Hello, I have been going through asperger autism screening since September of 2015.
It's taking a while as I started a job during Xmas.
My grandma is filling out some forms for me. I have done some tests but am eager to know others experiences.
How long should diagnosis take?
What evidence are they looking for to make a diagnosis?
I was diagnosed during a one-hour office visit, mainly because I was having extensive sensory overload. I live in a medically-intensive training area, and (I didn't realize) the counseling practice I am using is very heavily trained in ASD.
I was told that my personal history, family history, and the way I answered questions were consistent with Asperger's.
Apparently (at least according to my team), women present differently than men, so my "outward" appearance is deceptive, but the way I process (or misunderstand) written cues, along with all my anxiety issues, was consistent.
I asked if there was a definitive test I should take, and I was told, "You don't need one; it's clearly obvious once you start talking. (I'm not sure what that meant, except I speak the same way I write, which is very formal and my ADHD makes me switch topics often).
Of course, there were other questions and details I answered (that no one had ever asked before), but I left the office relieved to know that my concerns that "something" was different with me, was confirmed.
I'm 57.
I am 54, and the manager of the shop where I volunteer said that my reactions to people were similar to another volunteer who had Asperger's syndrome. I have never been formally diagnosed, but I was in a situation where a customer called me 'dummy' for not immediately showing him where the changing room was.
I attended two conferences within the last month -- on ASD/Asperger's and Sensory Perception Disorders -- (that's just an aside, because some of the speakers got me thinking about my own situations).
I will often be doing something (or not) and someone will ask me something (or to do something) and I sort of "blank out," as if I'm not able to process exactly what they want.
For instance, someone asked me to grab the "long pliers" and my answer was, "The red one or the black one?" (presuming they knew which color was the right one.)
Also, I have a flat access key to my building that resembles a credit card, so I call it a "slider" when I refer to it. One person said, "Why do you keep confusing me by not just calling it a key?"
I have finally (apparently) shown them that it's easier to learn "my" language than for me to learn theirs.
Customers, on the other hand, ARE a challenge. I enjoy people (including making upset people more happy), so I specialized in customer service-type (office) positions. I handled angry customers in person or on the phone, but it was very professional and not "chatty," because that's how I work.
I love to chat with people who I'm helping, as long as it doesn't slow me down. Even *I* have run into annoying customers, customers who claim I promised them something and I didn't, or troubleshooting with them, but there is always the *out* of excusing yourself to get the Manager, who may be able to help them.
It's easier to ask if you can help them find the fitting room (even if it's obvious) as long as you do it nicely, instead of being obnoxious or upset. A loud customer ALWAYS gets their way (or are lead to believe they did) .. and I've been a Supervisor, a Representative, and Trainer, etc.
Unless you work at Wal-Mart, there is always hope. If you DO work at Wal-Mart, try contacting (or ask your Manager to) the corporate office to ask someone to come out and train the entire staff.
I often make that call WHILE I'M STANDING AT WAL-MART CUSTOMER SERVICE when the person apparently doesn't know how to do their job. I ask them to call 1-800-Wal-mart and then speak to the people on the phone who them relay to the store person what to do.
Once, I was told, "We can't get our message through to [the employee], so we are going to handle YOUR issue Corporately and HER issue with HR. (Which I assumes meant she wouldn't be there long.)
It's important to remember that YOU are there to help your boss make money, so even if you have to "kiss up" to some customers (which can be done professionally and without 'giving away the store,') but it's also possible you are just knew to the job.
I always asked for ID's with Credit Cards (as is legal) and other employees who look over and say, "Oh, that's ok, we know them."
My answer (with a smile) was, "But I don't, so I'm looking at their ID."
Customer Service Training seminars are a blast -- ask your Manager to send you to one for a good day of information and a break from work.
(Smile)
I went to a private autism clinic for diagnosis. They first gave me a about 6-8 pages of questionaires: family history, school history, psychological inventory, etc. Then I met with a doctor for about an hour and went over my answers. Then he referred me for a complete assessment, which was with two people.
One person did testing/interview. One test is called ADOS, and I can't recall the other. There were little things I had to do, like mime brushing my teeth, and make up a little story with some objects, and tell a story from a children's book of pictures without words. Then there were a bunch of interview type questions.
The second person was an observer only. After all this, which took about 2.5 hours, the lady told me to feel free to send her an email if I thought of any thing further that was relevant to the questions she had asked. Of course, there was. I also had the results of a screening test for parents who suspect AS in their kid, which I gave to my mother. I asked her to think back to my childhood and recorded her answers, then shared this also with the assessor. She also spoke to a friend of mine on the phone.
After all this (and about $700 expense) I received a diagnosis. Insurance does not cover this where I live. It was worth it to find out from a specialist. As an older female, I think it can be very hard to detect for people who do not have lots of training and experience.
As to what they are looking for: How do you express yourself compared to "normal" people. How do you use things like eye contact and gesture when you are talking or listening. How easy is it for you to understand social situations. Can you/ do you know how to make friends. Do you engage in repetitive habits or rituals or have to have things be the same all the time. Do you have difficulty with any sensory stimulation, like can't take loud noise, can't wear but certain fabrics, can't tolerate certain food textures or colors.
I think those are the main points.
Hello Montanna,
My husband was diagnosed when he was over 60 years of age after a lifetime of problems. As a young child he was severely hyperactive and in his late teens had a breakdown and ended up in the old style Mental Hospital for two periods of several months where he was given the maximum number of treatments allowed of ECT. We weathered all the storms through our marriage until I read a small book about Aspergers and recognised my husband and an adult foster son of ours. I was working in the old style Learning Disability Hospital and a doctor of Psychology came to work there for a while. I asked for a referral for my husband but our GP tried to send him first to a Psychiatrist and I had to specify the name of the Psychologist and beg for a referral to him. Having arrived with him, he said that he couldn't assess him as he didn't have a learning disability but he would see him just once as it was me asking. He had one session (with me sitting in a corner observing) and he then arranged a second session. He continued to have sessions after that with no further mention of not being able to see him (I think that his overall IQ may have been low enough for him to pull some strings regarding IQ, although my husband has islands of intelligence in certain areas and other areas of inability).
During the sessions my husband was asked many questions and asked to make up stories from pictures. He was totally unable to see a story in these sets of pictures and was unable to place any pictures in a logical sequence. I was able to do this in a few seconds from my seat in the corner of the room and this answered so many questions for me. We had had so many arguments about seemingly 'easy' things and now I could see why he couldn't 'get' what I was saying or asking for, as from his view it meant absolutely nothing!
At the end of a number of these sessions the Psychologist wrote a report just before he left the hospital, so we'd just managed to catch him while he was there. It made a total difference to our lives and also as a result of the report he was able to claim DLA. He'd had to change his employment so many times and had had problems in work with his 'different logic'. He finally was dismissed from his last employment because he had a number of minor accident, lost things or couldn't find things. His Manager finally set him a task to find things that were not there to prove that he was 'useless' and called him in for meetings with no support and the company GP said that he ought not have been employed by them because of his disability! He had a breakdown and couldn't face all the agro, so left and we took it up as unfair dismissal and they settled out of Court.
So getting a diagnosis in his case was very important to our lives and to his work too. All the best. Your diagnosis will be very important for you.
Miriam
Thank you. As you might know, from experience, I am a person of little words of thanks because I can't see that I'm being rude.
Thank you.
