Does any psychologist, anywhere, have the authority to diagnose somebody with Asperger's Syndrome? Can it be a simple matter where you go in, tell the doctor what's going on, get it in writing (if the doc actually thinks you've got it, that is), leave and never return? (One visit.) Or, is it this protracted ordeal where they keep you coming back for weeks, bounce you around between different specialists, and try to get you started on frivolous treatment/therapy? (Making alot of money off you in the process.)
More specifically, what types of procedures are they likely to pull? How secure is that information when it's all settled (HIPAA, etc.)? Does it drive up insurance rates?
I had 3 sessions last December. He just asked a variety of questions apparently designed to elicit responses that would sift truly Aspie behavior from depression, schizophrenia, or mere eccentricity. Maybe mine was quick because I was stimming like nobody's business, rearranging all of his diplomas so they were geometrically aligned, and couldn't look him in the eye even when he ordered me to.
You have to be a Ph.D in Psychology or a Psychiatrist (MD). MA's aren't allowed to diagnose.
The only things I catch myself doing these days, that can be called stimming, is shaking my feet mostly at the ankles, twiddling my thumbs, and making little waves in my fingers. (It was much more pronounced in the past.) I'd have a tendency to try to behave for a session like the ones you described. (Not that I misbehave all the time or anything like that.) Also, bits of knowledge picked up from this site and other sources might subconsciously influence my behavior. I suppose I could draw on long-term memory and just make a list ahead of time, detailing every aspie-like thing I can remember doing since age four.
The only things I catch myself doing these days, that can be called stimming, is shaking my feet mostly at the ankles, twiddling my thumbs, and making little waves in my fingers. (It was much more pronounced in the past.) I'd have a tendency to try to behave for a session like the ones you described. (Not that I misbehave all the time or anything like that.) Also, bits of knowledge picked up from this site and other sources might subconsciously influence my behavior. I suppose I could draw on long-term memory and just make a list ahead of time, detailing every aspie-like thing I can remember doing since age four.
I would have to do the same. I don't stim much anymore, especially not much in public.
I'd recommend contacting local support groups, even for parents, and asking around whether they can recommend someone. (You can do this by Email too no need to ring even)
Are you referring to me here? I assume you are.
What I underwent was a series of six interviews by someone with an MA, but who has been working with people on the autism spectrum for a couple of decades, including both "objective" and "subjective" tests. My parents were likewise queried about my development. I was then sent to a psychiatrist who rubber-stamped the MA's opinion as an "official" diagnosis. In the USA, it is possible to have far greater expertise in a field than a degree would indicate, especially if the expertise is gained from actual experience in the field. In my particular case, the person with the MA is locally recognized among specialists as having more expertise than her degree would indicate.
What I underwent was a series of six interviews by someone with an MA, but who has been working with people on the autism spectrum for a couple of decades, including both "objective" and "subjective" tests. My parents were likewise queried about my development. I was then sent to a psychiatrist who rubber-stamped the MA's opinion as an "official" diagnosis. In the USA, it is possible to have far greater expertise in a field than a degree would indicate, especially if the expertise is gained from actual experience in the field. In my particular case, the person with the MA is locally recognized among specialists as having more expertise than her degree would indicate.
How did you find this person? I've gotten confused and frustrated trying to find where to go in Indiana to get a Dx. When I got courage to call a couple places, one told me they only see children and another suggested I try the hospital where they treat alocholism. I guess they figured it all fell under the umbrella of adult mental illness
How did you find this person? I've gotten confused and frustrated trying to find where to go in Indiana to get a Dx. When I got courage to call a couple places, one told me they only see children and another suggested I try the hospital where they treat alocholism. I guess they figured it all fell under the umbrella of adult mental illness
I called my insurance and told them that I was looking for someone who did work with adults on the autism spectrum because I suspected that it might apply to me. They made the referral. I was very literal and very concrete. Indiana law specifies that "developmental disorders" MUST be covered as if they were medical, not "mental health". Thus, the diagnosis had to be covered by my medical insurance like any other medical diagnostic procedure.
I'd just like to know for certain, though for practical purposes it's not going to make a bit of difference one way or the other. Something happened in my past. It's not like I woke up one morning when I was a kid and said, "Hey! I want all the other kids to think I'm a freak!" I'm an adult now and that's all history, but when people get to know me it doesn't take them long to figure out there's something different about me. The ones who can handle it get to stay as my friends. Those who can't, well... to hell with them.
I've taken three of the online quizzes and they all say "very likely", though it is obvious these are not very accurate. I also compared myself to the DSM-4 entry for AS, and cannot rule it out that way. So far, nothing yet to indicate I shouldn't waste money and time on a professional opinion.
If it is indeed AS, I can live with that. Actually, I'd be quite proud of it. I've already proven myself by earning a master's degree, holding a decent job, etc., so the way I see it I would be setting an example. Here's the problem... What about the paper trail I would create in the process? Whichever psychologist I start with, along with my insurance company and any specialists who get involved, will all have a record of it. Are those records really secure? I intend to move up in my career, and I don't think this is the business of any potential employer. (That's something they can learn after I've been at their company for a while and they know me for my quality of work.) Background checks are supposed to check for a criminal record, spotty employment record, etc., but have you ever heard of data brokers? They've been known to trick their way into people's cell phone records, so it wouldn't surprise me if they had a way of getting into your medical records without your permission, too.
I did run this past a friend of mine who happens to be a retired special ed teacher. She said I should go get tested if I really want to know, but then when I mentioned the issue of there being a record that somebody could get a hold of inappropriately, her remark was something like "And they will get a hold of it, too."
hmm, I was thinking of paying for it myself so that work insurance wouldn't know about it
Yes, I used to do a lot of chewing: the cuffs and neckbands of my jumpers, the paint on my cot and bed, rubbers, and pens and pencils. I still chew on my knuckles sometimes. It just seems to feel good. I also used to eat dirt and grass.
With neckbands and cuffs it was more a sucking thing for me, pushing spit into it and sucking it out because it tasted nice and salty. But mmmmh wood and lacquer/varnish... My beloved wooden horse always had a bit in its mane that was scratched free from the varnish because I used to run my teeth up and down that bit 
Yuck, I really don't like that image.
But then I am sorta Obsessive Compulsive about body fluids/functions... oh well.
Some people have told me I am obssessive about bodily function jokes because I laugh when somebody burps loudly.
I meant I am a little "Howard Hughes-like" about such things... and it's a problem when you consider how many facets of human interaction are affected by this kind of thinking.
I can "put my aversion on hold" sometimes but it seems that some days I'm more "Howard Hughes-like" than others, and it's random.
Wasn't Howard Hughes obssessive about cleanliness?
Yeah that's what I meant.