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BrixBrix
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 37
Location: ChineseSleepChant
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 Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject: Don't Know What To Do Next... |
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Hi. I'm new to this forum community.
Anyway, I am a 16-yr-old female. About 2 years ago, I was first told I probably had AS by a girl who had 2 Aspie family members. I didn't give it much thought, then I saw a documentary British Aspie Savant Daniel Tammet on the Discovery Channel and could not believe how much he was like me. I went on youtube and watched vids on ppl with AS & I could relate to all of them. So, I decided that the girl who told me I probably had it was most likely correct and went to seek a diagnosis.
My mom and I walked into my psychologists office and after about about 10 mins, my mom asked my psychologist if I had AS. My psychologist laughs and says "No way! She's too smart and too articulate," (keep in mind this is after only 10 mins of meeting me) then went on to say that aspies don't care how they feel or if they have friends. My psych totally ruled AS out and then diagnosed me with a crapload of anxiety and sensory disorders and depression.
This was about a year ago, and I'm starting to wonder if I should seek another psychologist. I think my doc was too quick to rule out AS and that she should have at least given me a proper diagnostic test for it. She acted as if Aspies are retarded people who cannot speak. And anyone who knows about AS will tell you that Aspies are highly articulate, highly intelligent people.
Plus, I still believe I have AS. I have to wear earplugs to school, I have no friends, I've never had a romantic relationship, I have extreme sensory integration problems, a monotone voice, and am not empathetic. I'm clumsy, cannot drive, can't maintain eye contact, and hate being around people. I also have absolute pitch. The only thing un-Aspie about me is that I can be very imaginative and creative.
If I do go to another psychologist, should I go to a general one or one who specializes in AS?
Thank you. |
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Tim_Tex
WP's Resident Simpsons and South Park Aficionado
Joined: Jul 03, 2004
Age: 28
Posts: 22397
Location: San Marcos, Texas
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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Welcome to WP!
_________________
When you need something, that's a responsibility, that only an adult...of my maturity...Bunnies!!!
~Meatwad, Aqua Teen Hunger Force |
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liloleme
Velociraptor
Joined: Jun 09, 2008
Age: 41
Posts: 414
Location: California
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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Hi BrixBrix.
You might want to try another psychologist as the one you saw sound like he/she was not very knowledgeable about AS. Also just to let you know, most people with AS are very creative and very imaginative  . |
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BrixBrix
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 37
Location: ChineseSleepChant
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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| liloleme wrote: | Hi BrixBrix.
You might want to try another psychologist as the one you saw sound like he/she was not very knowledgeable about AS. Also just to let you know, most people with AS are very creative and very imaginative . |
That's what I thought. But some people act like if you aren't a super weird geek who hates the world, you cannot have AS. |
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LadyMacbeth
They made me do it.
Joined: May 28, 2007
Age: 21
Posts: 1550
Location: In the girls toilets at Hogwarts, washing the blood off my hands.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:55 pm Post subject: Re: Don't Know What To Do Next... |
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| BrixBrix wrote: |
My mom and I walked into my psychologists office and after about about 10 mins, my mom asked my psychologist if I had AS. My psychologist laughs and says "No way! She's too smart and too articulate,"
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Heh, when I mentioned it to my mother, she had a look at the criteria, and said "You can't have it; you're not smart enough"!!
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We are the mutant race!!!! Don't look at my eyes, don't look at my face... |
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BrixBrix
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 37
Location: ChineseSleepChant
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:10 pm Post subject: Re: Don't Know What To Do Next... |
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| LadyMacbeth wrote: | | BrixBrix wrote: |
My mom and I walked into my psychologists office and after about about 10 mins, my mom asked my psychologist if I had AS. My psychologist laughs and says "No way! She's too smart and too articulate,"
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Heh, when I mentioned it to my mother, she had a look at the criteria, and said "You can't have it; you're not smart enough"!! |
That's weird and a bit funny simultaneously. |
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Angnix
Velociraptor
Joined: Nov 02, 2007
Age: 26
Posts: 456
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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Same issues here! I've been ruled out because the therapist thought AS people DON'T like to share there obcessive interest and the are more OCD than me... see an expert, I'm seriously thinking about it myself... I have mental illness also, complicating the issue.
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Strange mix of bird/Sonic obsession... I like the Flickies! |
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BrixBrix
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 37
Location: ChineseSleepChant
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Angnix wrote: | | Same issues here! I've been ruled out because the therapist thought AS people DON'T like to share there obcessive interest and the are more OCD than me... see an expert, I'm seriously thinking about it myself... I have mental illness also, complicating the issue. |
Your therapist is totally wrong.
AS people usually enjoy talking about their interests. For some Aspies, it's the only thing you can get them to talk about. lol |
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pakled
"Bless his Heart"
Joined: Nov 13, 2007
Age: 51
Posts: 3255
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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if you could form an accurate diagnosis of a total stranger in 10 minutes, all insurance companies would pay for 10-minute sessions...
I'd say get a 2nd opinion. |
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2ukenkerl
Phoenix
Joined: Jul 20, 2007
Posts: 4948
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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Though you can't say that AS is necessarily better than HFA, it IS clear that the floor is higher. About the only real given is the social problems.
A person on one forum told me of a mental disability HE had and, to basically show him I had no prejudices, I told him about my feelings about my having AS. I told him how those idiots say AS is anything from like a blithering idiot(though the DSM says otherwise), to someone that is VERY intelligent, etc...
It is ironic that I never considered psychiatrists to be very smart, and today find that I would like this to be refined and clarified so there can be no question. Anyone claiming you must be a "professional" to understand the DSM declares some kind of special codex or rosetta stone exists. Such a thing CLEARLY doesn't exist. What is needed is a clear language with clear examples. |
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lupin
Deinonychus
Joined: Jun 19, 2006
Posts: 348
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| Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 6:32 am Post subject: |
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<sigh>
...gooood grief, does this medical/psychiatric ignorance never end...?
I'm sorry you had this disturbing and careless experience, Brix.
This psychologist/trick-cyclist does NOT know what she's talking about. (Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to sit them in front of WP for a couple of hours...?? Rub their noses in their abject ignorance.)
I have several family members with AS - all prodigiously intelligent, and a few are well-known/national experts/high-selling authors and maybe even proper geniuses. All of us are kind of eccentric in that way that makes NTs go, 'awww, bit cuckoo but ever so bright and sweet'. (until you come within range of that famous 'brutal honesty'!!)
The problem is that AS [i]in itself[i] is NOT a disability. It's the NT world's ignorance and misinterpretation that make the disabilities. It sounds like your psych was looking for disease - that's what they're programmed to do - rather than evidence of a bona fide neurological difference.
So many of us here have been through the same sort of anxiety-making nonsense. Don't let anyone tell you that you're wrong about what you know about yourself. Keep reading and learning - if you fit then you'll know it...
If you really feel you need a diagnosis (and don't forget 'diagnosis' is about illness) see someone with a very high profile in AS - don't bother with the bottom-feeder run-of-the-mill psychs.
...welcome BTW! |
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BrixBrix
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 37
Location: ChineseSleepChant
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| Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:46 pm Post subject: |
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| The nearest Asperger specialist is about 1 hour away from where I live. But if that's how far I have to go to get a diagnosis, then I guess I'm gonna have to do it. |
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BrixBrix
Tufted Titmouse
Joined: Jul 05, 2008
Posts: 37
Location: ChineseSleepChant
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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I presented this issue on some other forums, and have been told twice that my mistake (or rather, my mom's) was mentioning AS as a possible diagnosis.
I was told that I should've made a list of all of my AS symptoms, presented it to the psychologist, tried not to hide any of my AS traits during the sessions, and let the psychologist be the first one to bring up the words "Asperger Syndrome", even if it took a few weeks or months.
One of the posters said that since most general psychologists don't just go looking for AS and have little experience with it, since it was brought up so early in my first session, my doctor probably didn't get a chance to see some of the biggest AS signs, and thus ruled the diagnosis out because of that.
I think they are right.
What do you all think? |
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Sora
Love all, trust a few
Joined: Sep 16, 2006
Age: 20
Posts: 2898
Location: Europe
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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It depends on whether a general, non-experienced would decide none of the disorders they have on their mind fit you and would then look them up.
The issue is, not all do that.
A list of AS symptoms can also be easily explained by a leap of other and more common diagnoses. A professional can find it satisfying to have a patient with 5 or more syndromes and disorders if they believe it explains the symptoms.
For some it's also a reality to have, say, social anxiety disorder, depressions, OCD, borderline pd, avoidance pd, PTSD and/or traumatic experiences (is given as an extra diagnosis next to Borderline pd sometimes), ADHD, an eating disorder and... actually, that's the ones that are fairly common and that I can remember at this moment.
The sensible route to take as a general psychologist is to go for common, most likely diagnoses.
Even the general doctor won't look up obscure diagnoses when he's unsure and has to find a reason why a patient is physically sick. The chance to find someone with a rare disease is just too small and not worth the risk to meddle in the unknown.
Anyway, it sometimes turns out to be bad to mention any diagnoses to some professionals. They'll react defensive, even if the diagnosis something common. Patients who 'self-diagnose' are the pet peeve of many professionals, physical as well as psychological.
And some, though open-minded and not bothered by self-diagnoses, react the way you described.
A reconstruction of that professionals reason to deny the possibility of you having AS is guesswork. Maybe that, maybe of one of the reasons I mentioned above, maybe she didn't think it was likely because of another reason.
Better take the 1-hour trip to the specialist if you plan on seeing another shrink in the future because of possible Asperger's.
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The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. Terry Pratchett |
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MartyMoose
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 01, 2008
Age: 20
Posts: 721
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:45 pm Post subject: Re: Don't Know What To Do Next... |
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| BrixBrix wrote: | Hi. I'm new to this forum community.
Anyway, I am a 16-yr-old female. About 2 years ago, I was first told I probably had AS by a girl who had 2 Aspie family members. I didn't give it much thought, then I saw a documentary British Aspie Savant Daniel Tammet on the Discovery Channel and could not believe how much he was like me. I went on youtube and watched vids on ppl with AS & I could relate to all of them. So, I decided that the girl who told me I probably had it was most likely correct and went to seek a diagnosis.
My mom and I walked into my psychologists office and after about about 10 mins, my mom asked my psychologist if I had AS. My psychologist laughs and says "No way! She's too smart and too articulate," (keep in mind this is after only 10 mins of meeting me) then went on to say that aspies don't care how they feel or if they have friends. My psych totally ruled AS out and then diagnosed me with a crapload of anxiety and sensory disorders and depression.
This was about a year ago, and I'm starting to wonder if I should seek another psychologist. I think my doc was too quick to rule out AS and that she should have at least given me a proper diagnostic test for it. She acted as if Aspies are retarded people who cannot speak. And anyone who knows about AS will tell you that Aspies are highly articulate, highly intelligent people.
Plus, I still believe I have AS. I have to wear earplugs to school, I have no friends, I've never had a romantic relationship, I have extreme sensory integration problems, a monotone voice, and am not empathetic. I'm clumsy, cannot drive, can't maintain eye contact, and hate being around people. I also have absolute pitch. The only thing un-Aspie about me is that I can be very imaginative and creative.
If I do go to another psychologist, should I go to a general one or one who specializes in AS?
Thank you. |
Imaginative and creativeness is un-aspie?
if anything I thing I think my imagination and creativeness are enhanced far beyond an average person because of my AS.
see a different psychologist. the other one is a bum.
Alot of the most intelligent and articulate people in history likely had AS Isaac Newton is one that comes to mind.
Have you ever read any stories involving Socrates in social situations and his overall behavior?
before I know I had AS I sort of listed all these unique traits that I have that no one I knew had (my dad seemed to have some) and when I would read about people like Newton, Socrates, Thomas Jefferson, Mozart, Albert Einstein, numorous quirky geniuses (most of whom extremely intellegent yet struggled in schools, and corrected teachers etc.) throughout history. I became fascinated by how much they behaved and thought the way I do and how I could relate to them oftentimes more than I could to my peers or my peers to them. I thought I must be some sort of rare genius. I then found out my traits had a name. and I also found out from a psychologist that I really do have the potential to be a genius. |
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