1. I was given a clinical interview on day 1.
2. A week later, I took the Weschler IQ test and a test for ADHD/impulsiveness. Then, the doctor had a phone call with my mother and viewed some childhood videos, which he called "mildly helpful."
3. Finally, I filled out a long questionnaire on psychological symptoms.
My doctor did not explain the concept of special interests very well; the example he gave was of an "unusual interest" in toy trains. I couldn't think of anything, forgetting that I do have obsessions, like my current obsession with psychology.
So I was diagnosed with ASD/PDD-NOS solely on the basis of Social Communication difficulties and inability to form relationships in either childhood or adulthood. I thought this was THE standard procedure for diagnosing ASD. But I recently had a conversation with someone from this site that revealed differently.
There are also inconsistencies in my report. One page actually diagnosis me with Asperger's, quite clearly. Another says I have PDD-NOS. In addition, I've recently learned that someone else did a whole lot more in order to pick up specifically autistic symptoms, including a story-telling test and "clinical observation." I had none of this.
So aren't social communication difficulties symptomatic of many other things besides Asperger's? How could one be Dxed with ASD solely on the basis of social communication issues and Nonverbal Learning Disorder (shown on the Weschler IQ test)? Not everyone who has NLD is autistic or has Asperger's.
Even if I do have Asperger's, were these methods standard procedure, or were they flawed? Even based on the methods used, the diagnosis should have been Asperger's, not PDD-NOS, given the real presence of obsessions (isn't this my 200th topic related to flaws in my Asperger's diagnosis?); of course, other things can cause obsessions too.
