Many ped’s psych’s and MD’s were dismissive of her and her concerns. Some even blamed Nuala and her husband for Dale’s behaviour.Not one was listening to Nuala, herself a professional.

Even the “refrigerator mother” theory was bandied about by one doctor!

The common thread here, appeared to be lack of understanding and empathy, on the part of the doctors’, with pre conceived notions that resulted in closed minds from these so-called professionals.
In short they completely disregarded(the experiences and opinions of) and mis-read the mother and her motives.(There was also an inference of munchausen syndrome)

Nuala Says:
“Finally with Dale aged 3 years and 11 months, after 16 months,and appointments with thirteen different professionals, a diagnosis was made: Dale had classical autism:”
What that poor woman endured. Her grit and determination to help her son knew no bounds, she was on the brink of despair, until finally she found a voice of reason in Professor Newson at a child development centre. She was an “autism expert.”

Finally Dale and his family would get the help that was so desperately needed!

Indeed, Emily, the old saying “It pays to shop around” certainly rings true.

As far as that listening to people thing that Kristina alluded to, I went to a DAN presentation once and the guy there was definitely “hearing your pain”. For some reason it did not make much of an impression on me; I don’t know why.

Warren
[Aspie in Toronto]

Of course, I don’t have experience with you and don’t know you. All I know is what you’ve presented here in reply to a couple of posts I’ve made on this comment thread. That’s how you present yourself. That’s how you come across. It doesn’t mean that I need a therapist, but your casual reference to that again illustrates exactly the point I’ve been making about dismissive doctors.

I do have chips on my shoulder, but they don’t relate to doctors. I do clinical and basic research. I have a PhD in biomedical sciences. My friends and colleagues are MDs. Three of my childrens godparents are MDs. And these folks discuss this kind of thing with me without getting hyperdefensive about it. I can mention it to them without getting their MD feathers ruffled. Perhaps that is because I chose my MD friends and colleagues as well as I choose my MDs for personal healthcare. And this difference in their response vs yours appears to highlight your attitude, and that light’s not flattering.

If you ever visit any of my colleagues at UCSF, let me know. I’ll be sure to warn them.

FYI: You really do seem to have a chip on your shoulder about patients. You don’t necessarily need a therapist, but can you find a good CME re: patient-doctor interactions? You need it. And you do come across as “filled” with disgust for patient populations in general, and you appear to have a hair-trigger response to the mildest criticism, so your accusations that I’m hypersensitive (I am, sometimes, about some things) or that I’m “hate filled” (I’m not, at all, and funny you take issue with my Anglo-Saxonisms but feel that it’s OK to call me that) are a simple matter of seeing your own reflection in what I write here.