I saw a psychiatrist a few years ago , he suspected I was on the spectrum but I needed a referral to be diagnosed. My therapist at the time also suggested I get referred for an assessment. So basically even a doc a psychiatrist isn’t trained to diagnose autism. I had to be assessed by a two neurodevelopment specialists…I guess there didn’t need to be two but the ADI-r and ados was performed by two different people. I feel these assessments are more geared towards children, but that’s a whole other topic.
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They are geared towards children, traditionally autism was only really diagnosed in children.
Eventually adults started to realise as education rose that they were still affected by something. Asperger’s stopped being diagnosed and only ASD is diagnosed in UK - the point is to give children who might struggle most a support I think?
As for why it is only done by specialists - I think in the UK this is mainly bureaucracy - the way that they do things in NHS
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Aspergers is still ASD though, but in the US they get given “levels” that most people in the UK don’t. Did you get given a level? just curios no worries if you don’t want to answer.
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Yeah I meant to say Asperger’s was incorporated. When I got diagnosed, Asperger’s was still sort of in use (limbo between ASD and Asperger) some of my papers says Asperger’s.
And yeah, I think Asperger’s is classed as higher functioning if that is what you mean by level
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I was classed as high functioning Asperger’s, no supports required. All of the levels of ASD seem to require some support and I don’t. I was diagnosed by my psychiatrist.
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My doctor said that the only real autism diagnosis are done when the patient is a child. Alot of doctors say before anything they do not do adult autism diagnosis because it has become a very popular thing to say. Alot of people do have autism but alot more than that say it.
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I would switch doctors.
Alot of doctors here say they do not diagnose adult ADHD or autism. I do not know all the reasons but I think it is because more people are saying it than have it.
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I’m sorry, I don’t know where you are. My doctor actually advised me to seek an assessment, so I’m not sure why your doctor is saying that.
I asked ChatGPT and it said that anxiety carries less stigma than autism.
I was just wondering about that.
Yes it’s true. at least from my experience.
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We are saying the same thing. You say the doctor will not diagnose you and I say that is what my doctor says too.
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Yes agreed cos my psychiatrist isn’t qualified to make that diagnosis. So I went to someone who is.
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An autism diagnosis is typically made by a team of professionals with expertise in developmental disorders. The key professionals involved in diagnosing autism include:
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Developmental Pediatricians: Doctors who specialize in developmental disorders in children and have extensive experience with autism.
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Child Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists: Professionals trained to evaluate and diagnose psychological and developmental conditions, including autism.
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Child Psychiatrists: Medical doctors specializing in mental health who can diagnose autism and prescribe medications if needed.
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Neurologists: Doctors who specialize in disorders of the brain and nervous system, sometimes involved in diagnosing autism, particularly if there are concerns about neurological issues.
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Speech-Language Pathologists: Specialists who can assess communication skills and developmental language disorders, contributing to an autism diagnosis.
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Occupational Therapists: Professionals who assess functional abilities and sensory processing issues, often involved in the diagnostic process.
The diagnostic process usually involves several steps:
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Screening: Initial screening by a primary care physician or pediatrician, often based on developmental milestones and parental concerns.
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Comprehensive Evaluation: Detailed assessments including interviews with parents, observation of the child, and various standardized tests.
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Interdisciplinary Team Approach: In some cases, a multidisciplinary team may work together to provide a thorough assessment and diagnosis.
The process aims to ensure an accurate diagnosis by gathering comprehensive information about the individual’s development, behavior, and functioning across different settings.
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I also asked ChatGPT if psychiatrists can diagnose autism and it says yes.
I’ll save you the long post!
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chatgpt is amazing thank you for this … Yes I do agree they can diagnose … mine wasn’t qualified to though or maybe my borough couldn’t offer that service.
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The people who did my assessment said to me it wouldn’t have been Asperger’s but classical autism
But it’s ASC now!
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I think that many psychiatrists are capable of diagnosing autism in patients even if it’s not official
My nephew was told by numerous psychiatrists that he was autistic ( fell in the spectrum) while an autism specialist said that he was not on the spectrum
The psychiatrists were on the right track while the specialist was off a bit
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I was diagnosed with autism by my pdoc, just a few years ago 
Psychiatrists diagnose and assess mental health disorders primarily, since they prescribe meds to treat that. They can diagnose autism technically but many do not feel qualified, so referring you to someone who specializes in assessing autism makes sense and is probably the ethical thing to do.
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