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Baffled by Psychiatrist's Criteria for Autism Evaluation

meridian

295d

Y'all I'm baffled- I spoke with a psychiatrist about getting an evaluation for autism, and he recommended that I not get one because: 1) I have a driver's license, 2) I have a job, and 3) I was not in a special education class as a child. I thought this "criteria" was very absurd. Surely there are tons of autistic people who also identify with the above 3?

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

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    • Seraphine

      177d

      ngl that's a super freaky citerion LOL

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    • Seraphine

      177d

      ngl that's a super freaky citerion LOL

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    • KatieGB

      196d

      What a joke! Those are not valid reasons

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    • DitsyDiabetic

      239d

      I have had a similar struggle. I AM diagnosed now. But i was denied that for a long time bc of imaginary criteria, just as previous comments noted. It’s a real issue where i am…. And all just bc i was forced to mask HEAVILY all my life. Hah. What a joke. I’d find a new psychiatrist, or go see a specialist like i eventually did.

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      • meridian

        212d

        @DitsyDiabetic when you say specialist, you just mean like any mental health professional who can provide a diagnosis but practice specifically in the area of autism? i found this guy specifically by searching autism specialists... there are only so many in my area that focus on adults it seems 🤕

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        • DitsyDiabetic

          212d

          @meridian i had to go outside my comfort zone to find my specialist…. Only one within like 6hrs of me that would diagnose an adult with ASD. Thankfully i got lucky and she seemed very good. Most regular psychiatrists aren’t comfortable doing that though. Feel free to message me if u have more questions about my experience.

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    • Alex1325

      252d

      What an old fashioned psychiatrist..... I don't have the first two because my other disabilities don't allow me too but I have in the past. There's this weird law here that means you could be denied entry to the country based on your autism status which again is oldish bullshit

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    • cogsquatparsnip

      252d

      I tick all of those boxes and I'm diagnosed. Think you might need to find someone else

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    • Mollie600

      264d

      I have all 3 and was late diagnosed recently. Unfortunately there are still many pervasive myths about autism in the medical community. Another psychiatrist may be able to help, or a psychologist who specialises in assessments?

      1

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    • may_Bea

      267d

      Before finishing reading your post, (before the why it wasn't recommended part) I was assuming that the psychiatrist was going to talk about the negatives for diagnosis like it being harder to adopt and move to different countries not that you didn't fit those strange criteria that they feel invalidate your experience?? I'm wishing you well on your evaluation journey. I hope you're able to find a psychiatrist that listens to you and supports you.

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      • meridian

        212d

        @may_Bea thanks for your comment! the main thing is, he would not evaluate me based on that criteria. if he did indeed think that i could obtain a diagnosis, but that there would be more cons than pros, he did not mention those at all, which again is not the level of transparency or care i'm looking for. apart from that, not planning to move to NZ, CAN, or AUS, and i am against adoption unless it's within the adoptee's family (recommend seeing adoptee TikTok for more on this - it's a whole other topic worth looking into).

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    • hello.its.me

      295d

      I was told similar things by staff in school when I first asked to get referred and they said no because I could 'act normal' and was clever. They just completely ignored my daily panic attacks, meltdowns, sh and the fact I was missing about 30% of school and about 80% of classes because I couldn't cope. I've since been told by a physiatrist and past teachers that it was actually really obvious that I was autistic and something should've been done a lot sooner to prevent that damage.

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      • hello.its.me

        295d

        @hello.its.me Pt2 - I would advise speaking to someone else or getting family and friends to back you up and change that psychiatrists mind. Hopefully they'll realise they don't know everything and their training needs an update

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        • meridian

          294d

          @hello.its.me thank you for sharing! i'm sorry you had that experience - it's extremely invalidating when you're trying to get help for something you know** you need help for.

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    • LunarMoth

      295d

      When my brother was a child his psychologist told our mother that she didn't think he was autistic/worth trying to diagnose because "most autistic children come off very rude, and he's very polite," which like, what? My brother is Definitely autistic, and this psychologist eventually admitted she was probably wrong to not try to diagnose him. There's a lot of misguided ideas about imaginary criteria for an autism diagnosis. Like, I'm pretty sure an inability to drive or being "rude" are NOT diagnostic criteria for autism! If you fit the actual diagnostic criteria, it's probably worth investigating further. I would maybe consider a different psychiatrist

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    • Viynnyie

      295d

      I have all of the above as well, but later on down the line, around begining of highschool, I was diagnosed twice. Its very difficult and unfortunate that most psychiatrists either follow old criteria, or they find some other nonsense reason to tip toe around an austim diagnosis

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    • kxda

      295d

      I know a lot of doctors that diagnose autism are still using very out of date criteria, ive been told just because i make eye contact i cant possibly be autistic. You can definitely have a job, license, and have not been in special education classes as a child i hv all 3 of those too and am autistic : )

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      • Viynnyie

        295d

        @kxda My goodness, I was also told this by my old psychiatrist and they just threw all of my other traits such as sensory issues and meltdowns out of the window, simply just because I make a decent ammount of eye contact, when it's one if the things I was trained to do by my parents

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        • kxda

          286d

          @Viynnyie yeah the doctors that diagnose it are usually trained for identifying signs of it in children they dont take into account that as you get older you can heavily mask bc not everybody does

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    • ikigali

      295d

      That's a really old fashioned criteria. I went all the way to college with no diagnosis and still got one after my assessment. Maybe try somewhere else? They don't seem professional or up to date with knowledge at all ):

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    • BlackBonnet

      295d

      I have all three and I got diagnosed.

      5

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      • meridian

        295d

        @BlackBonnet thank you for your response!

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        Reply

☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision

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