total-recoil
Well-Known Member
O.K., after a lot of research into aspergers and HFA, I am even more totally convinced I have HFA (but tend to use the term aspergers anyway). I also did the A.Q. test (which I know is really a basic, not diagnostic guide) and scored high. Other symptoms I have like occasional poor facial recognition are not included in the basic tests.
So, from this point on it seemed logical to me to try and get some officlal confirmation and this is where it becomes problematic. First I saw a G.P. who listened to my observations but was highly skeptical and thought the whole thing was a waste of time to see through. He appeared to be of Afghan ethnicity and I found myself wondering if aspergers is widely understood in non European countries (it only came to the U.K. in the late eighties). Anyway when I pressed him he admitted he knew very little about aspergers but finally did a referral to get shot of me.
I heard nothing for some time so decided to phone the surgery. They said they had sent me an appointment to see a specialist but this didn't reach me and now they were apparently on the verge of cancelling the referral. I was then advised to call a health service number to state my case and this is where it became more irritating. I spoke on the phone to a young guy who stated and I quote:
"All of us are really a little bit autistic. We all have issues with autistic traits."
This guy is employed in the field of psychology/therapy and so I found such an observation astounding. I let it pass because it was immediately clear to me he really understood very little about how aspergers affects people and how it affects their life.
Finally after this "enlightening" conversation, it was suggested I phone a local Aspergers resource group. I did do, left a message and so far have had no response.
So, really not sure where to proceed next, although none of the above surprises me in the least. Of course, it's amazing to consider that someone who's struggling to come to terms with traumatic diagnostic issues that caused anxiety in the past should have to suffer being patronised and ignored by so-called professionals. It was actually quite a struggle to talk to a complete stranger over an issue which has been a mystery most of my life, only to be met by skepticism and distrust.
This puts me now in a kind of limbo. Another problem is I don't want to get into a situation where aspergers is going to be viewed as an illness that needs therapy. I do understand there is an element of autism involved but my research so far leads me to take the view it's all very complex and aspies also have cognitive abilities that compensate for the negatively perceived traits.
I know some people have paid for private diagnosis but the snag is this doesn't carry as much weight since the fact you pay money lends people to conclude you're paying for a diagnosis.
Question is, am I going to continue in limbo? Is it now a case of myself diagnosing A.S. in the context of a skeptical family, dismissive doctor and patronising support network?
To add to my woes, I asked my mother the other day if she could remember when she paid someone to teach me to read as my belief is I have H.F.A. because I'm aware with H.F.A. there are usually instances of initial slowness at school. My mother replied she had no memory at all of this and said, "You're too smart to have ever struggled to read!" Yet at the same time my family think I'm kind of strange.
So, from this point on it seemed logical to me to try and get some officlal confirmation and this is where it becomes problematic. First I saw a G.P. who listened to my observations but was highly skeptical and thought the whole thing was a waste of time to see through. He appeared to be of Afghan ethnicity and I found myself wondering if aspergers is widely understood in non European countries (it only came to the U.K. in the late eighties). Anyway when I pressed him he admitted he knew very little about aspergers but finally did a referral to get shot of me.
I heard nothing for some time so decided to phone the surgery. They said they had sent me an appointment to see a specialist but this didn't reach me and now they were apparently on the verge of cancelling the referral. I was then advised to call a health service number to state my case and this is where it became more irritating. I spoke on the phone to a young guy who stated and I quote:
"All of us are really a little bit autistic. We all have issues with autistic traits."
This guy is employed in the field of psychology/therapy and so I found such an observation astounding. I let it pass because it was immediately clear to me he really understood very little about how aspergers affects people and how it affects their life.
Finally after this "enlightening" conversation, it was suggested I phone a local Aspergers resource group. I did do, left a message and so far have had no response.
So, really not sure where to proceed next, although none of the above surprises me in the least. Of course, it's amazing to consider that someone who's struggling to come to terms with traumatic diagnostic issues that caused anxiety in the past should have to suffer being patronised and ignored by so-called professionals. It was actually quite a struggle to talk to a complete stranger over an issue which has been a mystery most of my life, only to be met by skepticism and distrust.
This puts me now in a kind of limbo. Another problem is I don't want to get into a situation where aspergers is going to be viewed as an illness that needs therapy. I do understand there is an element of autism involved but my research so far leads me to take the view it's all very complex and aspies also have cognitive abilities that compensate for the negatively perceived traits.
I know some people have paid for private diagnosis but the snag is this doesn't carry as much weight since the fact you pay money lends people to conclude you're paying for a diagnosis.
Question is, am I going to continue in limbo? Is it now a case of myself diagnosing A.S. in the context of a skeptical family, dismissive doctor and patronising support network?
To add to my woes, I asked my mother the other day if she could remember when she paid someone to teach me to read as my belief is I have H.F.A. because I'm aware with H.F.A. there are usually instances of initial slowness at school. My mother replied she had no memory at all of this and said, "You're too smart to have ever struggled to read!" Yet at the same time my family think I'm kind of strange.
