Scared of Diagnostic Assessment

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Hi everyone,

Just wanted to get this down...
I've got my assessments coming up and I'm kind of dreading them a bit. My partner's coming and I'd rather do it on my own.
I feel like he sort of doesn't get it and if I turn out not to have AS, he'll think I'm a self obsessed hypochondriac or something. Well I am a bit self obsessed...

I'm going to Minds & Hearts. I'm wondering if I'll be able to discuss the questions with the psychologist as I go? I hope so because I often don't know how to answer them. Like, if there's a question about social stuff, I get confused as to whether I should answer according to the social life I've had because of my social persona, or according to the me underneath. I mean the questions are a lot about behaviour if you see what I mean. I behave one way (when I have the energy) but the real me would behave another way.

Also, on the questionnaires, because I've read up a fair bit on AS, I might read a question and think, "well, I wouldn't exactly describe myself like that, but I know they're talking about (eg) routines and rituals and I definitely have those so I'll tick 'yes.'"
Is that fair or is it cheating?

I feel like I may have finally figured out what's going on with me & I guess I'm scared I'm wrong.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated,
Zel.

I could have written this post myself. I'm dealing with the same things, as I'm sure many have on the road to diagnosis.

I have trouble answering the questionnaires, also, but always choose what I think is the more conservative answer when in doubt, so as to not skew the results in favor of Aspergers. If someone is present during the testing, I'd very much like to be able to ask questions as to what my thought process should be when answering a particular question.

My boyfriend was very skeptical for a long time, and is one of the primary reasons I am seeking an official diagnosis. It will be quite difficult if it turns out to be something different, or not anything at all. I'm afraid of how I'll be perceived if I was totally wrong...but I guess it's important to remember that we are seeking diagnosis so we can better understand ourselves, in order that we can learn to function a bit better, so the appropriate diagnosis is very important.

My psychologist suggested today that it's possible I have ADHD...not in exclusion of Aspergers, but as a potential co-morbid condition. I don't feel I fit the criteria at all...but, who knows, maybe I'm not as self aware as I think.

Good luck! I hope the result is a 'good one', whether or not that means a confirmation of your suspicions, or something that you never considered, but that may help you to better understand yourself.

I wanted a bullet-proof diagnosis so that it would never be questioned again. I waited two years for testing by our internationally renowned loony-bin. At my request, they gave me a one-page written diagnosis on the hospital letterhead, signed by a psychiatrist. They also gave me about an inch thick of backup papers, which I don't need to show anybody. But that one page Dx was worth getting. I'm off Square One forever.

I'm also in this process, and I understand your difficulties. Although I haven't see the neuropsychologist and psychiatrist yet, I have already been through three appointments for screening purposes, so I guess I've made a few steps.

You should be allowed to discuss the questions. When I wasn't sure what the psychologist meant, I asked: "What do you mean precisely [by this]?"(translated from the French; always the same wording, actually). I think, for the example you gave, you should be open and say why you say "yes". In my case, for one of the "repetitive behaviours"-type questions, I answered that I do some things that could be interpreted as repetitive and inflexible behaviours, but I interpret them as optimized: after all, if I must put my pens on the table, there must be an absolute best way to do it, and if there is an absolute best way to do it, I should use it -- thus, my pens are all in perfect line and ordered by colour (well, until I start to take notes, at least).

As for "avoiding to cheat", I decided to always try to point out what I thought what genuinely atypical and what could still be normal, or not significantly deviant -- mostly by comparing myself to my very non-autistic sister. I was very open about how I "knew" what I said. I also tried to rely on hard facts: stories my parents told me several times, descriptions of me by other people (without reference to ASD), things I had written before I even knew about ASD, even my original answers to the AQ test and some others, which I had kept (that also was before I thought I had it). (Of course, as a history student, citing primary sources has become a mental obligation!)

As I understand it, they mostly want to understand your thought process. I got sidetracked into a twenty minute long digression about the problems I faced when I was rearranging my library, which I thought was really too long, yet the psychologist said it was very informative.

Of course, as I said, this wasn't the actual diagnostic appointment, but I hope it helps.