RAADS online test VS Formal Autism assessment 🧠

#neurodivergent #marriage #autism #adhd #audhd

[ishbelharris]

I'm in the UK and had to pay for my diagnosis a couple of years ago in my mid-50s. I was sent the RAADS questionnaire a month before my main face-to-face appointment and struggled with the multiple choice options: 'Never True' for example is a bold statement when I have over 50 years of lived experience; that's a lot of occasions and experiences to have to consider. I ended up writing a multi-page report, breaking down my understanding of each question, any issues I had with the vagueness of the question, how I arrived at my answer, and any questions for which I had a conflicting response.

The whole thing took two weeks to complete to my satisfaction and when it came to my face-to-face appointment with the psychiatrist, she diagnosed me within 20 minutes. The rest of my appointment was revelation after revelation that neurotypical people do not live with the anxiety and challenges in interpreting other people and just getting through the day which I took for granted and assumed was part of normal life for everyone on the planet - I had figured they were just much better at hiding it and 'peopling' than me. I remember saying 'bloody hell!' and 'seriously??' a lot. 😄

[LeeHawkinsPhoto]

I am shocked it costs so much to get assessed…I’m in Ohio and had a shrink tell me to go see a neuropsychologist at Kent State University in 2007-8. I had ZERO idea what they did or what they would turn up, but I basically got interviewed and spent a couple hours or so doing this written test…and then I got a report back listing all the reasons why I got the criteria of “Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified”, which didn’t make any sense to me, and which was not explained at all by my psychiatrist or my psychologist…I was extremely uncomfortable with the diagnosis that essentially said I had autism, and mainly because I did not understand any of what that meant for me. I kept getting treated by my shrinks as bipolar or something akin to it, including the stupid drugs that did absolutely nothing for me 99% of the time. I wish so bad someone had explained this stuff to me and helped me understand what the diagnosis said instead of just yacking with me about whatever and medicating me for the sake of medicating me. I would have benefitted much from really truly understanding the diagnosis and learning how to treat myself and interact with other people more effectively, but they never gave me any of that. It wasn’t until almost 15 years later that I found all these YouTubers sharing their autistic experiences and how it all worked that I finally understood and recognized that I am autistic and it explains much of why I am the way I am. I have since come to understand that I have so many other neurodivergent friends and yes…family. It explains so much and is way more effective than stupid meds I don’t need. I have a massive distrust of the mental health industrial complex. I just don’t even know where to start and I’d like more individual help. I almost feel like I would benefit more from spending time just comparing notes with other autistic people…I learn so much.

[pepperstep]

I had no idea I was autistic and went looking for an EMDR therapist. I happened to schedule with someone who treats everything, but specializes in autism and is certified in ADOS.

She clocked it within minutes, but it took months to get me to agree to testing. She did an ADHD test and the SRS, and showed me the scores for each. She explained that my autism "score" was higher than the average for people diagnosed officially, and that I am autistic. She explained that the ADOS is the gold standard, but it's expensive, and there wouldn't be much benefit to having an "official" diagnosis. I call it a soft diagnosis lol.

[kevinreid]

Athena Healthcare is really good if anyone is looking into getting tested. Insurance covered most of it and 2/3 of the appointments were tele-health, just the day of testing was in person.
They screened for Autism, ADHD, OCD, PTSD and probably more I’m forgetting now.

Pretty sure I exhausted all the online tests I could find before making that appointment, and they helped a bunch too.

Anywho, thanks again for sharing y’all’s journey with us!

[Kat_rin]

I ask a lot of questions about questions too, as they're usually vague.

It was worth the assessment for me. I have been able to access funding for supports in the country I live. I understand myself so much better, and my mental health is doing better. I was in a really bad place mental health wise before.

My assessment wasn't as fun though. 😔

[Tessilla-iepn]

Big hugs, I love being able ask questions about the question and for multiple choice tests the answers as my brain work out how an answers are applicable to the given question. And I often want more information to be able to build the case for presumed correct answer before coming to any conclusion. The point of psychological probing tests is to try to understand how you processes data, reacts to situations, draws conclusions, react-forms plans, and get better insight into starting a mental health journey. So you can getting to know yourself and have better communication and relationships with others like your doctor. ❤

[LadyRebir]

I didn't even have any of that. I found a doctor that literally just had me fill out some assessments and I sent him some I had done online, and that was basically it. I'm on Medicaid so I didn't have to pay for this either.

[CheekieCharlie]

I was having an issue with getting my now 14 year old diagnosed because a pediatrician said he was "too sociable and at too high of a function at school" which was bull.

We just went to a new pediatrician and he met him once said "here take these sheets, but like .... Thats an INCREDIBLY autistic kid" and the next time he was like "okay...wow...so the autism testing scores were off the charts...so we're done youre good!" And it was such a relief and so annoying that the last doctor talked to him and couldnt just say "oh you two both seem very autistic..but" like she asked me if i had considered that i have autism, but she didnt diagnose my kid...idk

[andreas]

My assessment last year (at age 46), in the States and on private insurance, was done through a counseling center. My therapist was happy to get me referred to one of the clinical psychologists for an assessment. While my psychologist did not assess to rule out ADHD, I did meet the clinical criteria for Level 1 ASD. Each session was an hour long and all but 1 of the 6 sessions was via Zoom, each session was an hour long. I had a $25 copay for each one. I probably won't pursue an official ADHD diagnosis, because I'm not interested in medication, but AuDHD is absolutely the better fit for me.

[consuelonavarrohidalgo]

It took me 5 sessions and yes, it was exhausting.

[chernagast]

Took several tests from the Embrace Autism website. Every single one of them was "Strong case for Diagnosis". Scored more strongly autistic than even male average (I'm female).

[dashleydiepen]

I felt like the evaluator who did my adult autism test was asking me to do a lot of things that would be a way to evaluate/test little kids and I felt like they were just waiting for me to ack like a child… then they said I’m not autistic but I know that I am inside 😰🥺 their were tears (but not good ones, tears because they said I’m not and I know I am and it felt very infantilizing and like they didn’t listen at all)

[melimad]

Did she get her ADHD diagnosis as an adult too? Is so, could you also talk about that process?

[acaciakapusta]

I was so incredibly fortunate that i didn't have to pay for my assessment. I have a neuromuscular degeneration called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and i signed up with an organization called Synapticure last summer. They provide online care essentially for free for anyone with a neurological disorder in the 50 states: neurologists, psychologists, psych nurses, speech therapists, etc. I had been having conversations with my psychologist all along about my suspicion of autism. A few weeks ago she finally got Synapticure to agree to allow her to do an assessment on me, which is quite unusual because they typically only allow care that's directly related to your neurological disorder. Huge thanks to Synapticure and my psychologist for allowing me to get my formal diagnosis for free ❤️

[tsirakura]

I did an online test and it told me to talk to my dr. I am on medicaid and so i could go to a dr without worrying about the cost, i got diagnosed officially a month later.

[jillthetree]

yeah, I just had another medical professional tell me I need a specialist... well I'd love that ! do you know one that takes my insurance ?!!!? sigh, sad sigh

[JessicaGilland-lfum]

I absolutely loves when he says you can you could have done it

[theescapistpoet]

RAADS was part of the formal testing that I was subjected to anyway. That combined with multiple questionnaires and then two other professionals tested me separately.

[TallyHoeMusic]

Scored a 160.😅

I’ve always known something was up. Was surprised to realize a couple years ago, it was autism. Probably wouldn’t have figured it out without getting a brain injury that kicked my autism into overdrive. Then it was super obvious.

I’ve never taken this test but side note, it’s no longer free. 😅

[taylorbrown]

I got all my friends to do the Raad-R, I've scored 155 and 196 on it, one of them got 125 but the rest were all under 60. My assessment ended like 20 minute early and then I followed up with at least 10 more essay sized emails with stuff that I had forgotten.