BFRB Awareness Week

Hi. I am seriously interested in getting an assessment for ‘Autism,’ or ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ for Adults. I am over 60, and I don't need it to qualify for any kind of help or benefits at my age. I just need to know, so I can answer a thousand personal questions about myself. It's for my peace of mind, but it also has the advantage of being useful family medical information that I can pass along to my kids and grandkids.

I have a ton of different diagnoses from as many doctors and therapists from over the course of my life. So many of these diagnoses have some of the same symptoms, and so many of the diagnoses seem to battle with others for ‘dominance’, that I don't know what to believe anymore. One doctor will say he's certain I have one thing, and five years later another will say he doesn't agree, and says it's something different. Meanwhile, both of them put me on medications for those things, and the second one is basically telling me I just wasted 5 years of prescriptions and therapy designed for the first thing. Not once, not twice, but many, many times I have gone through this.

Because of all of that, I currently have a bushel of diagnoses that are supposedly correct and current, and a ton of prescriptions to go along with them. And I don't have the confidence that any of them are correct, like I so easily assumed when I was younger. Do you see my frustration?

From my reading in the last few months, I have seen my traits (i.e. symptoms) and my thought patterns and thought processes turn up time and again under the detailed descriptions of Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder. If that were found to be true, it would settle my mind, and it would give me something that I lost long ago, and assumed I would never see again: Hope. It would make such a difference if I could be able to focus on one true diagnosis instead of a jillion competing diagnoses. I could work on learning coping skills and workarounds for one thing. One.

So, I need to find a doctor or a therapist who assesses for ‘Autism’ or ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ IN ADULTS  in the:
1.               western half of NC, or
2.               southwest area of VA, or
3.               eastern part of TN.
(A little outside of those areas could work, too, if they are good.) ***I have been told that “the MIGDAS-2 assessment” works better for those of us who have been masking for many years. What are your thoughts?

I do appreciate you reading this far. I know that it was long. If you can help me find someone, please let me know. Thank you for your time.  I wish you Peace, and Joy, and excellent Health.  ♧
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#Autism #Depression #Anxiety #PathologicalDemandAvoidanceSyndrome
#ReactiveAttachmentDisorder #SocialAnxiety
#MajorDepressiveDisorder
#Bipolar2Disorder
#BipolarDepression #TreatmentresistantDepression #CombinedPresentationADHD #ADHD #AspergersSyndrome #AutisticAdults #Autistic
#Hypervigilance #Hyperfocus #silent #EyeContact #Stimming #Suicide #PTSD #CPTSD #ComplexPosttraumaticStressDisorder
#BodyFocusedRepetitiveBehaviors #BFRBAwarenessWeek #Parentification #Abuse #neglect #Insomnia #DermatiIlomania

Whenever I am watching TV or movies, anything except comedy, I continually hum, and have done so all my life. Sometimes I hum an actual tune, but in the vast majority of the time, I hum  just 2 or 3 random notes, which I will repeat for really long periods of time. Sometimes it is in unison with a main note in the background music, or a harmony,  but most times the notes have nothing to do with the music soundtrack. As you can imagine, it distracts and irritates other people to varying degrees. My solution, since I haven't been able to stop it, is just to watch alone. If you still don't understand what I am talking about, imagine sitting next to someone humming the cello notes to the theme from JAWS while you are trying to concentrate on an episode of The Gilmore Girls, or Dateline, or Law & Order.  I've done this my whole life, and it soothes me while at the same time it embarrasses me because I can't stop without starting up again a couple of minutes later, usually unbeknownst to me. I'm not actually looking for a cure for this. I just want to know if I am the only one, and does anybody know why I might do it, or where it comes from? Thanks for your time. Peace.♧

#Humming #ADHD #CPTSD #DistractMe #Anxiety #hums #BipolarDisorder #Bipolar2Disorder #GeneralizedAnxietyDisorder #Autism #Aspergers #PervasiveDevelopmentalDisorders #ASD #AutismSpectrumDisorders #Stimming #stim #BodyFocusedRepetitiveBehaviors #BFRBAwarenessWeek #ADHD #CombinedPresentationADHD #noise #Music #Selfsoothing #Soothing #Calming #Depression #neurodiverse #neurodivergent #distraction #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #obsess #obssess #Singing #ThroatSinging #noise #Movies #TV #Drama #Fidgety #restless    #DisruptiveImpulseControlAndConductDisorders #impulsive #compulsion #Habit #habitual #Misophonia #