Dr. Christine Lay, PSY.D

I received a level one autism diagnosis as a 47 year old female. I feel the diagnosis was fair and somewhat expected but still a bit startling and life changing.

I would advise against pursuing an adult autism assessment with Dr. Lay, especially if your presentation is non-stereotypical (e.g., you are female or high-masking). Following months of research and reflection leading me to self-identify as autistic—with possible co-occurring ADHD—I sought a professional diagnosis for confirmation. Unfortunately, Dr. Lay has a very narrow and closed-minded view of autism. Although I provided examples from my life of stimming, meltdowns, sensory issues, social communication difficulties, and executive dysfunction, these were either dismissed or attributed to other diagnoses that are more likely symptoms of, rather than explanations for, my lifelong challenges. She valued clinical “thresholds” over my lived experience and decided I couldn’t be autistic because I possess empathy and the ability to socialize. It was an invalidating and painful experience (plus a waste of time and money), but I hope my story can help someone else avoid a similar experience.

Dr. Lay is not qualified to conduct adult autism assessments as she has an incredibly shallow and stereotypical understanding of what it means to be autistic. In my evaluation she did not use the latest diagnosis tools such as the ADOS or AQ, and never discussed the DSM criteria with me. When she explained her reasonings for why I couldn’t be autistic, she said “autistic people do not exhibit an interest in other people”, my communication issues were ignored because “you have friends” and “you made good eye contact”. These are all stereotypes of autistic people that she holds to be true. When in reality, the research that led to this view of autistic people has been proven to be limited to young boy. We now know the experience of autism is varied person to person- most especially for autistic adults and women. I’m writing this in case I can save anyone else the time and heartache. Please avoid Dr. Lay and find someone with a current and non-stereotypical view of autism.