I got diagnosed with autism at 20 years old. It took less than a month to get the full diagnosis. I had 3 meetings with a psychologist. One was online, then two in person. The online meeting was just to meet the psychologist and talk about how the diagnosis process works. The first in person meeting was with my mom, where I did all the testing, then the second one in person was when we got the test results.
During the first in person meeting with my mom the psychologist asked for my background history. She asked my mom about how much I weighed as a baby and if I have had any therapy in the past. She had to write that I had received speech therapy as a kid. The psychologist asked about my academic history, work, relationships and accommodations I had at school. I had extended time on tests due to anxiety and I reported that to her. She asked about my medical history and mental health history. I had to inform her that I was diagnosed with anxiety previously, had a therapist, and had been baker acted. She also asked about any previous suicide attempts. She also asked if there was any family history of mental health issues. We had to explain why we thought I might be on the spectrum. The psychologist wrote that my mother said "she is insistent on knowing how things will happen, is nervous about time, has a history of not wanting to go on vacations, insists on planning ahead, is nervous about doing things accurately and always has a stuffed animal with her".
We also had to give her some reasons from both of us as to why I might be on the spectrum. Some of the reasons were difficulty managing relationships, non-verbal communication deficits, restricted interests, trouble adjusting to change, being routine oriented, obsessions, hyperactivity to sensory input, and being awkward in social situations. We had to tell the psychologist some of my developmental delays, such as reading, writing, math, gross motor deficits (i.e. problems riding a bike), as well as expressive language deficits. On my diagnosis she stated "Jade is able to use a microwave and stove. She has friends. Her mother assists her in managing her health. She was not able to accurately calculate how much change she would obtain if she gave a cashier a $10 for a $6.50 purchase". I've never been very good with math. I had to tell her my daily routine and my height and weight. That is the majority of the background information I had to give.
During my visit I was told to remember three words. After three minutes I had to repeat them back to the psychologist. I remembered two out of the three. I had to remember what I ate for breakfast and lunch, and identify the current and prior president of the United States. I also had to remember the names of a friend and teacher. I had to spell the word "world" forwards and backwards. I had to count to 40 in multiples of three forwards and backwards. I took an IQ test. It included visual puzzles, block designs, spelling, math and reasoning. This is where I scored in each section. They determined my full scale IQ is 74 and general ability index is 76. From what I understand the general ability index is an estimate of my intellectual functioning that isn't influenced by working memory and processing speed as much. This places me at borderline intellectual functioning. An intellectual disability would be an IQ under 70. Anything from 70-79 is below average, but not considered an intellectual disability.
After the IQ testing I had to take an online test that asked me more questions about my mood, like if I got depressed or got anxiety and how bad it was. I don't remember how many questions it was, but it took a while. My mom and dad also had to fill out questionnaires about my history. Below are some pictures of what they were looking for. The numbers with asterisks are the ones that affect me more. For more context, I live with my mom, so she sees more of my behaviors, but I do also see my dad occasionally.
Once the psychologist received all of this information, she had us come back to hear the results. The third visit with her, she read out everything she wrote on the paper and explained the test results and the reasons why she believes I am on the spectrum. This is what she wrote as the criteria to diagnose me. I apologize for the highlights, I went through and highlighted the important parts because I am autistic and wanted to make sure I read through all the details.
My official diagnosis reads "Autism Spectrum Disorder with accompanying intellectual impairment, without accompanying language impairment, Level 1, Requiring Support". She also wrote recommendations for what to do next, like what to focus on in individual therapy, a support group near me, possible medication, and accommodations I could get in the future (i.e. extended time on assignments). That was my diagnosis process. I hope this helps if you are in the process of trying to get diagnosed. It is important to find a good psychologist during testing to make sure it is done accurately. Tests may vary depending on your location. This is just my experience. If you want to know anything else, let me know in the comments!
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