Psychologists often don't 'get' autism, my own experience exemplifies this

It is also because "learned understanding" (as distinct from real contact experience) is gained from clinical contexts: people referred to psychiatrists/psychologists etc who have real difficulties on account of their autistic spectrum disorder. They are not seeing people or reading about people who aren't attending clinics.

It is quite clear that most specialists treat the resultant problems not the cause. There are plenty of accounts of people being treated for depression or anxiety or OCD being told that they aren't trying, if they still report problems. Because - clearly unknown to these "professionals" - you cannot cure the actual autisim related problems.

The sad fact is they know little about the social difficulties or the misunderstandings and exclusions that result. Nor do they understand about environmental stresses, the way the brain processes some environmental inputs and distorts or amplifies these inputs. People on the spectrum can hear, see and smell normally, but the way the brain then processes the information atypically, is simply not known about.

So to them treating the depression or anxiety or OCD that largely RESULTS from having these initial problems, seems to their narrow vision, all there is to the problem.

Tragically, despite various campaigns to inform them that there is more to it than this, fails to penetrate. I know clinicians are overwhelmed by information and have little time to take in long wordy guidance documents. It should be the responsibility of professional bodies to inform their members with well-written effective synthesis (ie informative articles) that they can digest.

There seems to be a massive failure by professionals to take autism seriously. There is also still an assumption that people with social difficulties are merely inadequate or immature, or wasting time etc (as was widely applied in the 70s, 80s and 90s to young people and adults who didn't seem to cope well, but did not have an obvious pychosis).

There really is no excuse in 2012 for this appallingly unprofessional level of ignorance. If your consultant cannot connect addressing your OCD issues with the primary problems you face with aspergers, my own viewpoint (may not go down well) is that he shouldn't be let loose on patients - suspended or struck off.  But reality shows little change in this respect.

As to fear of dogs, people on the spectrum may have sensivity to loud nouse, complex or sudden movement, and unpredictability of behaviour of things in their environment. Dogs are a very good illustration of a hurtful occurrence in the perceived environment of someone with an autistic spectrum disorder. So this is not conventional phobia, it is real fear of hurtful sensory overload. If your clinician doesn't understand that, he/she is basically useless.

I am tired of reading about the gross inadequacy of training and understanding by professionals paid to help people on the spectrum. It is time for NAS to get tough with the professionals.

It is also because "learned understanding" (as distinct from real contact experience) is gained from clinical contexts: people referred to psychiatrists/psychologists etc who have real difficulties on account of their autistic spectrum disorder. They are not seeing people or reading about people who aren't attending clinics.

It is quite clear that most specialists treat the resultant problems not the cause. There are plenty of accounts of people being treated for depression or anxiety or OCD being told that they aren't trying, if they still report problems. Because - clearly unknown to these "professionals" - you cannot cure the actual autisim related problems.

The sad fact is they know little about the social difficulties or the misunderstandings and exclusions that result. Nor do they understand about environmental stresses, the way the brain processes some environmental inputs and distorts or amplifies these inputs. People on the spectrum can hear, see and smell normally, but the way the brain then processes the information atypically, is simply not known about.

So to them treating the depression or anxiety or OCD that largely RESULTS from having these initial problems, seems to their narrow vision, all there is to the problem.

Tragically, despite various campaigns to inform them that there is more to it than this, fails to penetrate. I know clinicians are overwhelmed by information and have little time to take in long wordy guidance documents. It should be the responsibility of professional bodies to inform their members with well-written effective synthesis (ie informative articles) that they can digest.

There seems to be a massive failure by professionals to take autism seriously. There is also still an assumption that people with social difficulties are merely inadequate or immature, or wasting time etc (as was widely applied in the 70s, 80s and 90s to young people and adults who didn't seem to cope well, but did not have an obvious pychosis).

There really is no excuse in 2012 for this appallingly unprofessional level of ignorance. If your consultant cannot connect addressing your OCD issues with the primary problems you face with aspergers, my own viewpoint (may not go down well) is that he shouldn't be let loose on patients - suspended or struck off.  But reality shows little change in this respect.

As to fear of dogs, people on the spectrum may have sensivity to loud nouse, complex or sudden movement, and unpredictability of behaviour of things in their environment. Dogs are a very good illustration of a hurtful occurrence in the perceived environment of someone with an autistic spectrum disorder. So this is not conventional phobia, it is real fear of hurtful sensory overload. If your clinician doesn't understand that, he/she is basically useless.

I am tired of reading about the gross inadequacy of training and understanding by professionals paid to help people on the spectrum. It is time for NAS to get tough with the professionals.