Vent: Psychiatrist doubting suspected diagnosis

[As sweet as-pie]

My whole life I've been alienated from society, always preferring to be alone than with other kids, I've always suffered from sensory difficulties too. I never understand people, it's like they're speaking a second language. I attempted suicide back in February because I was sick of feeling like such an outcast, and knew I'd never be like everyone else. This lead to me being seen by the mental health services, who immediately suggested Autism Spectrum Disorder, and after seeing 2 psychatrists who both agreed with this possibility, I was put on the waiting list for an Assessment. I recently confided in my Psychiatrist about some past trauma, and she diagnosed me with PTSD. My ADOS was booked in for january but now she keeps trying to cancel it, persuading me that I might not get the diagnosis. She seems to think I just have social anxiety and PTSD. (despite the fact that I've explained that social situations do not make me anxious, I just do not understand. It's not like being in a room full of wolves, rather like being in a room full of people speaking a foreign language.) She said that the diagnostic critera for Autism is that you must have functional impairment, and that if it wasn't for the bullying and trauma, I wouldn't be impaired. While that may be true, it doesn't change the fact that my neurotype was diverse since birth. I'm not sure at this point whether she's being entirely honest, or whether she has to forewarn me about the possibility that I may not get diagnosed, but either way I am feeling rather hopeless. I know that if I do not get this diagnosis, I won't be able to access education, won't be able to progress in the world, and won't even be able to claim benefits. Life seems pretty dull right now.

 

[Suzanne]

Oh how I feel for you! I have my psychiatric appointment coming up in January and although it is just to confirm that I have social anxiety, I am hoping deep inside that she will detect aspergers, but in truth, my hopes never come to true and so, I am trying my best to not go over the scenario that always goes against me, because I think up the perfect event and when it doesn't go like that, I am left devastated and so, trying so hard to not go there and each time I do, I have to stop myself.

I went to see m dr, who actually doesn't know me well and she ended up shaking her head and saying: no way do you have aspergers and yet, she compared me to classic autism.

I must admit, that for me, even since I was a child and able to do things on my own, I have never been able to do that and not only feel that others speak a different language but do feel that I am amongst wolves.

It is really ironic that it is called: on the spectrum and yet, because one does not tally with something in a "book" that is conclusive!

Stay with the fact that two different psychiatrists have stated you could have it and go with that.

 

[OkRad]

It troubles me that shrinks are all over the place with us. If you're "messed up" then your DX will be whatever the shrink you see on that say happens to be. I have had so many Dxes it's not even possible to have that many because some of them contradict one another.

I started to notice that if the Dr did not like me or was rushed or was working in a low-level place where he saw lots of people with other issues, like addiction or schizophrenia, he or she would take a harsher view.

If I went to a higher up place when I had good insurance, they tended to take a larger snapshot but now always. I went to a famous place once and they were so far off it was laughable.

Further, the religious ideas and age of the practioner came into play. An older Dr male Dr might recall the moral and values of the 50s where women were "hysterical". A young female Dr might label everyone she sees with autism.

A fundy religious person might wonder if I have a spiritual issue and perhaps voices are to be handled by a priest. A straight up atheist might want to prescribe more meds that I want to take.

I have seen it all. I am serious. Now these are NOT set in stone, up there.......but over and again, I do see the Dr and who they are make a big difference and they are all different.

It all depends on what you had for breakfast and what they had for breakfast, I guess.

It is VERY disappointing. I want a blood test like when they found I had low platelets. No trouble Dxing that!

 

[toothless]

theyre probably trying to lower the number of people getting diagnosed after all the scaremongering about being overdiagnosed,when in truth it is children who were being overdiagnosed if any.
i honestly dont understand the way they say you need to have a functioning impairment to be diagnosed; what? high functioning autism is called just that because you are cognitively functioning at a high level,some people have life skills to match;others dont but not everyone is the same.
you need to get an advocate involved-i think the NAS do an advocacy service, they will be able to speak to your 'psycho' on your behalf with you,im certain they at least used to run the service as i remember coming across it on their website but its worth contacting them or at least having a look for it on their site.
the NAS also give [or used to give] out a diagnosis assessment type sheet which you can fill out and give to your pyscho,it asks the right questions so the autism can be more understood.

autism is very different to social anxiety and you sound autistic not SA, but you could have both technically speaking,a lot of shrinks have a stereotype of what autism looks like because they work in the mental health field-unless you find someone with a huge amount of experience across the whole spectrum.
so you might just have to find another shrink who specialises in autism,or even save or pay monthly to go private which im considering for another issue [transgender ftm].

 

[OkRad]

Remember, too, culture and time matter. A dr may say it is illness, but I think mental illness is just DNA Memory of traits time when they were needed.

For instance: Magical thinking, to read omens. An eclipse meant that gods were sending a warning. A flight of birds meant something, too. People spent time honing that skill and now we think it has just evaporated from our DNA? I doubt it.

Maybe back then, OCD was a skill to be honed to be safe from tigers and so forth, and horde food. Depression was for acceptance in a time where a Dr might be a thousand miles away or not even there. Anxiety to be primed to run from animals. Anger in order to spear prey. Maybe hearing voices was a trait that people needed when they had to feel close to God.

We now do not need those traits now, maybe, or not at that level, but now they are stuck in our DNA.

Look up DNA Memory. It will scare you. We DO retain memories of our elders and they had traits we no longer need.

Then a shrink says we are mentally ill. Sure others can block them out, but maybe their ancestors had a better time. Mine were martyred which certainly would have left me with some DNA memory there.

They are old traits, not an illness. And seeing the state of psychiatry in DXing, well, my theory is as good as any!! Till they get hard core DXing tools!!!

 

[OkRad]

no way do you have aspergers and yet, she compared me to classic autism..

What the heck? Now that is strange. Is there a place near you that ONLY deals with autism?

 

[Suzanne]

What the heck? Now that is strange. Is there a place near you that ONLY deals with autism?

I have no idea, because I am not classic autism. My dr just said that she has a lot of autistic patients and no way do I fit into that catagory, but I was too squashed to say that it is not surprising since I am not classic autistic and my husband being there too, just compounded ie she insists she is, so both of them were sort of talking about me!

But, they just do not recognise aspergers here in France.

 

[midlife aspie]

The PTSD may be valid, but it may not be THE problem. The question to ask is which came first, the trauma or the ASD traits. Quite possibly, the trauma resulted from the ASD traits in some way. As for social anxiety, I'm like you in that social events do not particularly scare me, but they do emphasize that 'glass wall' that seems to stand between me and others. I just don't know how to relate to the other people. I was reminded of this last Sunday when I attended a Christmas presentation by my son's Sunday school class at the in-law's church. (He goes to church with them; my wife and I do not attend.)

 

[AveApollo]

she keeps trying to cancel it, persuading me that I might not get the diagnosis. She seems to think I just have social anxiety and PTSD. (despite the fact that I've explained that social situations do not make me anxious, I just do not understand.

I had a similar experience. Don't give up!

For some reason therapists and psychologists in the UK and USA are also pushing the social anxiety and PTSD routes, when clearly Aspergers Syndrome fits equally well or better, or where it is clearly AS and NOT social anxiety, but they still push us away from AS diagnosis. Perhaps it's the same in your country (if different to UK and USA) and it is reasonable to assume that a global consensus in the profession still moves in that direction...
This could be because:
- lack of funding and resources for the assessment, so they try to cut costs;
- lack of training and competence from the psychiatrist/psychologist, who might not know enough about Aspergers;
- fear that AS is becoming over diagnosed (instead of realising that it most likely is just be that detection is getting better compared to 10 years ago);
- complete incompetence and inability to distinguish between the conditions;
- a combination of the above;

What matters is your right to see a qualified Aspergers specialist clinician, preferably one that is experienced with Adults and with more subtle presentations, such as females or highly intelligent males, both of which seem to be able to think of strategies and methods to try to fit in, because they are very aware that they are different and wish to be accepted and like 'normal' people, but continually fail and that leads to depression and self harm etc. Don't give up! I've been there! It took obsticals and years of incompetent therapists, but this year, after discovering AS, my life is turning around, at least mentally.

I am not a clinician, but your screening scores for AQ, EQ etc are similar to mine, and very much in the Austistic Spectrum range, so that's a good sign.
I was finally officially diagnosed last month. It took me 9 months from referral to the clinic. In between, I had a psychologist that was trying to treat my panic attacks as social anxiety. I even thought I might have that, until I read up on AS and realised that it is not that I feel shy or inferior to others, but just stressed because communication with them is so hard and I don't understand them and they don't understand me. Plus I get lots of sensory overload too. This silly psychologist would have carried on with the inappropriate treatment unless I researched Tony Attwood's book and was prepared to push for a diagnosis referral.

For everyone: if your screening scores indicate AS, if you fit the profile having read up on it from respected sources, then it is your right as human to push for AS assessment. Fight for it if you need to fight (most of us do need to fight due to the ignorance of the very medical professionals that should be helping, not to mention the ignorance/lack of understanding from teachers, friends and family). But it's worth the fight. We owe it to ourselves!

 

[AveApollo]

I went to see m dr, who actually doesn't know me well and she ended up shaking her head and saying: no way do you have aspergers and yet, she compared me to classic autism.

There you go! She (the dr) doesn't know what she's talking about then! Honestly Suzanne, although the choice is yours, I seriously think you should pursue the Aspergers route. You may have social anxiety as well, but the underlying cause might probably be Aspergers, so you need support for that specifically. Have you read any books by Attwood? Or for females, I think a few Aspie friends recommended Aspergirls. That will provide some self assurance and information to help the clinicians.
I've had more than 10 years of misdiagnosis, of psychologists not picking up on it (they picked up on some common conditions that Autistic people have, such as OCD, but never picked up on the Aspergers) - until I asked the local GP doctor to specifically refer me to a specialist clinic, and explained why AS fits more than social anxiety etc.
I know that in France the help is not good for AS, but maybe some private clinicians might be better?

 

[Maria6681]

My whole life I've been alienated from society, always preferring to be alone than with other kids, I've always suffered from sensory difficulties too. I never understand people, it's like they're speaking a second language. I attempted suicide back in February because I was sick of feeling like such an outcast, and knew I'd never be like everyone else. This lead to me being seen by the mental health services, who immediately suggested Autism Spectrum Disorder, and after seeing 2 psychatrists who both agreed with this possibility, I was put on the waiting list for an Assessment. I recently confided in my Psychiatrist about some past trauma, and she diagnosed me with PTSD. My ADOS was booked in for january but now she keeps trying to cancel it, persuading me that I might not get the diagnosis. She seems to think I just have social anxiety and PTSD. (despite the fact that I've explained that social situations do not make me anxious, I just do not understand. It's not like being in a room full of wolves, rather like being in a room full of people speaking a foreign language.) She said that the diagnostic critera for Autism is that you must have functional impairment, and that if it wasn't for the bullying and trauma, I wouldn't be impaired. While that may be true, it doesn't change the fact that my neurotype was diverse since birth. I'm not sure at this point whether she's being entirely honest, or whether she has to forewarn me about the possibility that I may not get diagnosed, but either way I am feeling rather hopeless. I know that if I do not get this diagnosis, I won't be able to access education, won't be able to progress in the world, and won't even be able to claim benefits. Life seems pretty dull right now.

Hi I had the same issues I frist time I see the mental health team was at 13 years old as I had try a couple of times to to end it and self harm and my behaviour was weird and no one would keep me more than a few months.

social services did not know what to do so they took me the mental health team and they said I psychologically missed from the trauma i given antidepressants table they did not work.

Try changing the antidepressant tabs and had lots of psychotherapy CBT cancelling but did not helpe me. so when back to the mental health but they said that there noting they could do just keep taking the antidepressant tabs.
I could not stand the way I felt I just did not want to be here. I started to take durg and alcohol to cop with everything. Then I got pregnant so I wanted to change things so when back to the mental health again the same response.

I manage to come off the drugs but started the self harming again Of course social services got involved had my boys was took off me so ended up back at square 1. My boys was up for adoption. When though the courts unbelievable the judge actually was on my side He said that I had be miss treated and not given the right help and could see that I had repletely try to get Help and not my kids taken. I get them back at 22 year old. When back to the mental health 5 more time same response.
As I was get older I was getting worse the only that work was drugs and alcohol so when my boys want to bed I would take drugs and alcohol to cop with life and to stop me from doing anything stupid. by the time inwas 28 I had a complete mental break down I ended up getting section. My boys back in care. They put me on antipsychotic tabs as the other one I am on. They was the one of the best things that happened to my mental health. I have a good doctor that I had for years he said to me that he felt I might have autism did not know what it was when he told me it made sirens to me in the way I was.
after 3 years of waiting to see someone I had 2 appointments she said that I was on the spectrum. I thought she was going to say what the mental health been saying. Now I know I am this way for a reason and I can accept myself now

U should be in titled to a assignment and if they say no go back and get a new referral as it could help you to understanding yourself and help you to feel better about yourself. I really hope you get it

 

[OkRad]

I have no idea, because I am not classic autism. My dr just said that she has a lot of autistic patients and no way do I fit into that catagory, but I was too squashed to say that it is not surprising since I am not classic autistic and my husband being there too, just compounded ie she insists she is, so both of them were sort of talking about me!

But, they just do not recognise aspergers here in France.

I lived in Canada a while and same thing. In fact, there were a few families who KILLED their autistic kids out of fear of no services when they aged out. In USA, they age out, too, so I don't understand. 21 is cut off for services.

In Canada, thoiugh, it's all different. It's based on the word of ONE SHRINK as opposed to a whole cabinet of records. And, the Disabilty Tax----if you can walk, they are like, "What is YOUR trouble??"