Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I'm relatively new here. I have suspected that I might have ASD for several years and am looking to get an assessment to make sure. I think the symptoms describe me very well, and I would like to know the answer. However, on the majority of NHS and private clinics websites, they would like you to bring a family member for the assessment. And I feel the request to bring a family member is a major barrier. One reason is that there is so much stigma associated with ASD, I am quite sure my parents would not want me to get a diagnosis. Some clinics do offer assessments without relatives' involvement, but add that it sometimes may not be possible to reach a conclusion without enough information. I don't have any close friends I can take with me to the assessment either. I was wondering if anyone has ever been through a diagnosis assessment alone and can share their experiences. This would be very helpful!
Hi qwerty, I was diagnosed as 'High Functioning ASD' last year at the age of 56. I had been suffering from severe depression for several years & was referred for an assessment by my psychotherapist, who noticed that my thought patterns were unusually rigid & resistant to therapy.
The diagnosis required two sessions spaced several months apart (due to NHS waiting lists), but I attended both of them alone. The first session seemed to concentrate on the more overt symptoms & because I have always been quite good at passing for 'normal' (whatever that is), I was told a second session was required.
The initial forms I filled in before the first session asked questions about my early family life, but they didn't need to contact my parents directly (both of whom are still alive & enjoying retirement), or my brother & sister.
I found both assessment sessions quite pleasant & wasn't that surprised when I was told I has a positive diagnosis at the end of the second one. Funnily enough though, around half of my friends/family weren't surprised either, whilst the others thought it must be a mistake. I suppose it all depends on how good other people are at seeing through my social mask ;-)
Hope this helps
I don't like the phrase 'resistant to therapy'. It can make it sound like you're doing something deliberate, when really it means the therapy doesn't help, and you're not going along with any witch-doctor effect that it does. On the other hand, at least they referred you (I had to fight for a referral). I think assessment usually takes two sessions, and then maybe a feedback session.
I had about the same reaction - half the people people close to me had apparently thought I 'had Asperger syndrome' without telling me. Some thought it unlikely when I first mooted it, then came around. It also depends on what stereotype they have of AS/autism.
The 'Resistant to Therapy' comment was my abbreviation of her observation that "I couldn't allow any form of therapy to help me unless I understood it completely at a Scientific level", to which I replied "What is wrong with that?"
I actually got on very well with my therapist over the twelve months that I saw her, it's just a shame that apart from leading to my ASD diagnosis, it didn't help me at all.
I've only just seen this comment, but it sounds very similar to me. I wanted to know what to expect, why this procedure was worth doing, how I would know it was working. what evidence there was that it would work for people like me... I got complete non-answers like 'it's different for every person' and 'I don't have the answers, they have to come from inside'. If I had the answers inside, there would be no point in going.
My therapist never suggested autism, but the fact that trying to talk about the bad stuff made me feel worse led friends to suggest it. But 'treatment-resistant' is sometimes used in the context of drugs too, when they don't want to admit the Drugs Don't Work.