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I wanted to bounce this statement I got in a phone consult off of you and see what you think of it.

As soon as I told the particular doctor that I thought either more severe ADHD than I thought, or mild AS was a possibility, I was told that the fact that I had called him ruled out AS because it made me too social.

This occurred at the start of the conversation, pretty much as soon as I said I was seeking some help.

Thoughts?

What is with the weird doctors etc. lately, if you don't get the courage to ask HOW WILL YOU EVER FIND OUT!

Last time I checked, going to a doctor wasn't considered to be a social event of any kind.

*picks jaw up off the floor Sorry. Utterly speechless.

Plus...here's an after thought...

How does she/he know how long you agonised and how long it took for you to muster up enough courage to be able to present to her/his practice?

Edit: Sorry, of course you did say phone consult. Though I still imagine picking up the phone would have taken quite some courage.

Last edited by luvmyaspie on 05 Jul 2010, 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This wasn't an in-person visit...it was a phone consult.

I'd say that doctor has nearly NO understanding of AS or Autism. Ask him/her to put you in touch with a real expert.

That statement reveals a PROFOUND lack of knowledge about Autism. He shouldn't even be offering you an informal comment, much less a diagnosis.

So...

What does he think? That social difficulty means you shouldn't even be able to talk to someone on the phone?

I would be looking for another doctor if I were you. That would be enough for me to fire him/her. It's easy to do with doctors. Just quit seeing them!

I have not even made an initial visit at this time.

(I am refraining from other comments at the moment to allow the discussion to evolve without interference.)

Wow...I really botched this one up didn't I

Sorry SoSayWeAll, I did realise after I read MrXxx's post and edited my second post.

Not a problem...I've been guilty of misreading things myself.

Yes, I've also been told that over the phone. In fact by the UCSF Medical Center (which is a med school). Anyway, that doctor is a dumb-ass. Or maybe he/she they thinks ASC's are a fad, and that he/she must therefore make up new, arbitrary diagnostic criteria such as "cannot use a telephone." Or that anyone with a PDD is "ret*d."

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that medical people always think logically, and follow criteria. If you're having a heart attack, or get cancer, they tend to, but for other things they go with their gut-feeling/initial-impression no matter how wrong that might be.

Doctors...

They're only practicing...

dont ask me how, but we are supposed to know everything right off the bat. we are supposed to follow rules that we dont know, we know one rule: you are not allowed to ask what the rules are.

Calling a doctor is considered social?

That's true for me. Sometimes it takes time for me to work up to being ready to call.
Often the actions/results are seen, but not the thoughts and process, and because of this there are misunderstandings.

Reminds me of this quote: "And sometimes this happens even after you have tried to make attempts at explaining to people that the effort you appear to be putting out, at the surface, is an incredibly minuscule fraction of the effort you are putting out internally, and requires the sacrifice of a lot of other things. But since all of the effort and all of the sacrifice takes place "backstage," nobody has any reason to believe it exists. They see you talking; therefore, talking must be easy. They see you moving around; therefore, motion must be effortless. (Possibly one of the reasons why some autistic people have talked about being treated less strangely, and as more of a person, if they use a wheelchair-- it's a clear advertisement that movement, at least, is not effortless, and the fact of its being there means there's "something wrong" which makes all your other "quirks" understandable, even if they can't fit those quirks to a pattern.) Maybe it's like being a duck-- you appear to be gliding smoothly across the water surface, but underneath the water where people can't see, you're busy paddling like hell. ~ an anonymous autistic student, "And People Still Fail to Get It, Again and Again"


I agree.
If that's what it meant, then that means I wouldn't be able to do my job (I'm a secretary and part of my job is to call people).

Wait! Wait!

I know!

When you're on the phone, the person isn't right there in front of you, so you have to use your imagination more!

That's it! That's why if you have Autism, you couldn't possibly use a telephone!

Come to think of it, you wouldn't be able to post on a forum either!

Lalalalala! None of us are Autistic! We can all stop posting now!

OK...seems like the consensus is pretty clear--that I was right for my BS-O-Meter to ping when I heard that statement--and so QUICKLY, too!

I may or may not have AS. That's fine. But it seems like this guy doesn't have an open mind, and I don't think I could work with him.