlooded, congrats on getting this step of the process done. I'll echo Acacia's sentiments and hope it's what you need.



Acacia
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16 Jul 2009, 1:14 am

ColdBlooded wrote:
Oh, that really sucks... I wish you luck with the whole financial situation!

Thank you! Again, best of luck to you on your journey of self-discovery.

DarrylZero wrote:
I hope eating Ramen soup for the past couple of months is worth it.

Good thing I like ramen :wink:
Just had some a little while ago, actually.
I'll probably find myself in a similar situation anyways, having to pay upfront for a doctor who is actually worthwhile. If I can just get this damn job, I'd even be able to pay out of pocket for it. Just got to pretend I don't have AS during job interview!


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ColdBlooded
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16 Jul 2009, 2:16 am

What kind of job are you going for?

I still don't know how the hell i actually got hired as a salesperson. Even when i'm working, i really don't seem like the type for that kind of job, i admit. I don't "hide" my AS traits well at all. In fact, i get stimmy pretty often at work... Especially when more than one person needs my help. And it's pretty obvious that i'm horrible at multitasking, and, even though i've gotten pretty "desensitized" to most things, some sensory issues make some situations strange(i think i've talked about not being able to hear people well over noise on here a bunch). I've also had at least three pretty major meltdowns on the job(one involved kicking things just acting crazy.. the rest were a little more withdrawn and i'm not sure how many people even knew, but did involve buying some razors then going into the bathroom, eh... and i sometimes get some mild "shutdowns" i think they are) I think that sometimes if you can manage to speak well and show that you're knowledgeable about the job that way that it sometimes covers up for having some eccentricities, though. That's the only way i can explain being employed right now. Sometimes just being good at explaining things intelligently and finding your own ways to be nice to other people makes up for the rest to your employers. Use your strengths :)



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16 Jul 2009, 8:15 am

Acacia wrote:
ColdBlooded wrote:
Do you have any psychologists in your area that have some sort of experience with diagnosing ASDs?

Yes, of course. My obstacles to diagnosis are financial.
I'm hoping to land a job that I've been after, which has benefits including insurance, so that I can finally go see a doctor about this stuff.

The paradox is: I have to manage to overcome my AS traits so that I can get this job, thereby enabling me to afford getting an AS diagnosis. Kind of backwards... :?
You really just need to suppress them long enough that people can see you are competent. If you can do that, then you can keep the job long enough to pay for the diagnosis and hopefully figure out how to negotiate your way around the non-AS world...


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16 Jul 2009, 4:09 pm

ColdBlooded wrote:
I still don't know how the hell i actually got hired as a salesperson....
How old are you? A pretty young woman can get away with a lot. More and more, the hiring process is little more than a beauty contest. I didn't get it at the time. I didn't think that way and refused to believe that anyone else did. Looking back, I can see that my behavior was much worse than it is now, but it doesn't matter. How you look is all that matters to some people.

I now regret not taking advantage of it back then. With so many unfair disadvantages working against me, why not take the one unfair advantage that was available to me?

Enjoy it while it lasts.



ColdBlooded
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16 Jul 2009, 4:39 pm

Tahitiii wrote:
ColdBlooded wrote:
I still don't know how the hell i actually got hired as a salesperson....
How old are you? A pretty young woman can get away with a lot. More and more, the hiring process is little more than a beauty contest. I didn't get it at the time. I didn't think that way and refused to believe that anyone else did. Looking back, I can see that my behavior was much worse than it is now, but it doesn't matter. How you look is all that matters to some people.

I now regret not taking advantage of it back then. With so many unfair disadvantages working against me, why not take the one unfair advantage that was available to me?

Enjoy it while it lasts.


I'm 21. But definitely NOT a beauty contest winner. I don't think i have any better chance of a getting a job for that reason than a guy. Actually, i'm pretty butch-looking(i get called "sir" by nearsighted old people a lot) and overweight. So that's most certainly not it. Plus, most of the people hired in the electronics department were guys anyway.