Trauma-Informed Assessment of Autism
In the early days, I used to conduct autism assessments that answered one question, "Am I autistic?" For some folks, that's exactly what they want and are satisfied to walk away with either a "Yes" or "No" response.
However, most neurodiverse people tend to be a curious bunch... who think deeply... and really want to dig in when it's a topic that they're interested in... so... in those cases a "Yes" or "No" may leave them feeling unsettled!
Let's say someone is autistic. What are some types of follow-up questions people often have?
Are all of my traits due to autism or is it something else?
Do I have any other diagnoses and, if so, do they overlap with autism?
Am I exhausted by social interactions because of autism? because of mood? because of poor sleep? because I'm just shy?
If I get treatment for the other diagnoses, how will that impact my autistic traits?
When an assessment is just evaluating for autism, it cannot answer those questions because we just do not have the needed data. However, when you participate in a comprehensive assessment, not only will you know whether or not you are autistic, but you will also know how all of your life puzzle pieces fit together and impact each other.
One of the many things I love about a trauma-informed comprehensive autism assessment is that we start with your questions instead of ending with them. My hope for you is that you leave an assessment with increased clarity about what is going on with you, but also increased hope about what this means for the future.
The Autism Quest
In the autism quest, we are co-discoverers. I contribute my knowledge and expertise about autism and psychology and how it all fits together, and you contribute your knowledge and expertise about you, your experiences, and what is important to you.
In other words, the assessment is not done to you. You do the assessment. You play an active part in developing a greater understanding about your past and present. This is very different from a traditional assessment where you play more of a passive role.
My last plug for a trauma-informed comprehensive autism assessment for adults is that I think that this approach is well-suited for neurodiverse people. Here are some reasons:
Less pressure on you to be "correct" during the assessment. Because this is a comprehensive assessment using multiple data sources (history, self-perception, objective data, clinical interview, analysis), there is less pressure on you to “succeed” on any one section because no matter how you do, a comprehensive picture will begin to emerge even if you’ve messed something up (“I don’t know why I told you that!”).
Immediate gratification. Because of the transparent and collaborative nature of a trauma-informed assessment, you start to learn test findings immediately and do not have to anxiously wait for a big dump of information at the end. You also don’t have to worry about what the psychologist is thinking because I will share my thoughts and hypotheses with you as we proceed forward.
Kick-start changes to your self-perceptions. Because the learnings start early in the assessment process, you begin to reconsider all of those old self-judgments and self-criticisms and feel more optimistic about the future and your potential.
Self-empowerment. For many of us, when we are engaged with the healthcare industry, we do not feel empowered. Providers tell us what's wrong with us and tell us what we should do - or the opposite, they ask us to make decisions but do not give us the information we need in order to make those decisions. In a trauma-informed assessment, you are empowered as a collaborator, co-writer, and co-interpreter throughout the process. For many people, this is a new experience and builds confidence that you can actively move your own life in a desired direction.
