Extra, extra! Greentea going for diagnosis! (of all people!)

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Thank you, sunshower, that's very kind of you. I'm going to write all my symptoms, but there's no telling beforehand what a specific expert fixes on. They obviously have each their own preconceptions of what an autistic should be/look like, and if you fail that one, no amount of evidence will do.

Kaleido, they don't give detailed reports. Besides, one thing I remembered today that he said was that maybe I had some mild Autism before, that caused me to have a frustrating social life history but nowadays it's the traumatic, painful past that prevents me from having social success and not the Autism so the Autism has become irrelevant. I don't agree, because I know my blindness to nonverbal cues is what causes most problems for me with people. Especially non-verbal expectations that I fail to grasp and therefore deliver.

Dianitapilla, that's precisely the reason why I want to go to a better-recommended specialist. Because this one didn't feel to me like he's experienced in dialogue with an Autie/Aspie. Eg: when he used non-verbal language with me (which he did a lot), he just assumed that I understood it without checking with me. All these smiles and shrugs instead of verbal answers to my crucial questions... I could've told him I didn't understand, but I don't have to be infallible. If you're checking for Autism, you should check if they understood your nonverbal answers if the patient is too nervous or confused to ask.

Oh boy!! !! !! ! I called one of the 2 well-known specialists in diagnosing adults with AS. I didn't want to call them at first because they're terribly busy and just talking to them on the phone takes several days to wait. But I had the phone appointment with one of them just now. It was a totally different thing!! !! SHE knows what she's doing!! !! ! First of all, she told me it's 2 sessions at the least in order to diagnose. Secondly, she told me to bring a report from my last therapist saying why she thinks I have AS (if I can get one, she said). Thirdly, she told me to bring a list of everything I can think of that may be caused by AS in me. Fourth, she told me (without me asking) she writes a very detailed report, geared to Social Security if I want one. And she charges for the report, because she does a very thorough work in it. The full evaluation with report costs U$500, which is triple what the previous shrink took, but it sounds like a serious diagnosis, for a change. I'm so glad I didn't call the other one back!! ! In a couple hours I have a phone appointment with the other one of the 2 well-known specialists. Then I'll choose one of them. The sessions with them have a waiting list of months, but I don't mind the wait if they're professional.

Something occurred to me here, Greentea.

This is about your means for physical survival, since other than that, the only thing a "mental health professional" is ever going to do for an aspie is ask them, "How did that make you feel?' which is professional jargon for "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention because you're boring and annoying. I couldn't care less about you, but I'm expected to say something."

That isn't entirely fair, they might also say, "You need to buy lots of pills from that company that paid for my vacation to Hawaii."

Anyway you've mentioned that you received some awards or commendations in the past from employers. If you've got any documentation of that, letters or something, you might want to bring that along to demonstrate that the problems you've had with employment weren't caused by the quality of your work.

Greentea,

$500 would be considered CHEAP in the US! That is like 2 hours. It would probably take that long, AT LEAST, to diagnose you. The report sounds nice.

2uk, our salaries are much lower than in the USA too.

CanyonWind, thank you. I'll do that. One more of your brilliant ideas!

Here it's half of that (USA), approx.

millie, I never got that PM.

I've already typed out 5 pages in Word, and I mean to add more as they come to my mind during the time until the sessions. Then I'll email it to her. I wish she didn't read it till after diagnosing, like your Psych did, but the fact that she gives me a chance to sustain my claim of autism with evidence, unlike the shrink last week, is already awesome to me. She said she then asks me questions about what I wrote, during the sessions. I separated the symptoms according to infancy - childhood - adolescence - youth - present time, because they're different. I really hope she doesn't give me back the paper saying "You don't have Autism, you just happen to have an angry, unpleasant personality" like the others.

Should I mention my intense participation in the WP forums, do you think?