Looking for asperger's assessment for 15 year old girl
Hi. My daughter is 15.5 years old and in 10th grade. She used to be a great student but is failing most of her 10th grade classes with Fs due to anxiety and depression (which started during distance learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our public schools are still closed as of June 2nd 2021). My son is a bit younger and is also having anxiety and anger issues. His therapist recommended that we get him tested for autism/asperger's. This got me thinking that my daughter might also be affected by autism/asperger's as she has always been shy, and is now unable to keep up with Zoom classes when she has to work on small groups (she disconnects without warning and says she cannot avoid it). Also, she has always assumed rules that do not exist about what is allowed behavior and what is not, just because she is afraid of doing things differently from others or and doesn't like to stand out. I have been reading quite a bit about asperger's and autism lately and it seems a lot of girls are not diagnosed because they hide their symptoms much better than boys. So, I am looking for recommendations about providers who can do an assessment and have experience diagnosing teenage or older girls with not-so-obvious symptoms. Any recommendations? We live in the southern part of Alameda County but are willing to drive where needed..
Parent Replies
Hello there -
We have an ADHD kiddo, so not quite the same, but maybe comparable in terms of thorough assessment needs. We are currently with https://www.taliakurlandpsyd.com/ for an assessment. She came highly recommended by https://www.clearwaterclinic.com/ , our therapists. She is very professional, clear in communication but also warm with my son, who even enjoyed the first session. Clearwater also does assessments, but the wait list was longer with them. Hope that helps and that you will get the info you need to help your kiddo. It's a tough road for all of us, and I believe that gathering as much information as possible helps us identify the best way forward.
I recommend Sumana Kaipa in Berkeley. She diagnosed my 8-year old last summer, also high-functioning but with similar issues. She has lots of recommendations on this site so I think people have universally appreciated her excellent work.
The Mind Institute at UC Davis is an excellent resource:
https://health.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/
We took our nonbinary neuro atypical 17 year old to Diana Trichilo: https://www.drtrichilo.com/ up in Sebastopol. I highly recommend her. She was fantastic; kind, thoughtful, and thorough, very aware of the differences between the boys and girls autistic expression, and understood the system and how to get access to services. Working with her was totally worth the travel and expense. Even though it was long way to go for appointments, we explored the area and made day trips out of them.
I would NOT recommend Sumana Kaipa, she completely misdiagnosed our child, and caused us much distress. She moved way too quickly in making a diagnosis that was completely wrong.