Disappointed in my Autism Draft Report

The report is 4,500 words.

It just has life history, with a very brief conclusion at the end telling me I have level one Autism, with a list of criteria.

I was expecting all the history the assessor made my mother recall on a 2 hour video call to be used as evidence to form conclusions on each item and how it relates to the ASC diagnosis.

If I handed this report to my college tutor I would have failed as there is no argument apart from this made to link the information together:

Rating Scales: You completed the RAADS-R (Rivto Autism Aspergerā€™s Diagnostic Scale) assessment. This is an 80 question rating scale which looks at language, social relatedness, sensory/motor features and circumscribed interests. You scored 187/240 on the scale. The mean average score for a male with ASC is 149. This indicates that you have significant traits of autism, and supports your diagnosis.

You also completed an Adult Short Sensory Profile assessment, scoring 98/190, which confirms a difference compared to your neurotypical peers, and also supports your diagnosis.

Thatā€™s about as good as it gets when it comes to the initial report. If your autism team acts in a similar way to mine you should be given a post diagnosis appointment where the support you need and how you may get it are discussed .

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Ok thatā€™s reassuring. Thanks @firemonkey

He did say something about follow up, but I only remember now you mention it.

To start with, the levels are crap. ā€œRequiring support.ā€ PFFFT. The only support Iā€™ve ever received in school or at work is having some light bulbs taken out of my office at work because it was too bright. Otherwise, Iā€™m treated as one of the team and expected to step up and function at the same level as the rest. In fact, Iā€™ve been recognized as a top performer in my region.

I hereby declare myself Level 0.

:blush:

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@shutterbug Your comments raise a big question for me . Should people be seen as being on the autism spectrum if they have no need for help and support for the condition? Should an ASD dx require at least some degree of disability being present ?

Such people used to be known as high-functioning Aspies. Just sayinā€™.

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Thatā€™s the same thing as someone with high function sz. Or bipolar.
Itā€™s like ā€˜oh your being productive now? Maybe you donā€™t actually have a serious mental illnessā€™. Or maybe you never really had it.
Haaaaaa thatā€™s a laugh.

My dad said Iā€™m one of the strongest people he knows because I never quit and keep trying other ways to improve and get better regardless of what I was dealt. He said most people would of gave up a long time ago. Heā€™s one of those type A people up super early works many hours doing many things and tons of activities and volunteering, so hearing that from him is motivating.

Iā€™d say thatā€™s similar for other dxs

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When does an impairment( required for dx) become or not become a disability?

Being able to go deep into data without losing interest is not an impairment. Seeing audio in your head is not an impairment. Communicating more efficiently (to my mind) than others is not an impairment. Having no interest in wasting ones time on frivolities is not an impairment (for me). Why do we have to worry about classifying things as disabilities, why canā€™t we just say, ā€œhey, this is how they roll.ā€

You can be different without being disabled.

Iā€™m not saying youā€™re impaired or not . Just that to get the dx a person has to be seen to be impaired in a few ways. Whether that person sees themself as being impaired is another matter.

That is about how Mr. Star feels about being autistic. He says heā€™s not disabled, everyone around him is.

What this shows is a disjoint between whatā€™s required for a dx , and how some people on the spectrum actually see themselves .

Go give Mr. Star a kiss and tell him it was ordered for him by another Aspie who feels exactly the same way.

My employer doesnā€™t seem me as broken or disabled, so why should I? When they were faced with losing me because I was moving, they gave me an extraordinary work-from-home arrangement that is generally not offered to other staff because they didnā€™t want to lose me. Work-from-home was not an accommodation to help me peform better, but acknowledgement that Iā€™m one of their better performers.

So, no. Not disabled.

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