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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on January 9, 2002, at 18:14:42
I feel like I'm living in the dark ages of mental health in this area. A month or so ago, I went through the local phone book and called all likely looking sources in search of a DBT group. The standard answer was "What is DBT?". One major medical center offered a DBT group, but only for inpatients. Oh well, I thought, I'm on my own for this one. Good thing I have the skills manual.
Now I'm trying to find out about Asperger's. My therapist (a counselor) had never heard of it. My psychiatrist had heard the name but didn't know much about it. He suggested I find a neurologist (I'm pretty sure he meant neuro-psychologist) to see about a diagnosis. So today I called all the likely sources for an evaluation. So far it looks like there is one neuro-psychologist equipped to make a diagnosis, and he isn't taking new patients. He's supposed to call me tomorrow. The standard answer was "What is Asperger's?"
I am so frustrated. I can see why health professionals hate the internet. :(
But in a bit of good news, my diagnosis phobic pdoc finally slipped up and put a diagnosis code on the receipt. So now I have been formally diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder. I guessed he had me on the bipolar spectrum from the fact that he had me on Depakote, but he was always maddeningly elusive.
Posted by IsoM on January 10, 2002, at 1:37:09
In reply to Frustrated with local mental health options, posted by Dinah on January 9, 2002, at 18:14:42
Dinah, do you mind me asking where you live? Strange that no one seems to have heard of Asperger - Dark Ages indeed!
> I feel like I'm living in the dark ages of mental health in this area. A month or so ago, I went through the local phone book and called all likely looking sources in search of a DBT group. The standard answer was "What is DBT?". One major medical center offered a DBT group, but only for inpatients. Oh well, I thought, I'm on my own for this one. Good thing I have the skills manual.
> Now I'm trying to find out about Asperger's. My therapist (a counselor) had never heard of it. My psychiatrist had heard the name but didn't know much about it. He suggested I find a neurologist (I'm pretty sure he meant neuro-psychologist) to see about a diagnosis. So today I called all the likely sources for an evaluation. So far it looks like there is one neuro-psychologist equipped to make a diagnosis, and he isn't taking new patients. He's supposed to call me tomorrow. The standard answer was "What is Asperger's?"
> I am so frustrated. I can see why health professionals hate the internet. :(
> But in a bit of good news, my diagnosis phobic pdoc finally slipped up and put a diagnosis code on the receipt. So now I have been formally diagnosed with cyclothymic disorder. I guessed he had me on the bipolar spectrum from the fact that he had me on Depakote, but he was always maddeningly elusive.
Posted by Dinah on January 10, 2002, at 3:19:55
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » Dinah, posted by IsoM on January 10, 2002, at 1:37:09
Of course I don't mind your asking, but as I'm having a bit of trouble with my OCD right now I think I'd better not answer. It's strange how it acts up more when I'm in a really positive mood generally. I don't know why privacy is such an issue with me. I'm mainly only afraid that my husband or therapist will read my posts, and they would know me at once if they read a few posts. And both have promised not to come here. But no one said obsessive fears have to make sense.
I live in the deep south. I didn't check with the child psychologists. I might have had better luck with them. I checked with the neuropsychologists, the psychologists who claimed to do assessments, the major psychiatric centers, and most anyone who didn't appear to be oriented to therapy alone. And my city is known to be in the dark ages in many ways, so as a friend of mine today was saying, why should I be surprised at this?
Posted by Lini on January 10, 2002, at 9:29:27
In reply to Frustrated with local mental health options, posted by Dinah on January 9, 2002, at 18:14:42
Hello Hello
Wondering your history (what lead you to Asperger's, do you think you have it?, etc). I majored in Neuropsychology as an undergrad and did my senior research in Autism. You might want to think about contacting a University (I don't know what area you're in) and seeing what resources are available through the Clinical Psych/Neuroscience Departments.
Posted by IsoM on January 10, 2002, at 15:18:53
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » IsoM, posted by Dinah on January 10, 2002, at 3:19:55
Just telling me you're from the southern States is enough to know that it would be hard for me to find out about resources for you as I'm in Canada. It may be a good idea to insist for a Asperger evaluation from a child psychologist. It was one of these that checked my son even though he was in his twenties. He said adults are a little harder to diagnose as they've learned all sorts of coping skills over the years & it's not as evident to others that there may be a disorder.
You might want to print out some articles on Asperger to show your own psychiatrist. I found out afterwards that my son's psychiatrist could've made the diagnoses before we spent all the money on the psychologist. Here in Canada, pdocs are covered by Medicare, but not psychologists.
Lini's suggestion is very good too. Arming yourself with lots of inforamtion to show any professional is a good idea, especially if you get it from accredited sources with references & all.
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> Of course I don't mind your asking, but as I'm having a bit of trouble with my OCD right now I think I'd better not answer. It's strange how it acts up more when I'm in a really positive mood generally. I don't know why privacy is such an issue with me. I'm mainly only afraid that my husband or therapist will read my posts, and they would know me at once if they read a few posts. And both have promised not to come here. But no one said obsessive fears have to make sense.
> I live in the deep south. I didn't check with the child psychologists. I might have had better luck with them. I checked with the neuropsychologists, the psychologists who claimed to do assessments, the major psychiatric centers, and most anyone who didn't appear to be oriented to therapy alone. And my city is known to be in the dark ages in many ways, so as a friend of mine today was saying, why should I be surprised at this?
Posted by Dinah on January 11, 2002, at 13:29:42
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » Dinah, posted by Lini on January 10, 2002, at 9:29:27
Over the years I have read various things about Asperger's that seemed to apply to me, about touch, etc. And social pragmatics, physical clumsiness, toe walking, rocking (and perhaps some other self stimming activities), early and advanced language abilities (little professor), problems with overstimulation, and many other things seem to fit me very well. The thing that made me want to seek an evaluation is that one psychiatrist said I was schizotypal, another said schizoid, neither seemed quite correct. I read though, that mild Asperger's cases are often misdiagnosed along these lines.
On the other hand, I have no problems at all with understanding abstract concepts, and I have no problems with theory of mind. I am constantly aware of the emotional states of others, whether I want to be or not. Unfortunately, I have problems using the information in a socially useful way. So I don't know whether mild Asperger's would fit me or not.
I checked with the outpatient clinics associated with the local universities. Is there another way to approach universities?
Thanks,
Dinah
Posted by Dinah on January 11, 2002, at 13:47:47
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » Dinah, posted by IsoM on January 10, 2002, at 15:18:53
Thanks IsoM.
The neuropsychologist who doesn't take new patients referred me to a child psychologist who does assessments, but according to his secretary he rarely works with adults. I'm waiting for a call from him, but I'm not holding my breath. I guess I can use the information that may be useful to me whether or not I get an official diagnosis. For example, my therapist and I are planning to do some social skills training.IsoM, I have a few questions that I don't really feel comfortable asking on an open forum. Are you a member of Psycho-Babble Open? Would it be possible to arrange to "meet" you there? I also have a yahoo e-mail account that I wouldn't mind posting as it contains no personal information. If you don't feel comfortable with either of these options, I understand. Believe me, I really do.
Thank you for all your help.
Dinah
Posted by Lini on January 11, 2002, at 16:00:41
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » Lini, posted by Dinah on January 11, 2002, at 13:29:42
> Over the years I have read various things about Asperger's that seemed to apply to me, about touch, etc. And social pragmatics, physical clumsiness, toe walking, rocking (and perhaps some other self stimming activities), early and advanced language abilities (little professor), problems with overstimulation, and many other things seem to fit me very well. The thing that made me want to seek an evaluation is that one psychiatrist said I was schizotypal, another said schizoid, neither seemed quite correct. I read though, that mild Asperger's cases are often misdiagnosed along these lines.
> On the other hand, I have no problems at all with understanding abstract concepts, and I have no problems with theory of mind. I am constantly aware of the emotional states of others, whether I want to be or not. Unfortunately, I have problems using the information in a socially useful way. So I don't know whether mild Asperger's would fit me or not.
> I checked with the outpatient clinics associated with the local universities. Is there another way to approach universities?
> Thanks,
> Dinah
Yeah, I was a little surprised because of the degree of empathy, and understanding you show to members of this board, however I do understand that this is one "social" forum and you may have different functional ability in others. Along with your other descriptions, I understand now why you want to check this out.I regard to approaching Universities, I would simply check out the schools on the web to determine who to contact in a particular department or research journal articles to see if any have been published by professors at local universities. Then, you could simply email the professor and explain your situation. Let me know if you need additional suggestions!
Posted by Dinah on January 11, 2002, at 18:37:45
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » Dinah, posted by Lini on January 11, 2002, at 16:00:41
> Yeah, I was a little surprised because of the degree of empathy, and understanding you show to members of this board, however I do understand that this is one "social" forum and you may have different functional ability in others. Along with your other descriptions, I understand now why you want to check this out.
>
Thank you for being surprised. :) This is going to sound odd, but I like posting on the board because I have time to think before posting on emotional topics. I can review all I've read and heard others say to come up with an appropriate response. I parent the same way. My husband says he can see my hard drive working as I come up with the appropriate response to my son's behavior. Hmmm, temper tantrum, page 234, Touchpoints.
In real time conversations, especially with more than 2 people, I generally either end up alienating everyone or, frustrated, retiring from the lists to watch in silence.> I regard to approaching Universities, I would simply check out the schools on the web to determine who to contact in a particular department or research journal articles to see if any have been published by professors at local universities. Then, you could simply email the professor and explain your situation. Let me know if you need additional suggestions!
Thank you, Lini. That is very kind.
Posted by Dinah on January 11, 2002, at 22:54:55
In reply to Re: Frustrated with local mental health options » Dinah, posted by IsoM on January 10, 2002, at 15:18:53
Never mind IsoM. Actually, I think it would probably be a bad idea to ask these questions off the board, too. Darn OCD!
Thanks for all your help.
Dinah
This is the end of the thread.
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