I live in Canada, but I was diagnosed in the US because it was going to be out of pocket anyway and I could get in faster. I had to do interviews about my past/relatively benign topics, and then regular neuropsych testing which is like remembering details from a story you're told or drawing something after you're shown a picture. I think about 700 multiple choice questions because they're trying to screen for other things like bipolar disorder etc. as well. Afterwards everything is charted/graphed out-that took the Neuropsych about a week to do before she could make a concrete diagnosis. So it's a very empirical process, or at least as empirical as any neuropsychological test can be.

There are differences though that might lead people to being misdiagnosed with other things in other countries. Like Canadians for example are less outgoing than Americans, so apparently by American standards about 75% of Canada would be considered introverts. However, because this testing was so empirical and because the doctor had worked in Canada before it wasn't a factor in my diagnosis.

As per the last part, it left me disappointed. Especially because nobody in my family takes it that seriously since I have a brother who is also autistic. My husband kind of teases me about it but he came to the conclusion of, "yeah that makes sense." A lot of things clicked for me-like why I have trouble making female friends (remember people and especially women in Canada are a lot more agreeable and hold similar opinions on everything, so it's kind of hard if you're "out of the box" so to speak). The appearance thing was also troubling, because people ascribed a personality trait based on how I looked. I know that's not uncommon but I would have had a much easier time had I been diagnosed earlier in life.