quinze

PossiblyAutistic , 2 days ago to ActuallyAutistic group

Took the referral from the company psychlogist recommending diagnosis for ADHD and ASD to my GP, got a referral to a psychiatrist and a name, called that one today, and surprisingly have an appointment in 1.5 weeks ... 😯

Any advice?

@actuallyautistic

quinze , 2 days ago

@PossiblyAutistic @actuallyautistic The Divergent Conversations Podcast has a "What is Autism" series that goes through the diagnosis criteria, with a lot of non-trivial examples for each aspect.

I hope that the psychiatrist has an up-to-date knowledge of the full spectrum of autism, but in case they don't, reflecting on specific situations matching these criteria might help get a more accurate diagnosis.

quinze , 17 days ago to ActuallyAutistic group

Heya @actuallyautistic folks, do we have a Prime Directive around undiagnosed folks?

Trans folks have the Egg Prime Directive: don't tell someone they might be trans, because it's conter-intuitive in most cases (pushing people deeper into the closet).

As I disclose my diagnosis to people close to me, an unsurprising amount of them resonate with my experience and ask me whether I think they might be. I refuse to answer but share resources and offer to reply to questions about my personal experience.

quinze OP , 17 days ago

@seanwithwords @actuallyautistic well said 💜 I think positive representation is very important, same as for sexual & gender minorities.

I had a pretty prejudiced and ignorant reaction when my therapist suggested I might be autistic, and I would have hated myself after having such a reaction around a friend.

olena , 22 days ago to ActuallyAutistic group

Just was ‘diagnosed’ with anxiety today after talking to a psychiatrist for five minutes (I’m using quotes because it seems a bit too preliminary to me to diagnose whoever with whatever after about 5 minutes of general talk).
Came asking for #ADHD and #autism evaluation. Was totally ignored on that regard) Of course, didn’t have courage to ask again.

Was it so obvious? Was I just a walking stereotype: middle-aged woman from a war-thorn country living alone who voluntarily came to a psychiatrist(doesn’t matter what else she has, she can’t NOT be anxious)?
Or is it just a general experience of most of #AuDHD female-passing folks: to be seen as anxious, to have most of their symptoms attributed to #anxiety (not like I was asked about any symptoms, but maybe have demonstrated some?)?

@actuallyautistic

quinze , 22 days ago

@olena @actuallyautistic wow, sorry it happened to you. :blobcathuggiessad:

Unfortunately, the majority of MH professionals don't know about masked autism, only see the consequences of it (social anxiety, PTSD, exhaustion...) and don't care about learning about it. Took me 6 tries to find a therapist who knew about masked autism, and who is a great resource now.