Formal assessment (Ontario, Canada)

[Shenandoah]

So if I were to pursue a formal assessment, how would I go about it generally and specifically in Ontario, Canada.

My interest is two prong:
1. I have a sense that I am pretty inconsistent in my abilities, so it'd be helpful to have a better picture. I.e. visual, spacial, verbal stuff. My son went through a process like that with his condition. It involved a battery of little puzzles/tests he needed to solve and it resulted in graphs, tables and scores. Do they do that for adults?

2. If possible a formal diagnosis would be a good thing to have just because.

Last thing I want is to end up with a hand-waving hack making arbitrary statements based on insufficient info. Been there, done that, bought a t-shirt.

Any pointers as to what I am looking for in terms of specific process/tests etc as well as any recommendations of organizations or individuals. Doesn't have to be covered by OHIP.

 

[Mia]

Don't know specifically where you are in Ontario so:

Psychological Assessment | Toronto, ON - The Redpath Centre

Diagnosis – Adults « The Asperger’s Society of Ontario

Assessment Services | Centre for Psychological Services

 

[Shenandoah]

Don't know specifically where you are in Ontario so:

Psychological Assessment | Toronto, ON - The Redpath Centre

Diagnosis – Adults « The Asperger’s Society of Ontario

Assessment Services | Centre for Psychological Services

Thanks! All of those would work. Any personal experience with Red Path or the U of Guelph?

 

[Raphael Outcast]

... a battery of little puzzles/tests he needed to solve and it resulted in graphs, tables and scores. Do they do that for adults?

Yes they do. It's called a Wechsler test and I, for one, at the age of 41, found the report on that test the most useful and illuminating part of the whole damned process (much of which was frankly demeaning and silly).

If possible a formal diagnosis would be a good thing to have just because.

Yes, I have found this to be very true.

 

[Shenandoah]

Yes they do. It's called a Wechsler test and I, for one, at the age of 41, found the report on that test the most useful and illuminating part of the whole damned process (much of which was frankly demeaning and silly).

Yes, I have found this to be very true.

Excellent, thank you.

 

[Raphael Outcast]

I am pretty inconsistent in my abilities, so it'd be helpful to have a better picture.

This is kind of what the Wechsler test highlights. The psychologist who did mine told me that people with Asperger's tend to have a "spiky graph", i.e. freakily good at some things yet also cataclysmically poor in other areas. Between four different categories, my I.Q. was found to vary by forty points! And this was apparently typical: the inference is neurotypical people would have less of a variance, or a less spiky graph.

And the report then went on to discuss how possessing such a disparate or incommensurate set of abilities could have "impacted" on my childhood, school years, university career, and adult life; and many things at last became clear! And I have a better idea now of what situations to avoid or be careful of, and why.

 

[Shenandoah]

This is kind of what the Wechsler test highlights. The psychologist who did mine told me that people with Asperger's tend to have a "spiky graph", i.e. freakily good at some things yet also cataclysmically poor in other areas. Between four different categories, my I.Q. was found to vary by forty points! And this was apparently typical: the inference is neurotypical people would have less of a variance, or a less spiky graph.

And the report then went on to discuss how possessing such a disparate or incommensurate set of abilities could have "impacted" on my childhood, school years, university career, and adult life; and many things at last became clear! And I have a better idea now of what situations to avoid or be careful of, and why.

Great info, thanks!

 

[clg114]

I was not diagnosed until I was 62. By then, my life course was pretty well set. I got the diagnoses just because I wanted to know for sure and it made a big difference to me. It answered some life long questions that I had about myself. So, for me it was well worth the cost.

 

[Mia]

Thanks! All of those would work. Any personal experience with Red Path or the U of Guelph?

No, not really. Do know someone who was accessed at Guelph as a teen, and it took quite a while. It looks though as if Redpath would be a place to visit and see about and Guelph would be more extensive in it's assessment.

 

[hiraeth]

I got my assessment at CAMH, it was (at least at that time) a pretty poor process. I just met with a psychiatrist for 1 hour and answered his questions about various things. Then he said "Yep you fit the criteria", no nuances or new insights that I hadn't already read or thought about, and no offer of follow up care either. Very strange.

 

[Raphael Outcast]

"Yep you fit the criteria", no nuances or new insights that I hadn't already read or thought about, and no offer of follow up care either. Very strange.

Yeah, apart from the Wechsler test which did furnish some nuances and insights (but only after I'd demanded a full and unexpurgated copy of all the psychologist's notes, now I come to think of it), this was also my experience actually. Still, if Shenandoah can get an assessment that includes the kind of psychometric test battery he mentions (I'm not a shareholder in the Wechsler organization but I believe that is the standard test for adults) and get some meaningful feedback from that, and also ultimately get the piece of paper with the magic words "Autism Spectrum Disorder" on it, then hopefully this may meet his stated ends.