Dr. Randall Joseph Zblewski, MD

I have Asperger syndrome, which is an autism spectrum disorder that was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the psychiatrist's bible) in 1994. Back in the late 1990s (problably sometime from 1998 to 1999), I saw Dr. Randall Zblewski because I was having severe life problems and suspected that I have some kind of psychiatric disorder. After disclosing my life history to him, he diagnosed me with dysthymic disorder (chronic depression) and prescribed first Zoloft [sertraline], which induced nausea and diarrhea, then fluoxetine [Prozac], which didnâ??t help. I explained (emphatically) to Dr. Zblewski that I thought my depression was due to social withdrawal resulting from an inability to â??connectâ?? with othersâ??rather than to an inherent biochemical imbalanceâ??because my depression would temporarily remit during the rare occasions I was having a positive social interaction. And I told him that I thought my inability to â??connectâ?? with others… was due to an underlying psychiatric disorder, probably schizotypal personality disorder*. But he seemed to be interested in doing nothing for me but writing my prescriptions and spending the token amount of time with me to collect his fee! (*Iâ??d been reading quite a bit about psychiatric disorders because I strongly suspected that something was profoundly wrong with my mind. But unfortunately I hadnâ??t happened across any material about Aspergerâ??s syndrome at that timeâ??the mid-to-late 1990s. The closest match I found for my symptomatology was schizotypal personality disorder, whichâ??as Iâ??ve recently readâ??presents very similarly to Aspergerâ??s syndrome and often needs to be â??differentially diagnosedâ?? from it.) And not only did he misdiagnose my problem and not provide me with any insights or practical advice, but being on fluoxetine [Prozac] for a number of years left me with tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disorder characterized (in my case) by grimacing and excessive eye blinking!!! About a dozen years ago, I read some articles on the Web about Asperger syndrome and immediately recognized that I am afflicted by it. My self-diagnisis was confirmed by a neuropsychologist who, unlike Dr. Zblewski, knows what she is doing. If I he had diagnosed me correctly back in the late 1990s I probably would have been able to salvage my life and become at least a semi-productive and semi-happy member of society. Instead. I'm a hermit and a bum living on disability. Thank you, Dr. Zblewski!!!

Dr. Zblewski was referred to me by my wonderful Therapist, and personally working with both of them, has made all the difference in my life! He really cares about my well-being as a person and has been so kind and helpful for me. Truly easy to talk to and non-judgmental.