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Tally

Weird Phone Call

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This morning a woman phoned me and said I have been referred by my GP to her, and asked if I knew that. I did not catch when she said where she was from, but I know my GP has referred me to a counsellor, so I assumed it was them and said yes.

 

She asked me if I have ever taken an IQ test and I said that I was a member of Mensa. She asked what that means and I told her you have to take an IQ test to join Mensa.

 

Then she asked what my score was and I told her they don't give you a numerical score, but that I scored in the top 2%, and as she was writing that down she repeated back to me, "IQ of 2%," and then asked if I could read and write.

 

Then she asked me to come to an appointment this Wednesday, but I have a plumber arranged, so I said I can't make this Wednesday, and she asked why not. I told her it was none of her business, and she launched into a really long, patronising explanation about how she needs to know whether it is just this Wednesday I can't make, or if I can't do Wednesdays at all. I kept trying to interrupt to say that Wednesdays are normally good, but she went on and on so in the end I just shut up and let her. Surely they should not expect you to attend an appointment with 2 days' warning and then question you about your scheduling.

 

The conclusion was that we made an appointment for me to see her at my GP's surgery, and they are going to write to me to confirm, so I will wait to get the letter and then I might know who I am seeing and what it's all about! I'm hoping it's not the counsellor after all, because we haven't exactly got off to the best start if it is.

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Tally, I have had an IQ test it is to test if you have a learning disability is well. if its below 70 then it is clast as a learning disability, if its 70 and above then its not clast as a learning disability

 

oh and also it also says if you are on the right team, so the learning disability psych team u got to be below 70, and ig your above 70 you be beneficial on mental health team do u get what im saying

Edited by Special_talent123

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Then she asked what my score was and I told her they don't give you a numerical score, but that I scored in the top 2%, and as she was writing that down she repeated back to me, "IQ of 2%," and then asked if I could read and write.

 

I think on those grounds alone I would refuse to go to the appointment, but that is just me :)

 

Zen

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I have an appointment with my GP before the appointment agreed to yesterday. I can ask him how seeing this patronising, nosy woman is supposed to make me feel better. I don't really want to go to the appointment because if I get wound up like I did on the phone, I will end up acting like an idiot and it will all be recorded on my medical records.

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I find it strange that she didn't understand what you meant when you told her you were a member of Mensa.. You answered her, and yet she then asked if you could read and write! Sounds like she wasn't paying much attention.

 

I'd meet her for the first appointment, and if you're really not comfortable and you don't get along, then I wouldn't bother going again. I don't know about you, but being put into a situation that I'm not fully comfortable with can just make me feel even more anxious and stressed out, thus defeating the object of going in the first place.

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Oh dear - check with your GP what it's all about and then make a decision. Not a good start I agree. For a start she should have asked when you were free. Maybe she was just nervous on the phone, and nerves can make people talk too much. You could perhaps give her a chance and see what she's like face to face. It's perfectly acceptable to decide you don't want to work with someone, any therapist/counsellor worth their salt knows that sometimes the relationship just isn't going to work.

 

K x

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I often forget that the "normals" can have difficulties too, like being nervous on the phone.

 

I need to see my GP anyway, so it won't be a wasted appointment, but I will tell him about it and that I feel nervous about the appointment because the woman seemed scary :ph34r:

 

It turns out I could actually have gone to an appointment today because my plumber finished really quickly, but I couldn't have committed to it at the time and am glad I've got the opportunity to talk to my GP about it first anyway.

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I would talk with GP first about your initial experience of this woman on the phone, letting him know that she now has it recorded somewhere that you stated you had an IQ of 2% (that did make me laugh by the way when I read that! I don't think anyone has an IQ of 2%!!!) Do you think perhaps English is not this person's first language? I'm just trying to think through it. Then, after speaking to GP I would have an appointment with this woman & talk with her about the phonecall & how you weren't & aren't very inspired. But then I'm very direct & very honest & it doesn't seem to go down well with most people. I like to say what I mean, whereas a lot of other people don't say what they mean... it seems to me. Good luck with it. Be good to know how you get on...

 

H

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I would talk with GP first about your initial experience of this woman on the phone, letting him know that she now has it recorded somewhere that you stated you had an IQ of 2% (that did make me laugh by the way when I read that! I don't think anyone has an IQ of 2%!!!) Do you think perhaps English is not this person's first language? I'm just trying to think through it. Then, after speaking to GP I would have an appointment with this woman & talk with her about the phonecall & how you weren't & aren't very inspired. But then I'm very direct & very honest & it doesn't seem to go down well with most people. I like to say what I mean, whereas a lot of other people don't say what they mean... it seems to me. Good luck with it. Be good to know how you get on...

 

H

 

i agree with helvic here say it's hard to trust someone that makes errors such as thinking someone's got an IQ of 2%. Also ask about previous experience of helping asperger folk as im not keen going with someone who wants to learn it on the job. Psychoanalysis i think is the to avoid type of counselling as it can be damaging for autistics. Good luck

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She asked me if I have ever taken an IQ test and I said that I was a member of Mensa. She asked what that means and I told her you have to take an IQ test to join Mensa.

 

Then she asked what my score was and I told her they don't give you a numerical score, but that I scored in the top 2%, and as she was writing that down she repeated back to me, "IQ of 2%," and then asked if I could read and write.

 

 

Oh dear - Sounds like you are in bad way with an IQ of 2%. LOL

 

You have every right to call it a weird phone call and I would be doubting her qualifications to counsel you. Certainly raise it with your GP.

 

 

Edited by Jannih

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I just had the appointment with my GP.

 

He said that what the woman said was inappropriate, which surprised me. Anyway, he encouraged me to go to the appointment, which I did plan to do anyway. He also said she would not be the one providing my care, she would just be doing an initial assessment like a kind of triage, so that's made me feel a bit better about it. I forgot to mention about what she wrote down for my IQ, but I think someone is going to work out that it doesn't ring true. I don't mind if they want me to take a new test.

 

He offered me more sleeping pills, but I still have well over half of what he prescribed me last time, so I said no for this time. But he did say it would be OK to carry on using them, as needed, for the long term, as long as I did not start taking them every day, so that's good news.

 

I also mentioned my DLA renewal, and he said I should make a separate appointment to discuss that. There is a page that asks for someone involved in your care to fill in, and he said he would be glad to do that, so it sounds like he hopefully will support my application.

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I just had the appointment with my GP.

 

He said that what the woman said was inappropriate, which surprised me. Anyway, he encouraged me to go to the appointment, which I did plan to do anyway. He also said she would not be the one providing my care, she would just be doing an initial assessment like a kind of triage, so that's made me feel a bit better about it. I forgot to mention about what she wrote down for my IQ, but I think someone is going to work out that it doesn't ring true. I don't mind if they want me to take a new test.

 

He offered me more sleeping pills, but I still have well over half of what he prescribed me last time, so I said no for this time. But he did say it would be OK to carry on using them, as needed, for the long term, as long as I did not start taking them every day, so that's good news.

 

I also mentioned my DLA renewal, and he said I should make a separate appointment to discuss that. There is a page that asks for someone involved in your care to fill in, and he said he would be glad to do that, so it sounds like he hopefully will support my application.

Thats great Tally :thumbs:

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I had the appointment today. I'm still not really convinced that it is going to be helpful, but I have another appointment.

 

I didn't really understand some of the questions. Sometimes I took a very long time to answer the questions, and instead of letting me try to answer she just asked more questions. I got so frustrated with it that I ended up crying, which just affirmed her opinion that I am depressed.

 

I know I did not answer some of the questions right. She asked how my childhood was and I said it was fine. When she asked about school I said it was horrible. That seemed contradictory to her, but I thought that "childhood" meant she was asking about my home life, and whether anything happened that might have led to problems, like a death, abuse, or something like that. But to her it just looked like I was being dishonest.

 

I was so tired afterwards that I didn't know if I could walk home, and it's only about 100 yards.

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Sometimes I took a very long time to answer the questions, and instead of letting me try to answer she just asked more questions. I got so frustrated with it that I ended up crying, which just affirmed her opinion that I am depressed.

I've had the same issue with medical peeps. Now, the ones I see regularly know me and my difficulties and can respond to these, but when I see someone new and they haven't been briefed, it can cause real problems. Of course, being briefed doesn't come without problems; I had one consultant come up to me in hospital, knelt down by my bed (:huh: is he proposing or something????) a-n-d s-t-a-r-t-e-d s-p-e-a-k-i-n-g r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y! My nurse had to hide behind the curtain to muffle her giggles!!! :lol:

 

I know I did not answer some of the questions right. She asked how my childhood was and I said it was fine. When she asked about school I said it was horrible. That seemed contradictory to her, but I thought that "childhood" meant she was asking about my home life, and whether anything happened that might have led to problems, like a death, abuse, or something like that. But to her it just looked like I was being dishonest.

Gah, well I would have interpreted it the same way as you. This focus on 'childhood issues' does annoy me. I'm not for a moment saying it's not relevant, but sometimes it isn't the only thing going on, yet some medical types, even consultanty people, if they hear of any childhood issue, then fail to see things from a medical point of view at all. I had one who I felt was trying to catch me out so she could then put everything down to my lack of understanding and me clearly making things up as I wasn't be coherent or consistent. :shame::wallbash: I'm just glad that I've, apart from this, generally had very good medical experiences, else I wouldn't have the positive view of the NHS that I do have.

 

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I have not had the best experiences with the mental health services. In the past I have felt like they were trying to catch me out and twisting everything I said. My last experience was an exceptionally good one, with a therapist who had a good understanding of Asperger's through her previous work with CAHMS. But there is probably still an element of mistrust on my account. I am determined to give this a fair chance though.

 

I don't think it helps that, shortly before I left my ex, he told me about some weird episodes I was having and was unaware of. I went off and told my doctor all about them, and this information forms the basis of my diagnosis of personality disorder and the advice that I should not have children. No one else has ever witnessed these episodes, and I really don't believe they are happening at all, but it's all recorded as fact. It's ironic, because everything else I say is scrutinised and not believed because I do not make good eye contact :rolleyes:

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