How can I deal with being misdiagnosed by my psychologist?

[Gymnastxo96]

Back in August of 2025 I did phycological testing at a phycologist that I go to and they said my full IQ was 76 which I don’t understand because I type just fine and have good grammar and could type full sentences. Many people say you sure your IQ is 76 because I type just fine and have good grammer and can communicate well. And my adaptive behavior score was 57 which is pretty low. Why would they misinterpret that too? Why would they misinterpret the results and think I don’t understand medical decisions and they recommend medical guardianship. Why would they misinterpret my results? Now people think I am mentally challenged because of this. Are they wrong for misinterpreting the results to make me worse then I seem? Keep in mind I do have high functioning autism so do you think my autism played a role in how I did in the IQ test or you think I was completely misdiagnosed and it could be something else?

For that you need support. That we can't give. You need specialists. It seems lot of your self worth is bound up in your idea of yourself as high functioning, and it shouldn't be. You can have a good life without being that, and you can, for example live a happy life in supported accommodation where you are both safe and more independent than you are now. These things are possible with the right support.

I’m going to ask my therapist to explain this to me sorry for sharing this personal info online

Good luck and take care.

Best wishes, OP.

Yes it definitely is! What type of support? I want to know.

I dont think all the posters know what high-functioning autism is because the movies suggest it's high IQ and savant behaviour.

It actually just means you have an average IQ or higher and average social skills with an ability to do some masking.

I absolutely believe you meet that criteria but even some high functioning autistic people cant live independently. And you report says you could only live independently with support.. thats only caring for yourself, with a child especially when theyre little you would be struggling.

I dont think its a good thing youve shared your report including personal info like your name and age and might want to get that removed

I agree.

Christina, you're going round in circles here.

Focus less on labels and more about developing skills for independence and improving your quality of life. You don't need to have a baby to have a happy life.

It sounds as if you've got a lot going for you, but you've got a long way to go to achieve independence, judging from the report extract you shared. And that's OK.

I'm going to wish you all the very best and bow out. Listen to your mum and your therapist. It sounds as if they're both looking out for your well-being.

Yeah I will definitely remove that as soon as possible! But the doctor said I have borderline intellectual functioning which isn’t considered low functioning. What are your thoughts?

My thoughts are that your ability to understand your assessment is very, very limited.
Your autism is what used to be described as high-functioning, but your cognitive abilities show that in life, you're low-functioning.

"What are your thoughts" again.
Argh.

I would imagine competence can be measured via direct questioning, rather than a 'test', as such.

It's recognised that people with ASD, even those with high IQ's, can perform badly on aptitude tests due to perceived confusion in the way questions are written. Our brains don't fit tests designed to suit 'the norm'.

Do you have a social worker? If not, could you request one? They may be able to report as to your day to day competence re life skills etc.

Repetition can be an autistic trait and perhaps cannot be helped.

How can I improve my cognitive functioning?

High functioning.....low functioning....they're just labels. Forget about them.

They're not even supposed to be in use any more.

Using a label of low or high functioning is misleading.

That's because an autistic person can be low functioning in some ways and high functioning in others. They can also be low functioning on some days - if they're become overstimulated for example - and high functioning on other days.

That's why we don't use these labels. They're not helpful. You need to ignore them. They aren't helping you.

What support do I need?

I really don't think that you can @Gymnastxo96
It's just who you are.
BTW you were upset when someone suggested you have Tourettes Syndrome but it's mentioned in your report as one of your diagnoses.

Support to live an independent life.

Realistically, you can't. The majority of your cognitive ability or your IQ is just what you are born with. That doesn't mean you can't learn new skills and get better at things but just like I can't increase my height or my eye colour, you can't really increase your IQ. You have to work out what a realistic plan for your life is going to look like with the abilities you have.

That's why we don't use these labels. They're not helpful. You need to ignore them. They aren't helping you.

Well exactly, but they clearly still use them in America.

OP we stopped saying "low" and "high-functioning" autism in the UK many years ago.

They're not supposed to be used in the US either apparently.

I still see them over here sometimes too. Language takes such a long time to drop out of use. I'm still seeing Aspergers used by professionals occasionally! Shocking really but there you go.

My sibling has a diagnosis of Aspergers, so do lots of people, so the term will continue to be used.

Separate to that, there are many professionals who are wholly dissatisfied with the removal of more accurate descriptors for different affects that ASD has on the person so severe/moderate/mild etc Its not useful to have such a range of traits and symptoms all bundled together under one umbrella.

Yeah you are right the label shouldn’t matter! So why did some people on here say any guy that doesn’t have autism will automatically take advantage of me like if they want to be in a relationship when it’s not true? I don’t like that they said that!

I agree that was unnecessary. There is nothing creepy about a man having a relationship with someone with intellectual disabilities. It is true that you are vulnerable though and certain men might try to take advantage of this. Your Mum probably just wants to protect you from that.

Nobody at all said that.

A lot of people said that some men would take advantage of your poor cognitive function, though. That's not the same thing at all.

Ok but most men won’t take advantage and I learned to spot the red flags!