How do mental health pratictioners test for autism in adults?

[Drummy]

How do mental health pratictioners test for autism in adults?

[corriefan]

My 21 year old son was diagnosed recently. It was done partial by interviewing and observing him but a large part of it was a long interview with me and his father when we were asked lots of questions about his childhood and development. It took about 3 hours and the doctor completed a form as we went along. Each question gave a score dependant on our answer and at the end these where added up and separate scores given for 4 different categories. If the score is above a certain figure in each category then the person is diagnosed with autisum. I hope this helps.

[Drummy in reply to corriefan]

Thank you for your reply. I am in my mid forties - glad your son has a diagnosis.

[NancyR]

Our uncle is 87, and he was just diagnosed with Asperger's this year. We've been taking care of him because we are his last living relatives. Apparently he's been a high-functioning ASD person his whole life -- even served in the Navy during WWII in the Pacific. We finally figured out why he was always so "eccentric" once we started dealing with him every day and helping him make decisions after he had a stroke.

He's a Veteran, so we were able to get him in to see a Neurologist at the VA who interviewed us and then spent some time with him. She happened to be a doctor that had also done a lot of work with children outside of the VA, so she recognized the signs more readily than most VA doctors in his area -- since most of the veterans around here are old guys.

ASD can be a huge problem when accessing medical help for the elderly. Regular doctors (especially geriatric VA doctors!) don't 'get it'. So we needed to have a diagnosis for my uncle in order to properly advocate for him, medically. It's made a HUGE difference. When he has to stay in the hospital, we can now say, "Don't let a lot of strangers come into his room without introducing themselves. He's got Asperger's". When we take him to the gastroenterologist, we're able to explain why he absolutely refuses to understand that he's got a gluten sensitivity, and still insists that it's the lack of pickles on his hamburger that's giving him indigestion. NOW they listen to us. Previously, it caused all kinds of problems with his various treatments.

If you've researched this, and you've carefully been observing this adult, then you're probably right -- he or she is most likely somewhere on the spectrum.

The tentative diagnosis doesn't necessarily provide any relief in terms of financial assistance or anything like that, but it sure does make life easier for those of us who need to assist an ASD individual daily. It helps us help HIM to cope with change and crisis and especially with doctors and medicine.

[Drummy in reply to NancyR]

Thanks for your reply. Your Uncle sounds like a book could be written about him.

[NancyR in reply to Drummy]

You're welcome. My uncle is pretty cool, but it's been so hard trying to get appropriate medical treatments. The diagnosis has helped us out a thousand percent. If you suspect anything, you should see about getting the diagnosis. It may not provide you with any special services, but it makes it a heck-of-a-lot easier to deal with doctors!

[Drummy]

I pretty much know that there will be a confirmation of A S D, I just am a scared of going through a process I know nothing about.

[Glad2BDifferent]

Hello Drummy.... I did send you a message earlier today under the initial guise of "encryption", but finally figured out how to change it.

From my experience, you have an interview with a psychologist, who asks questions about family and friendships, health, developmental history, aspirations. I had to fill out the DEX self rating questionnaire, which I had to complete before the day I had my assessment, they are the Simon Baron-Cohen AS (Autism Spectrum Quotient) test, the SQ (Systemizing Quotient) test and the EQ (Empathy Quotient) test.

I had some additional questionnaires (I say tests, but they are forms), to do for the work side of the diagnosis, so they had me do the Neuro-typical talent test, Asperger's compulsion test, Asperger's Social test, Neuro-typical Social test, Asperger's communication test, Neuro-typical communication test, Hunting test (Preferred habits in short and not bang-bang), perceptual dynamics test, the Neuro-typical perception test, an environment test (Looking for stress or anxiety, low self esteem and suicidal tendancies sort of thing) ...but before you start worrying yourself, it's online and you can take your time to do the 50 questions.

After that was a bizarre picture completion test, where you had to put 5 images in order and explain from start to finish, the information the story conveyed. Then I did a perceptual processing test in which I had to hear a word and give an example of what I thought it means, another strange test in which I had to explain what terms means EG " A bird in hand is worth two in the bush ". Then I had a wonderful number crunching session and also you are given numbers from 1 to 27 and had to write the phrase of numbers back into word format... EG 214, would mean bad...that sort of thing. I then did a special awareness test in which I had to leave the room I was in and return after 5 minutes and say what had moved around and to restore the furniture and ornaments back where they were.

The last part I did before the end, was a block design test, where you look at a 3D object and then pick which of the 6 images was the same in a 2 D environment, Visual scanning was about being given 30 symbols, each given a value and then you had to write down as many of the values you could see on the page in a minute still with the key in front of you, er last bit was being read out a sequence of numbers and you had to recite them back after 30 seconds in the same order.... I struggled to remember more than 12 numbers at a time on that one, but everyone is different and if you start comparing yourself to someone else, well let me say that the only person who is anything like you....is you Drummy

I have lots of experience on how, what, when, where and why in this matter and am only covering the basics here, or you will need a break to take it all in. If you ask for the whole smash, I will include it in as much detail as you can handle.

Other than that, stay away from any options of anti-depressants as they neutralize the person you are and after 2.5 years, they take you off them and you are 2.5 years further down the road and none the wiser!

Keep up the good work and I hope that you can find the peace your mind needs Drummy

John (Qualified Aspie and proud)

Oh and if you wanted to find a live chat room for us Aspies....Wrongplanet is the place you should start looking :->

[Drummy in reply to Glad2BDifferent]

What a detailed and supportive reply...thank you so much!!!!!

[Deepraj_Das]

Adult autism needs to pay more attention because without treatment autism can turn into other neuropsychiatric disorder. But to know the answers of why and how, here I refer a blog on, Adult Autism Needs More Attention [to-treat-autism.com/adult-a...]

[Drummy in reply to Deepraj_Das]

Thanks for the blog link.

[Hidden]

The answer the the question is very badly. I was diagnosed with ASD when I was 42. Previous to that I was misdiagnosed by the mental health profession with paranoid Schizophrenia; bi-polar; depression THREE personality disorders; and various anger management issues. Infact my last psych assessment through mental health stated 1 I present as a personality disorder, 2 I claim I have a mood disorder 3, I have ADHD 4, I have a communication disorder. If you add the four points above he was diagnosing asperger's, but wasn't qualified to realise it. When I saw an expert for my "communication disorder" the first thing he said to me after our first session was "How long have you had asperger's?" This was then confirmed when I approached a psychiatric specialising in learning disorders. The first thing she said to me is Adult general psychiatrists are not trained to spot ASD. Hell I didn't even realise I had Asperger's until I was diagnosed.

But to circle back on the question, I have seen close to 100 psychs, 97 of those were adult general psychs who couldn't spot I had ASD. Why? Don't have the expertise. Don't have the training. Don't have the intellectual curiosity. Don't look for dis-confirming evidence. In other words, psychs are lazy and incompetent.

[Drummy in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for sharing what must have been an extremely challenging journey to diagnosis.

[Hidden in reply to Drummy]

Thank-you. I was devastated when I found out I had ASD. I wish you luck on your own personal journey

[Drummy in reply to Hidden]

I am hoping that an official diagnosis will help me and others to understand me. I am hoping you are reconciled to your diagnosis.

[Hidden in reply to Drummy]

I hope you have better luck than me, I am currently facing eviction; police aggression and harassment; the criminal justice system; loneliness and depression. I have Bi-polar and ADHD so I'm a little more wild than most ASD. I'll never come to terms with my ASD, not because of ASD in and of itself, but it cost me the love of my life, and I will never get over losing her. My life is destroyed, knowing it was ASD that caused my relationship disasters, doesn't aid the loss. I am in terminal grief: boo hoo hoo.

[But enough of me talking about me; why don't you talk about me ] Sorry I love reading replies from people on all sites, that talk about the poster themselves and never address the original question... or point. Or premise. Or planet.

AB

[Drummy]

I hope you are getting some medical support, talk therapy and all you need. 😎