Second opinion to dispute an ASD diagnosis?

You don’t need a second opinion. You’ve always been you, and this hasn’t changed. You just need to look at yourself in a new light to discover the authentic you. We are all different. What you describe is how it is for you. And while this is all new, you will struggle for it to sink in. I know I did. Take a step back. 

I mean it is possible to be more than one neurodivergent type, if you suspect ADHD/ADD or something else for example you can ask your GP to arrange assessment for those too.

🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs said:

I also wanted to dispute the diagnosis for years too, but once made apparently it's very hard to scrub from your record completely even if you do have a re-evaluation

Thank you. It’s not even as if I’m looking to get it scrubbed from the record as such. It’s more “if autism isn’t the problem, what is?”

I think I just have to accept that autism comes in all shapes and sizes, and that a qualified psychiatrist might have an idea of what they’re talking about!

At age 52 and having being diagnosed online in 2021 after being “encouraged” by family in Rural Ireland in 2019 to get a diagnosis here in Manchester U.K. as a single Irish gay male living alone here 20 years, I share much of these experiences, as my family are very much traditional Irish Catholics (and all that goes with it) - this is why, because of the (online) nature of the initial diagnosis, (proper) post-diagnostic support to establish (exact) level of autism and exact and (appropriate) adult supports are fully in place, including from autism charities - in my case, I was pressured to go back into the workplace too soon after diagnosis with no supports in place (despite redundancy after 17 years in Sept 2019 from supermarkets) into a hotel as kitchen Porter and public areas cleaning in 2021, until it all became too much last week, where myself and HR mutually agreed that I should quit after just over a year, from the new build hotel, as the management team had almost no training in disability issues and I’m more likely to find support if not working - my family in Ireland are putting me under a lot of pressure and are insisting that the only way to manage this condition is via a live-in carer (ideally priests or nuns) or long term placement to provide the ultra strict discipline they firmly believe and maintain is vital to manage this condition, without any reference to what my (non-relevant) views are (I’m not allowed to form, have nor especially not express any views nor opinions on anything, in line with traditional Irish Catholic Social Teaching) and am “shouted down” if I attempt to do so, as they believe in being “cruel to be kind” in “putting me in my place” “knocking me back a peg or ten” and “keeping me firmly in check” “for my own good” especially if coming directly from myself, even when repeating an official or professional opinion that they refuse to understand coming from myself directly, as they dont want to be seen agreeing “with the likes of me” on anything because I’m deemed to have “no cop on” and am “not right in the head” and that I need to be (made) to “cop myself on” because I did not get enough good hard good “clips across the ear” as a child for which they believe my autism is God’s Punishment for childhood disobedience 

My sensory problems are somewhat texture-focused, that and, smell and sound, very much less so on vision or taste. I can eat most things, with no issues. However, touching nylon fabric has a visceral revulsion for me. I just want to curl up and die. Sensory triggers vary greatly between autistics.

Thank you. I really hope you find peace with your diagnosis too. At the end of the day there has to be something significant enough there to be assessed in the first place. The important thing is that it enables us to put strategies in place that are more likely to improve our difficulties and access support. 

Martin said:

I cannot express the joy I felt on finding that very many autistic people remove irritating labels from clothing, when I thought I was the only person in the world to do so.

This is one of the things that really makes me question the diagnosis, because I hear this from so many autistic people but I’m not even remotely bothered by clothing labels or textures.

I have a weird thing where I can’t bear the idea of anything metallic in my mouth (there was a chewing gum advert a few years ago where someone was holding keys in his teeth and it made me feel sick every time it was on), but the clothing thing just doesn’t resonate with me at all. 

Thank you. I’m sure I will get there. It’s very much an up and down experience, and late last night I was clearly very down (hence the stream of consciousness above!)

Elise said:

perhaps it’s worth looking into adhd too? I’ve been put forward for another assessment for adhd.

Thanks for your reply. My assessor said there were some potential indicators for ADHD, so asked me to complete another questionnaire which focused on those areas. I didn’t meet the threshold for ADHD (and to be fair I didn’t really identify with any of the attributes described) so it wasn’t taken any further. 

I hope once you get your ADHD assessment sorted it will help you out a bit more. 

This is exactly how I feel and I got the same score as you in the aq50. I was diagnosed autistic through psychiatry uk but he said I have combined adhd which makes it harder to notice because each condition can hide parts of the other one - perhaps it’s worth looking into adhd too? I’ve been put forward for another assessment for adhd.

The thing that’s brought about the biggest anxiety for me after assessment is that he said I was on the threshold for ASD and asked me if i wanted him to just put ‘autistic traits’ and then confirm ASD diagnosis later. He said if I was diagnosed adhd and took meds more of the ASD traits would come out. i didn’t know what to say and just really wanted him to confirm yes or no because I found it too overwhelming to process. I also can’t cope with ambiguity which brings out so much anxiety in me. Because I was indecisive he just said he was confident enough to confirm a diagnosis but now I’m wishing I’d held off. I now have so much anxiety thinking I’m a phoney and researching endless articles and forums to check I’ve not made things up. Although I’m an extreme introvert I can actually be very good in social settings and make eye contact with people I trust. I’m also more chaotic than routined. The main areas I struggle with are unexpected changes, processing decisions, sound sensitivity and executive function.

I‘m hoping when I get an adhd assessment it might clear some things up for me as I definitely have a lot of those traits. 

I can do small talk, I do not particularly enjoy it, but I can do it. I make eye contact, but I do it consciously and time it. I have sat on committees considering important matters in my work. I have been on interview panels for Biotech company jobs. I am very good at facial recognition and reading expressions. However, I still believe my autism diagnosis because it is the best fit for how I am. If it is taken away then I am back thinking that my problems and limitations are purely personal to me, and that I am, in some ways, just a 'defective human being'. I cannot express the joy I felt on finding that very many autistic people remove irritating labels from clothing, when I thought I was the only person in the world to do so. I was happy to have found 'my people'.

Aw, sometimes I wish I could hug people on here.

I know what it's like to have imposter syndrome, I had it for 22 years, I really really struggled to accept the diagnosis, because I was led to believe for the longest time that the austistic spectrum was just mild, mid range, and severe but the criteria always stayed the same and level. It never occurred to me that the shape of my autism might lean slightly more on certain criteria over others, or that I had learned to mask over the years. Not until very recently. And now I realise some of the things that also obscured or negated some critera were very easily OCD or missed ADHD. Without a doubt some criteria was actually from CPTSD and misattributed to autism too, but upon discovering a lot of modern knowledge about autism from other autists on youtube I have found that actually more fits than I first thought especially when there's different presentations of autism to consider too.

I also wanted to dispute the diagnosis for years too, but once made apparently it's very hard to scrub from your record completely even if you do have a re-evaluation (which isn't right, but there you go). But there is a kind of peace now to knowing that I'm not just weird, but part of my own community in that.

Not self indulgent at all. And it's kinda normal to feel confused by all this.

Yes, diagnoses do go wrong both ways and I am a big believer that no one is helped unless they get an accurate perspective on the truth, so by all means if you need a second opinion, go for it.

But,..errr but 38/50 on an AQ50 and all you just described...not a clinical psychologist but it does kinda sound like they might have got this right.

You need time to digest this piece by piece, test out how you feel about it and consider how theis may or may not sit with your perception of you. You don't have to rush.