The Initial Diagnostic Symptom Inventory does not include any testing, but is a very important step in making a diagnosis. I will ask you a series of questions in our first session after our Meet and Greet. Each questions asks if you have specific problems doing something or if you have anxiety in certain situations.
These are not psychological tests. You are just reporting the specific symptoms you are experiencing and how severe they are. This is one of the most important steps in the process, because many clinicians misdiagnose a neuropsychological difference and patients never improve. The first reason this happens is that all neuropsychological conditions are very similar, so many times one condition is misdiagnosed for another. Another reason is that all of these conditions highly resemble TALENTED AND GIFTED patients. We do not want to diagnose you with Asperger’s if you are actually TALENTED AND GIFTED.
A third reason is because the same symptoms that appear to be caused by a neuropsychological difference can also be caused by stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation, depression, post-traumatic stress, substance abuse and a number of other short-term or long-term conditions, etc.
The Initial Diagnostic Symptom Inventory is designed to rule out, or rule in, other conditions or complicating factors that are often the actual cause of symptoms often mistaken for a neuropsychological difference or conditions which make a neuropsychological difference symptoms worse. It is not different than the general physical exam that your medical doctor requires for every new patient.
