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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

  • My assessment took place in the UK using DSM-5, and ADOS 2 to observe behaviours during standardised activities. Face to face assessments give the clinician a chance to observe a wide range of behaviours. I can’t add much additional information to the comments here, except to say don’t worry if you forget to include something, the clinicians will be looking at more than your answers. It is much more important to be yourself, whether or not you inadvertently mask. They certainly won’t put you under duress to find a ‘correct’ answer. 

    I have no knowledge of the autism assessment process in Lithuania, but I can vouch for the expertise and excellent care I received following orthopaedic surgery a few years ago.

Reply

  • My assessment took place in the UK using DSM-5, and ADOS 2 to observe behaviours during standardised activities. Face to face assessments give the clinician a chance to observe a wide range of behaviours. I can’t add much additional information to the comments here, except to say don’t worry if you forget to include something, the clinicians will be looking at more than your answers. It is much more important to be yourself, whether or not you inadvertently mask. They certainly won’t put you under duress to find a ‘correct’ answer. 

    I have no knowledge of the autism assessment process in Lithuania, but I can vouch for the expertise and excellent care I received following orthopaedic surgery a few years ago.

Children
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