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Adamantium
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06 Mar 2013, 7:26 am

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences here. I am at the start of this right now and reading about your experiences is enormously helpful.

ASD has been my special interest for about a month now, ever since my son was diagnosed with AS/HFA. My daughter also has a PDD assessment, and after hearing a talk by Tony Attwood on AS in women, I suspect she is also aspergerian.

I was called "gifted' in school in the seventies and my basic feeling about school was that it was horrible because they never taught you anything you did not already know or could not learn faster yourself with a little study, so it was deathly dulll. On top of this, 99+% of other kids were unsympathetic and vicious, so I never "fit in" and did not want to "fit in."

With that background, I just assumed the same sort of thing was going with my kids when the school began to express concern. They were bullied from Kindergarten on, but this was consistent with my experience, so I just thought, "kids stil suck--plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose!"

When they convinced me to have my boy evaluated by a developmental pediatrician, I expected her to say that he is gifted and unhappy because his interests put him outside the norm. I was profoundly shocked when she said "aspergers" with great confidence, she already had a second opinion from a colleague in the practice, though he did not do the whole three hour thing that she did but just gave him a quick interview and said he suspected AS on the basis of his style of speech, greeting, eye contact, extensive knowledge of the periodic table, etc.

I left in a state of shock. My wife rejected the idea at once. There is nothing wrong with him!

But I began to research, thinking there must be something going on if highly respected specialists formed this view... And now I have come completely around. Having learned much more about it, and asked my son some detailed questions about things that stress him at school, there was really no doubt.

Then, as I went in depth on research about how best to help him deal with it, i realized that I also fit the profile quite well and now I want the diagnosis. My therapist is also convinced and is sending me to a psychD to look into anti anxiety meds for the few issues I never developed good strategies for dealing with.

I like to know what I am getting into befor doing anything new, so reading about your experiences is really very helpful.

I feel that I have always been a stranger in a strange land, but here I finding others who speak my native tongue.



OsmosisAspie
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11 Mar 2013, 5:02 am

I'm in Australia and am going to do my first assessment appointment this Friday. The next two are the following Friday and then I have to wait for results in early May. The person doing the assessments will be on holidays between then so I have no choice but to wait. Hate waiting! I'm a bit nervous but listening to these podcasts make me relax because I fit so much of what Tony Attwood says. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/201 ... e=brisbane If you do a search with aspergers or autism there are 4 with Tony Attwood.


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HighPlateau
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11 Mar 2013, 7:31 am

LizNY wrote:
i know a diagnosis would not magically protect me from mean people, but i've been thinking it would help. but then, perhaps it's not worth it and i should continue to struggle the same as always.

As someone who was prompted to seek a diagnosis in order to shut an antagonist the f* up, I feel utterly qualified to say if that is your reason, don't bother. Your having a diagnosis won't stop a bully in its tracks. A bully lives to control, not to be thwarted by reason. If you stop them harassing you on one count, they will find something else to attack you for.

If your reason is to enable a unification of your sense of self and a difficult history, you may find some ease from the diagnosis. But you must go into it prepared to accept an alternative DX if that is what the therapist finds. So the starting point needs to be complete trust in your diagnostician. Seek a recommendation from a trusted source, not just unsubstantiated advertising say-so by the practitioner.



Tomas73
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26 Apr 2013, 3:00 am

Hi,

I can relate to a lot of what I have read here, about doctors and other people being unwilling to accept that they are not an authority on autism and or Asperger's. I had to fight to get to see a qualified professional, and have since received a diagnosis of Asperger's. The diagnostic assessment was very thorough, and included interviewing my mother about my early years. There was a triage system initially, first questionaires, then a home visit, some more questionaires, then three 2hr sessions/interviews with myself. I also undertook some tests, were I was asked to described my perception of some hypothetical scenarios that were presented to me, these included photos of peoples faces. All in all I have confidence in the diagnosis as it rings true for me.

I have little to no confidence in GP's (general practitioners). My experiences over a lifetime (at 39yrs) tell me not to be too trusting.

I hope this information helps someone :)



llel11
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02 May 2013, 11:16 pm

Liz I got the same response from the last therapist I saw. "I don't see that in you". Strange because I was reading a post on here by someone who was diagnosed talking about the assessments they give, and it is not about 'presenting' these are actual assessments. So in my humble opinion if you want to be assessed, you are paying him and you are the customer, he's working for you and he should do what YOU want him to do. It's so funny to me with the therapist that said that to me, she was a child sexual abuse and rape specialist so she found PTSD, well duh, I am an incest survivor but so is my sister and my sister is NT from hell. We had the same few abusers, my sister and I. Asperger is the first thing I've found that fully explains this. Plus the venue of therapy is the situation I am most adept at, having one on one discussion with an intelligent human being. Put me in a work situation with coworkers and it devolves into pure hell for me every time. This is not because of PTSD though my anxiety about it causes panic attacks frequently.



kalabalik
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06 May 2013, 12:23 pm

caissa wrote:
Most psychologists/ psychiatrists are jerks in my experience. Sorry to put it so bluntly but they all were, and I saw my fair share of them. In fact some of them were downright horrid.
.

I fully agree wit you about psychologists, I was married to one for 28 years. She is the person that has bullied mee most in my whole life. She took advantage of knowing about the weak points for a person with Asperger.

I am also trying to get a Asperger DX, toyed some years ago, but was rejected with Sertralin (SSRI), that had no effect on mee.



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07 May 2013, 12:27 am

LizNY wrote:
can anyone tell me what they think?


I would encourage anyone getting a diagnosis for Aspergers (a neurological disorder) to ensure that the diagnosis includes neurological testing.

My diagnostic testing included a battery of tests:

- Cognition/Information Processing
 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)
- Attention/Executive Functions
 Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA+Plus)
 Brown ADD Scales
 Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST-R)
 Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRiEF-A)
- Memory
 Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV)
- Adaptive Behavior
 Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Scales
 Advanced Clinical Solutions (ACS)
 Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA)
 Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)
- Social/Emotional
 Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III)
 Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire (MAQ)
 Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)
 Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Test

My history. I first learned about Aspergers in mid-December 2012 and then spent the next 4 months reading everything I could about the “condition”. I became interested not only in Aspergers, but also other “conditions” (i.e. certain Personality Disorders) that could be “confused” with Aspergers. I spent many, many hours each week reading Wrong Planet (and other online forums) as well as more than a dozen books (about both Aspergers and Personality Disorders).

The similarities between Aspergers and Schizoid Personality Disorder (not to mention Nonverbal Learning Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder) are what drove my decision to seek a formal diagnosis. There seems to be a lot of overlap in terms of commonalities of symptoms. And I wanted to know what was driving these symptoms.

That’s my story. I would suggest you carefully “shop around” when selecting a Psychologist for an assessment.



Ann2011
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07 May 2013, 7:48 am

Rocket123 wrote:
My diagnostic testing included a battery of tests:

- Cognition/Information Processing
 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)
- Attention/Executive Functions
 Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA+Plus)
 Brown ADD Scales
 Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST-R)
 Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRiEF-A)
- Memory
 Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV)
- Adaptive Behavior
 Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Scales
 Advanced Clinical Solutions (ACS)
 Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA)
 Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)
- Social/Emotional
 Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III)
 Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire (MAQ)
 Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)
 Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Test


Holy mother of pearl! My psychiatrist just talked to me for an hour, then my mother for another hour and she diagnosed me from that. I didn't have any tests.



Rocket123
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07 May 2013, 10:30 am

Ann2011 wrote:
Holy mother of pearl! My psychiatrist just talked to me for an hour, then my mother for another hour and she diagnosed me from that. I didn't have any tests.


Please see my Post where I describe the cognitive weaknesses in individuals with High Functioning Autism.

As a result of the neurological testing, the Psychologist was able to identify that I had issues with complex memory processing, which impacts Executive Functioning and Multi-Tasking.

From my perspective, these cognitive weaknesses in Complex Motor, Complex Memory, Complex Language, Concept-formation, Face Recognition manifest themselves in a set of behavioral symptoms that is describe as Aspergers (or HFA). It’s very systematic. And, I believe predictive (i.e. it should be easy to identify the behavioral symptoms a priori based upon knowing that these cognitive weaknesses are present).

As an example, take “socializing”. This activity requires significant multi-tasking (refer to my Post). Of course, anyone with those aforementioned cognitive weaknesses will suck at socializing. Each and every symptom I have ever read about traces back to these cognitive weaknesses.

Which is why neurological testing seems (at least to me) to be the best methodology of testing.

Please note, people can have some of the symptoms, without having those aforementioned cognitive weaknesses. Which would suggest it is not Aspergers/HFA.

Isn’t this brain stuff fascinating? As always, my thought only (based upon my heavy read of the materials).



Ann2011
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07 May 2013, 10:51 am

Rocket123 wrote:
Ann2011 wrote:
Holy mother of pearl! My psychiatrist just talked to me for an hour, then my mother for another hour and she diagnosed me from that. I didn't have any tests.


Please see my Post where I describe the cognitive weaknesses in individuals with High Functioning Autism.

As a result of the neurological testing, the Psychologist was able to identify that I had issues with complex memory processing, which impacts Executive Functioning and Multi-Tasking.

From my perspective, these cognitive weaknesses in Complex Motor, Complex Memory, Complex Language, Concept-formation, Face Recognition manifest themselves in a set of behavioral symptoms that is describe as Aspergers (or HFA). It’s very systematic. And, I believe predictive (i.e. it should be easy to identify the behavioral symptoms a priori based upon knowing that these cognitive weaknesses are present).

As an example, take “socializing”. This activity requires significant multi-tasking (refer to my Post). Of course, anyone with those aforementioned cognitive weaknesses will suck at socializing. Each and every symptom I have ever read about traces back to these cognitive weaknesses.

Which is why neurological testing seems (at least to me) to be the best methodology of testing.

Please note, people can have some of the symptoms, without having those aforementioned cognitive weaknesses. Which would suggest it is not Aspergers/HFA.

Isn’t this brain stuff fascinating? As always, my thought only (based upon my heavy read of the materials).

Interesting stuff . . . are these tests something you did yourself, or did you have them administered by professionals? I'm asking because I would love to see my results, but there is no way I'm going to get access to professionally administered tests. In Ontario the health system is so burdened that they won't do anything unless you are in a suicidal/dangerous state of mind. And I can't afford to pay for them privately.



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07 May 2013, 11:30 am

Ann2011 wrote:
Interesting stuff...


Yes, it is interesting.

And, learning about Aspergers/HFA has become one of my “special interests” (which I believe is yet another one of those behavioral symptoms). Per this Post, I spent countless hours researching Aspergers (and other "conditions" with symptoms similar to Aspergers) and documenting my symptoms (in preparation for a diagnosis).

As a note (to the general WP community who is considering a diagnosis), I would only recommend a professional diagnosis for someone who is willing to invest the time in the researching, learning, documenting activities I mentioned in the Post. I would not recommend a professional diagnosis for someone who reads one or two (or even 10) articles, thinks “that’s me”, without spending quality time doing deep research. Why? There are 1000s of articles about many different “conditions”. You cannot visit a professional for every “condition” you read about. Treat this like a scientific exercise (which, we Asperger types are usually good at). Formulate a hypothesis and gather information. My opinion only :)

Ann2011 wrote:
Interesting stuff . . . are these tests something you did yourself, or did you have them administered by professionals?


My tests were professionally administered. As a note, I was flabbergasted by the results. Going in, I realized I had issues (social and others). But, I thought I had average (or even above average) executive functioning capabilities. The tests clearly demonstrated my deficiencies in those areas. And those deficiencies (at least for me) helped tie everything together.



Ann2011
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07 May 2013, 12:33 pm

It is so important to bring up your symptoms with your specialist. They want to hear it from us; otherwise they are just guessing and projecting. When I went to my diagnosis I made a list of all the things that were causing me problems and examples of them. And I made sure to mention everything physical that I experienced.



catwhisperer
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08 May 2013, 12:22 pm

Ann2011 wrote:
Rocket123 wrote:
My diagnostic testing included a battery of tests:

- Cognition/Information Processing
 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV)
- Attention/Executive Functions
 Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA+Plus)
 Brown ADD Scales
 Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST-R)
 Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRiEF-A)
- Memory
 Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV)
- Adaptive Behavior
 Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Scales
 Advanced Clinical Solutions (ACS)
 Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA)
 Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2)
- Social/Emotional
 Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III)
 Multidimensional Anxiety Questionnaire (MAQ)
 Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)
 Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Test


Holy mother of pearl! My psychiatrist just talked to me for an hour, then my mother for another hour and she diagnosed me from that. I didn't have any tests.



That is a LOT of testing. :o



Rocket123
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08 May 2013, 12:42 pm

catwhisperer wrote:
That is a LOT of testing. :o


It was 6 hours of testing (with the Psychologist) plus a bunch of questionnaires (for both myself + wife). Going in, I was 80% certain I had Aspergers (based upon the behavioral symptoms). But...there is so much overlap (in symptoms with other stuff). So, some of the tests were included to test for a Psych Disorder.

It’s really odd. I sometimes wish I had never learned about Aspergers* (back in Dec, 2012). It has changed the “filter” I have used to view the world. It’s a more realistic filter based upon who I actually am (as I was previously trying to live a neurotypical life with neurotypical aspirations, albeit with tremendous stress and anxiety and awkwardness). But now I feel really lost. It’s unnerving and depressing. I suppose this is par for my life. Yikes.

* Note: Upon learning about Aspergers, I felt compelled to go forward with the Diagnosis. I just couldn’t not know, having discovered this proverbial tree of knowledge.



catwhisperer
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08 May 2013, 1:45 pm

Rocket123 wrote:
catwhisperer wrote:
That is a LOT of testing. :o


It was 6 hours of testing (with the Psychologist) plus a bunch of questionnaires (for both myself + wife). Going in, I was 80% certain I had Aspergers (based upon the behavioral symptoms). But...there is so much overlap (in symptoms with other stuff). So, some of the tests were included to test for a Psych Disorder.

It’s really odd. I sometimes wish I had never learned about Aspergers* (back in Dec, 2012). It has changed the “filter” I have used to view the world. It’s a more realistic filter based upon who I actually am (as I was previously trying to live a neurotypical life with neurotypical aspirations, albeit with tremendous stress and anxiety and awkwardness). But now I feel really lost. It’s unnerving and depressing. I suppose this is par for my life. Yikes.

* Note: Upon learning about Aspergers, I felt compelled to go forward with the Diagnosis. I just couldn’t not know, having discovered this proverbial tree of knowledge.


Me too. I've been so lost, hurt, and confused by identifying with aspergers and understanding the difficulties posted by a lot of the people here. Part of me feels relieved. I found people like me. :wink: and part of me knows this is the knowledge I should have had ages ago. but it's been really difficult. Accepting and adjusting and seeing myself more how other people have viewed me. I rethink everything as it happens and rethink my memories with this adjusted view of the world. Its tiring....



Rocket123
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08 May 2013, 2:53 pm

catwhisperer wrote:
Its tiring....


Yes it is.

A new story. Earlier this week, I had my first job interview since being diagnosed.

So, I have been unemployed for more a year now. Prior to being unemployed, I worked in the corporate environment for 26 years (all in high technology). During that time, I had 14 jobs. Pretty much, each time I started a new job, within months, I was looking for a new one. Pretty much, I had issues at each job both with peers (apparently, I made certain people uncomfortable by my detailed-oriented approach, while always speaking the truth) and superiors (by, at times, revealing that the emperor wore no clothes).

Anyway, back to the interview. It was an eye opening experience. This new “filter” I have, gave me better insight into why I have had so many problems with interviews in the past. I have easily had 100s of in-person interviews during my lifetime. Previously, I had always thought that my skills were lacking somehow (i.e. I lacked subject matter knowledge or didn’t have sufficient technical expertise).

Now, I realize I am simply not connecting with people. I knew I wasn’t good at socializing (which I avoid), but I never thought of the concept of “connecting” with others. It was totally foreign concept to me. Now, I understand how difficult it is for Aspies to survive in this world, as it is so difficult to connect with neurotypicals.

Yes. It is tiring a existence we live. And frustrating. It makes me feel sad.