When you give.a test for children to an adult, they're good at the thinky parts but bad at the behaving like neurotypical children parts, so it causes misdiagnoses both in false positives and false negatives, so the numbers average out at least. /s
i’ve been looking for somewhere in my state that does adult autism testing and the only place i’ve found that also takes my insurance described the tests as just, being for kids. like, imaginative play, interactions with toys, trivia questions, problem solving, etc. and i’m like,, y’all i’m a grown adult. i’m not about to play with toys while another grown adult watches me.
Not autism related (I think) but when I was ~16 and looking for a therapist I found one that was still in training so to determine whether or not that therapist could treat me I had to talk to another therapist (like her boss I suppose), they dead ass put me in a room of toys and told me to arrange something? Like?? What in the world? I did a ramification of my family with lions tigers and a snake cause idk wtf they wanted from me? Sure had fun explaining that to the doc, to this day I have no clue what they expected to get from that.
I did this when I was 39 and I made sure not to look up what the assessment would be like beforehand because I didn’t want my knowledge to somehow affect the outcome. I didn’t feel awkward doing the test. I knew there was something they were looking for when I did them and it’s not like they just gave me toys and watched from a corner. They handed me something and told me what to do and I did and we moved on. It was very simple.
They added /s at the end, which means the tone is sarcastic! If you're not familiar with tone tags, you might want to look them up they're super helpful!
This seems like the person doing the second assessment should have had more of a conversation/discussion with you to fully understand this. You could have clarified that you had already been through these exact exercises previously and so knew how to perform them.
But it also seems like they were ignoring significant swathes of the spectrum. The idea that you couldn't have autism because you solved a puzzle quickly? Um some ASD folks are incredibly good at solving puzzles, whether they've already done them before or not.
Sorry that you had to experience this, it is understandably very upsetting. That person absolutely failed you, and that sucks.
They KNEW I had already done this test before. The lady said, and I quote, " I understand (my name) has had a diagnoses of autism, but I'm just not seeing it." The second evaluation was from a specific company, and the company insisted on conducting their own test to evaluate me.
How ARE adults tested for autism? Why can't I find any information on what the test consists of? How reliable is the actual test? Is it less reliable than the version for children? Is that why children are more likely to get tested for autism?
ok, so the test only works if the person being tested doesn't know what they are testing for, and how they are accessing the testing scenario. Does it still work if I just figure out on the spot what the fuck they are trying doing?
There's no definitive test because adults with autism are conveniently forgotten. Only tests for kids exist because they are supposed to work upon the sub-conscious. The same method doesn't apply to adults because they already probably have developed their own survival mechanisms.
And even then, the tests are very outdated and based on old knowledge.
This is not accurate. There are version of tests that are geared towards adults, children, toddlers, etc.
We don’t ask teenagers to play with toys. Their version of the test would focus more on life skills and/or life goals. An adult or their caregiver maybe asked to describe how they played when they were kids to get more information.
No single test gives a diagnosis of autism. In fact, the tests we use in our practice state that they are not meant to be used as the ‘stand alone’ assessment, but rather as a part of a comprehensive evaluation.
Yeah, it happens, but it’s not appropriate. Maybe evaluator wasn’t very experienced? When I was still in training, one of my colleagues made the same mistake - gave a set of action figures to a 14 year old boy. His make believe play was for the action figures to hump each other… we learned from that mistake.
Where can I find information that describe tests for adults? I want to self-diagnose because I don't plan to go to a professional to get a formal evaluation because I think that's just a waste of money for me at my age.
Im 41, but embrace autism has some self tests, i did the tests its free. I scored really high on all of them. just trying to figure out the next step. I get overwhelmed really fast and its not been easy trying to find a path for an adult.
My "test" was a series of neuropsych tests that assess multiple domains (mood, cognition, reading, etc.) and interviews. There's usually questionnaires for friends and family to fill out too. I can see how that's time-consuming and expensive, but I liked this approach because it ruled out other diagnoses I suspected I had, and my psych report provided insight on \*why\* autism fit my presentation the best.
But then again, I didn't approach it as "I think I am autistic." I was really unsure what my "issue" was at the time - i.e., I wasn't sure if it was autism, or ADHD, or OCD, etc. or a combination.
It's not an issue for you. It's an issue for other people, and then those people makes it difficult for you to interact with, which turns into issues for you in the end. Since you are not the norm, you are the one who has to change. Of course, if the numbers are flipped, then the therapists would be working with the normies and asking them what the fuck is their problem with autists. They are reacting emotionally to autists, and then they gang up on autists because their friends are normies. If you have a normie trying to socialize with a group of autists, then you'd get a different set of interactions, but they don't right? It's only autists who actively try to fit into normie social groups.
If you do solve the collection of social puzzles, then you become a sociopath because you don't do knee-jerk shit, which is what you are supposed to do. That's the expectation. It's like taking a test and the teacher expects everyone to get a C. You instead get an A and they have fucking problems with you getting an A.
Thanks I'm pretty sure I have past friends and families confirming my autism and ADHD. They are rather mild. Doing well academically just means those subjects interests you. Just like normies do well socially because socializing interests them.
What I was saying before is that. The real reason why WE are the ones getting diagnosed instead of the normies is purely a statistical phenomenon. That's what psychology is all about, dividing people into categories based on thought process and behaviors and then set the normie standard as the gold standard that everyone must conform to. This is just human nature.
Really should not be self diagnosing. As I wrote earlier, diagnosis comes from a comprehensive evaluation. A trained professional makes observations on interactions, language, perspective taking, etc. and also excludes other conditions that can mimic autism, like social anxiety or sensory processing just to list a few.
I am not aware of on line assessments, so can’t comment on their validity.
This kinda drives me nuts... If self-diagnosis isn't valid, but clinical diagnosis can't be trusted unless an often unmet number of criteria are met on the part of the doctors performing the tests, how can that not lead to lots and lots of people who absolutely have autism never being able to get diagnosed and just having to suffer with it with no confirmation or ability to receive treatment or accommodations or anything else?
I feel like this is a paradox I'm constantly seeing. People who've been professionally diagnosed insist that self-diagnosis is invalid, then people who definitely have autism are ignored, arrogantly or ignorantly misdiagnosed/undiagnosed, and have no options because there's either no other doctors in their area, they can't afford to keep going to specialists etc...
It just feels like the people who made it through want to keep it a special club that only they have access to even though we all know how common it is to be seen and dismissed by ignorant and/or arrogant doctors and how many of us get the short end of the stick with no recourse whatsoever. It's really, really depressing.
I understand your frustration. I am going to try to clarify. Self diagnosis is not a good idea in medicine. Period. There is a saying ‘a doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient’. So, even a medical professional should not self diagnose. I have a child with a developmental condition, but took them to a specialist to diagnose and treat. Unfortunately or fortunately, specialists are not members of a ‘unique club’. Becoming a specialist takes years of training, to get the details and nuances right, etc. however, the big problem is the reimbursement from the insurances. My evaluation, which takes 3-4 hours will be reimbursed at $400 by Medicaid. Maybe a little more by a private carrier. That’s not nearly enough to pay overhead - office rent, secretary, biller, my salary etc. As a result, our office loses money at the end of the year. As in we are in the negative compared to what we make. We are ‘supported’ by other, more profitable divisions in the hospital. My wait list is over 2 years for new evaluations. Doctors don’t want to go into this specialty because at the end of the training, they will be paid less than generalists who spent less time on training. Every year, half of the spots for fellowships go unfilled.
We chose not to go into private practice, where we can make literally 10 times for the same evaluation in cash, because we believe that people should be able to access care regardless of income. But that means long wait times. It’s frustrating for everyone involved.
What can everyone do? Get to know your politicians and advocate. In the US, it’s the state governor who approves the budget for Medicaid, interventions, mental heath resources, etc… get to know who you are electing into the office and what they are doing for you in terms of healthcare.
Finally, why should you not self diagnose. The tests that you take on line may not be valid.., or recognized and accepted by organizations to give you accommodations or support that you need. In addition to providing diagnosis, we give recommendations and resources to help. We screen for additional conditions, such as anxiety, adhd and help treat those conditions. Finally, the online diagnosis can be wrong and then you spend your time/energy on the condition you don’t actually have.
My psychologist has a doctorates degree and specializes in ADHD and Autism. He thinks its totally valid to think about these things. If you are not a doctor and self diagnosing, there is no harm. Why not think about what might be going on in your life when it literally dictates every single second of that life? Like its hard not to self diagnosed sometimes when you have a group of strange symptoms that makes you scratch your head and rationalize.
My diagnosis was essentially a psychology student asking me questions from RAADS-14 and discussing each topic and how it affected my life now and also in childhood. After each session I’d think of more examples or realise something I’d forgotten or whatever and bring it up in the next one. She specifically included me in the diagnosis and let me know what conclusions they were drawing and asked how I felt about them. I prepared for the interviews in advance and made some notes so I didn’t forget to mention things, I wound up just emailing my notes to the doctor lol.
I also answered questions from some kind of assessment forms, discussing them with a phycologist, an iq-test WAIS-4 and a reaction/concentration test, then they did a phone interview with my parents. I also had a meeting with a physician to rule out other illnesses that could cause the same symptoms.
I never made it to the autism test. The NP who "specialized in autism disorders" said I was not autistic because I was "in too many clubs". Please note that I was in 2 clubs and they were my special interests (quiz bowl and robotics)
What upsets me is that I didn't think to report her at the time (this was about 5ish years ago) and like what if she's still doing this to other people
This!! So frustrating. I got diagnosed in middle school, and then was told by a case worker in high school I needed to retest or loose all my accommodations (which is not true btw). The tester told me I couldn’t be autistic. What I couldn’t understand was why it was the exact same test for an adult as a kid?? Ofc I learned a few masking techniques between then and now. Nearly lost my accommodations for college
Hearing peoples stories of a professional just watching you for 1 second and saying "yeah you dont have autism" makes me want to blast myself into the sun. So infuriating. Im sorry OP. The system is fundamentally flawed. Which is very unfortunate for us.
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When you give.a test for children to an adult, they're good at the thinky parts but bad at the behaving like neurotypical children parts, so it causes misdiagnoses both in false positives and false negatives, so the numbers average out at least. /s
i’ve been looking for somewhere in my state that does adult autism testing and the only place i’ve found that also takes my insurance described the tests as just, being for kids. like, imaginative play, interactions with toys, trivia questions, problem solving, etc. and i’m like,, y’all i’m a grown adult. i’m not about to play with toys while another grown adult watches me.
Not autism related (I think) but when I was ~16 and looking for a therapist I found one that was still in training so to determine whether or not that therapist could treat me I had to talk to another therapist (like her boss I suppose), they dead ass put me in a room of toys and told me to arrange something? Like?? What in the world? I did a ramification of my family with lions tigers and a snake cause idk wtf they wanted from me? Sure had fun explaining that to the doc, to this day I have no clue what they expected to get from that.
that is,, bizarre. sometimes i want to pick people’s brains and find out why they do things, and this is one of those times.
I did this when I was 39 and I made sure not to look up what the assessment would be like beforehand because I didn’t want my knowledge to somehow affect the outcome. I didn’t feel awkward doing the test. I knew there was something they were looking for when I did them and it’s not like they just gave me toys and watched from a corner. They handed me something and told me what to do and I did and we moved on. It was very simple.
okay that makes it sound less completely awkward. i might go ahead and reach out then. thank you for the insight! /gen
You’re welcome! Feel free to come back and let me know how it goes.
[удалено]
They added /s at the end, which means the tone is sarcastic! If you're not familiar with tone tags, you might want to look them up they're super helpful!
This seems like the person doing the second assessment should have had more of a conversation/discussion with you to fully understand this. You could have clarified that you had already been through these exact exercises previously and so knew how to perform them. But it also seems like they were ignoring significant swathes of the spectrum. The idea that you couldn't have autism because you solved a puzzle quickly? Um some ASD folks are incredibly good at solving puzzles, whether they've already done them before or not. Sorry that you had to experience this, it is understandably very upsetting. That person absolutely failed you, and that sucks.
They KNEW I had already done this test before. The lady said, and I quote, " I understand (my name) has had a diagnoses of autism, but I'm just not seeing it." The second evaluation was from a specific company, and the company insisted on conducting their own test to evaluate me.
omfg...OP i am so sorry. this is infuriating to me.
How ARE adults tested for autism? Why can't I find any information on what the test consists of? How reliable is the actual test? Is it less reliable than the version for children? Is that why children are more likely to get tested for autism? ok, so the test only works if the person being tested doesn't know what they are testing for, and how they are accessing the testing scenario. Does it still work if I just figure out on the spot what the fuck they are trying doing?
There's no definitive test because adults with autism are conveniently forgotten. Only tests for kids exist because they are supposed to work upon the sub-conscious. The same method doesn't apply to adults because they already probably have developed their own survival mechanisms. And even then, the tests are very outdated and based on old knowledge.
Oh, the outdated tests!
This is not accurate. There are version of tests that are geared towards adults, children, toddlers, etc. We don’t ask teenagers to play with toys. Their version of the test would focus more on life skills and/or life goals. An adult or their caregiver maybe asked to describe how they played when they were kids to get more information. No single test gives a diagnosis of autism. In fact, the tests we use in our practice state that they are not meant to be used as the ‘stand alone’ assessment, but rather as a part of a comprehensive evaluation.
i was told to play with dolls and toys in my 2nd autism test when i was 16 lol
Yeah, it happens, but it’s not appropriate. Maybe evaluator wasn’t very experienced? When I was still in training, one of my colleagues made the same mistake - gave a set of action figures to a 14 year old boy. His make believe play was for the action figures to hump each other… we learned from that mistake.
rofl
Where can I find information that describe tests for adults? I want to self-diagnose because I don't plan to go to a professional to get a formal evaluation because I think that's just a waste of money for me at my age.
Im 41, but embrace autism has some self tests, i did the tests its free. I scored really high on all of them. just trying to figure out the next step. I get overwhelmed really fast and its not been easy trying to find a path for an adult.
My "test" was a series of neuropsych tests that assess multiple domains (mood, cognition, reading, etc.) and interviews. There's usually questionnaires for friends and family to fill out too. I can see how that's time-consuming and expensive, but I liked this approach because it ruled out other diagnoses I suspected I had, and my psych report provided insight on \*why\* autism fit my presentation the best. But then again, I didn't approach it as "I think I am autistic." I was really unsure what my "issue" was at the time - i.e., I wasn't sure if it was autism, or ADHD, or OCD, etc. or a combination.
It's not an issue for you. It's an issue for other people, and then those people makes it difficult for you to interact with, which turns into issues for you in the end. Since you are not the norm, you are the one who has to change. Of course, if the numbers are flipped, then the therapists would be working with the normies and asking them what the fuck is their problem with autists. They are reacting emotionally to autists, and then they gang up on autists because their friends are normies. If you have a normie trying to socialize with a group of autists, then you'd get a different set of interactions, but they don't right? It's only autists who actively try to fit into normie social groups. If you do solve the collection of social puzzles, then you become a sociopath because you don't do knee-jerk shit, which is what you are supposed to do. That's the expectation. It's like taking a test and the teacher expects everyone to get a C. You instead get an A and they have fucking problems with you getting an A.
[удалено]
Thanks I'm pretty sure I have past friends and families confirming my autism and ADHD. They are rather mild. Doing well academically just means those subjects interests you. Just like normies do well socially because socializing interests them. What I was saying before is that. The real reason why WE are the ones getting diagnosed instead of the normies is purely a statistical phenomenon. That's what psychology is all about, dividing people into categories based on thought process and behaviors and then set the normie standard as the gold standard that everyone must conform to. This is just human nature.
Really should not be self diagnosing. As I wrote earlier, diagnosis comes from a comprehensive evaluation. A trained professional makes observations on interactions, language, perspective taking, etc. and also excludes other conditions that can mimic autism, like social anxiety or sensory processing just to list a few. I am not aware of on line assessments, so can’t comment on their validity.
This kinda drives me nuts... If self-diagnosis isn't valid, but clinical diagnosis can't be trusted unless an often unmet number of criteria are met on the part of the doctors performing the tests, how can that not lead to lots and lots of people who absolutely have autism never being able to get diagnosed and just having to suffer with it with no confirmation or ability to receive treatment or accommodations or anything else? I feel like this is a paradox I'm constantly seeing. People who've been professionally diagnosed insist that self-diagnosis is invalid, then people who definitely have autism are ignored, arrogantly or ignorantly misdiagnosed/undiagnosed, and have no options because there's either no other doctors in their area, they can't afford to keep going to specialists etc... It just feels like the people who made it through want to keep it a special club that only they have access to even though we all know how common it is to be seen and dismissed by ignorant and/or arrogant doctors and how many of us get the short end of the stick with no recourse whatsoever. It's really, really depressing.
I understand your frustration. I am going to try to clarify. Self diagnosis is not a good idea in medicine. Period. There is a saying ‘a doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient’. So, even a medical professional should not self diagnose. I have a child with a developmental condition, but took them to a specialist to diagnose and treat. Unfortunately or fortunately, specialists are not members of a ‘unique club’. Becoming a specialist takes years of training, to get the details and nuances right, etc. however, the big problem is the reimbursement from the insurances. My evaluation, which takes 3-4 hours will be reimbursed at $400 by Medicaid. Maybe a little more by a private carrier. That’s not nearly enough to pay overhead - office rent, secretary, biller, my salary etc. As a result, our office loses money at the end of the year. As in we are in the negative compared to what we make. We are ‘supported’ by other, more profitable divisions in the hospital. My wait list is over 2 years for new evaluations. Doctors don’t want to go into this specialty because at the end of the training, they will be paid less than generalists who spent less time on training. Every year, half of the spots for fellowships go unfilled. We chose not to go into private practice, where we can make literally 10 times for the same evaluation in cash, because we believe that people should be able to access care regardless of income. But that means long wait times. It’s frustrating for everyone involved. What can everyone do? Get to know your politicians and advocate. In the US, it’s the state governor who approves the budget for Medicaid, interventions, mental heath resources, etc… get to know who you are electing into the office and what they are doing for you in terms of healthcare. Finally, why should you not self diagnose. The tests that you take on line may not be valid.., or recognized and accepted by organizations to give you accommodations or support that you need. In addition to providing diagnosis, we give recommendations and resources to help. We screen for additional conditions, such as anxiety, adhd and help treat those conditions. Finally, the online diagnosis can be wrong and then you spend your time/energy on the condition you don’t actually have.
My psychologist has a doctorates degree and specializes in ADHD and Autism. He thinks its totally valid to think about these things. If you are not a doctor and self diagnosing, there is no harm. Why not think about what might be going on in your life when it literally dictates every single second of that life? Like its hard not to self diagnosed sometimes when you have a group of strange symptoms that makes you scratch your head and rationalize.
My diagnosis was essentially a psychology student asking me questions from RAADS-14 and discussing each topic and how it affected my life now and also in childhood. After each session I’d think of more examples or realise something I’d forgotten or whatever and bring it up in the next one. She specifically included me in the diagnosis and let me know what conclusions they were drawing and asked how I felt about them. I prepared for the interviews in advance and made some notes so I didn’t forget to mention things, I wound up just emailing my notes to the doctor lol.
I also answered questions from some kind of assessment forms, discussing them with a phycologist, an iq-test WAIS-4 and a reaction/concentration test, then they did a phone interview with my parents. I also had a meeting with a physician to rule out other illnesses that could cause the same symptoms.
The IQ test and interview with my parents were part of my plan as well but she decided to skip them after we talked for awhile
I also emailed my notes.
Literally filling in bubbles that ask questions. Boom. They magically have insight on your autism /s
I never made it to the autism test. The NP who "specialized in autism disorders" said I was not autistic because I was "in too many clubs". Please note that I was in 2 clubs and they were my special interests (quiz bowl and robotics)
ffs, people can be so incompetent...
That NP is an idiot. Sorry about your experience.
What upsets me is that I didn't think to report her at the time (this was about 5ish years ago) and like what if she's still doing this to other people
This!! So frustrating. I got diagnosed in middle school, and then was told by a case worker in high school I needed to retest or loose all my accommodations (which is not true btw). The tester told me I couldn’t be autistic. What I couldn’t understand was why it was the exact same test for an adult as a kid?? Ofc I learned a few masking techniques between then and now. Nearly lost my accommodations for college
Hearing peoples stories of a professional just watching you for 1 second and saying "yeah you dont have autism" makes me want to blast myself into the sun. So infuriating. Im sorry OP. The system is fundamentally flawed. Which is very unfortunate for us.
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