• Replies 16 replies
  • Subscribers 75 subscribers
  • Views 551 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

What's An Assessment Like?

Stir_Ling

I'm due for my autism assessment in November. I am traveling from the USA to Lithuania to do it just because of cost. Yes...it's cheaper to fly to Lithuania, stay for a few days, and fly back than it is to pay for an assessment in the place where I live. Greatest country in the world. (That's sarcasm.) 

I have been keeping notes, and I have copies of my masking test and aspie quiz. However, there is no family member, besides my wife and children, who might be able to communicate to the specialist, certainly not about my childhood. I am estranged from my family, primarily because I had to draw harsh boundaries after getting diagnosed with CPTSD in 2010. 

I'm expecting to be interviewed. Will they do things like make me sit in a room by a strobe light or in some annoying space that smells like socks and fish as they pump in the sound of artillery fire to see how I react? Will I be given a cognition test of some kind? 

I'm 52 and male and have a relatively stable career. I'm skilled at masking---in recent weeks, I've become quite aware of just how sophisticated my masking is. I'm sure many here know what I mean by this, so I won't explain it. Do they have a way of dismantling the masking, or "forcing me" into stressful situations where I might reveal some stimming or some more outward sign. I'm concerned that I'll manage to hide my autism from the specialist in the same way I hide it everywhere else. At the same time, this fear might be a tentacle of impostor syndrome. 

I'm sure they've devised ways to handle all this. Still, I'm anxious to know what awaits me so that I'd have some way of predicting it. 

Parents

  • Hi, I can't speak for Lithuania, as I'm in the UK

    No strobes, or annoying smells, I'm afraid!! There was a selection of painless tasks, along with pre-screening questionnaires, and a lengthy interview with an 'informant' (who knew you from a young age).

    Just be yourself. Be upfront about exactly why you suspect you meet the criteria for a diagnosis. Tell them what aspects of life that you struggle with 

    I too have had a stable and successful career, so don't worry about that. They're seeking repetitive/restrictive behaviours, social difficulties etc

    You'll be fine 

  • in reply to Literal_Joe

    There are quite a few autistic people from the UK who have YouTube channels, and I've been following them. It seems to me that, regarding the identification and aid of neurodivergent people, the UK is much further along than many places in the world. It's refreshing. I have a feeling the Lithuanians base their procedures on places in the EU (and the UK...still sad about Brexit), so I should expect what you're describing is analogous.  

Reply Children
No Data