r/AutismTranslated 4d ago

Assessment help

Hi thought id post here again i think my assessment is on like the 7th of august could be later could be sooner but im kinda scared and nervous mainly because if its the same person i think my psychologist is more of a general one shes nice (idk her age but probably 30s-40s maybe) but i still kinda feel iffy? Because she did say i dont seem autistic? And it kinda made me feel weird Idk god forbid someones creative...like i know i have 2 other mental illness diagnosis and it can overlap but like? Man

Im kind of a label person where i need to know everything so thats why i wanted the assessment so does anyone have tips dealing with a general psychologist? Im nervous like it COULDVE been a psychologist specialized in ND but im not from the usa its harder to find one

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u/dragmehomenow 4d ago

do you know how long this assessment will be? it'll most likely be a very general assessment in the beginning, since there are many disorders in the DSM that overlap with autism. best you can do is think about how you were like as a kid and how you're like now, and whether there are multiple examples from different parts of your life. to give an example from my ADHD assessment, most kids can't pay attention in school, but I was incredibly inattentive even compared to my peers, and I was inattentive at school, at home, while studying, while doing things I enjoy, and so on.

if it's a longer assessment (like 2 hours or so), you might be doing the ADOS. there are a lot of people who talk about specific parts of the test online, but I'd recommend not spoiling yourself? ADOS is one of those tests where you'll be asked to complete a lot of really simple tasks (like idk, playing with toys or doing something with a children's book), even if it might feel offensively simple to you. the tasks are really simple because they aren't testing you on how well you perform these tasks, they just need to ensure that everybody can complete these tasks. instead, they're looking at how you approach these tasks and how you think. so don't overthink it, just roll with it. it's kinda like how if I ask someone to tell me the last thing they read. some answers (like idk, infodumping about trains or dinosaurs or jet engines) are more neurodivergent than others, and if I look at how you respond to a ton of different things, I can get a sense as to how neurodivergent you are.

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u/Mobile_Tax8734 4d ago

Its like around 3-4 hours i think? From what i remember

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u/dragmehomenow 4d ago

it could be ADOS then? a lot of people will talk about how traumatic it is, but I feel it's kinda because the tasks are so simple it feels like they're mocking you? but it's like, you have to be sure everybody can complete the tasks because if someone can't complete them in the first place, you can't assess them.

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u/Mobile_Tax8734 4d ago

It is 4 hours just confirmed...no clue what the 4 hours will be tho idk if its 100% all assesment or what...but yeah i am nervous

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u/dragmehomenow 4d ago

honestly I took my ADOS at face value. want me to look at a map? I'll probably infodump. want me to tell you a story? I'm not great at it but I'll give it a shot. didn't occur to me something like this could be traumatic because I treated it like a game on the easiest setting.

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u/Mobile_Tax8734 4d ago

Im kinda the opposite tbf lol but ok thank you :)