Bringing someone along

Hi all

I am hoping to get a date soon for my assessment, but i understand that ill be asked to bring someone along who has known me for a long time. I plan to bring my older sister.  My question is though, would she be with me all the time im being assessed?  I would rather that not happen, i dont mind her being asked questions separately, but id much rather be interviewed on my own, just wondered what the standard is?

Thanks! 

  • My Mum helped out with my assessment, but due to her age and her living so far away, they did that part by post and telephone.  I wouldn't have wanted her to be there for the whole assessment, but mine was conducted over three sessions, so I don't think that would have happened anyway.

    As for what the "standard" is - so far as I can tell, there isn't one.  My assessment was 5-6 hours, split over three sessions, with both a psychologist and an occupational therapist involved, help from my Mum, and we spoke about several things which are only in the new DSM-V diagnostic guidelines (so formally my diagnosis is Autism Spectrum Condition Level 1, but informally I was told equivalent to Asperger's Syndrome).  A friend in the same village was diagnosed at around the same time, but at a different clinic, and had only a single one-hour interview with a psychologist, no family involvement, and was diagnosed using the older ICD-10 guidelines (so formally, his diagnosis is Asperger's Syndrome) These were both NHS referrals made by GP's based at the same surgery!

  • I asked a similar question about bringing someone along during the diagnosis here: http://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/12458/diagnosis-experiences

    There were so many helpful replies! Hope this will help you too.

  • I was diagnosed via the NHS last year. I was asked to bring someone along who knew me from childhood but that was not possible as I'm 52, an only child and both my parents have died. I explained this to them and they were happy for me to bring my wife along even though we've only known each other 17 years. She was present throughout the whole process (3x 1 hour interviews) she was not interviewed separately, the whole thing was just carried out by the psychiatrist in one room. From reading other peoples experiences it seems mine is quite unusual. Hope that helps!

  • To back up what JMcGregor has said when I was assessed one of their criteria was evidence of autism in childhood. I was 50 though when I was assessed and my mum was 85 so both of us struggled to remember enough evidence. In the end they were happy I met their other eight criteria so they finessed / ignored the lack of sufficient evidence of autism in childhood - absence of evidence is not the same thing as evidence of absence.

  • I think different assessors do things different ways - there isn't a standard way of assessing someone

  • from the little ive seen in some documentation, its usually an older sibling or parent as they knew you in childhood - or a lifelong friend (i dont have any of those like many).  I think the assesment can still happen without someone else, they just tend to prefer it.  My parents are hundreds of miles away and arent really interested in these kinds of issues so id never bring my own parents along

  • from reading a few others posts, it seems that the person brought along does get interviewed on their own, as well as with the main person - i just want to cut out the part where they are in the room with me while im being questioned lol

  • I've not got to my first appointment yet so I don't know if I'll have to bring anyone although my wife really wants to come with me. My mum is in her 60's and lives over 40 miles away with ill health so I wouldn' want to stress her to much. I have dug out all my old school reports from primary school and high school and work placements so I'm hoping all these will help at my appointment. I often wonder if it would help a diagnosis by asking my employer what I'm like in work as they know what I'm like probably more than anyone in the real world? 

    Is there anyone who you should/shouldn't bring along to an assesment?

  • I know what you mean - I would have preferred to have been diagnosed first by myself and only told my family I was autistic once I was diagnosed but I eventually plucked u[ the courage to ask my sister. Her reaction when I told her was yes, I probably was autistic and she thought our dad had definitely been autistic. It was my sister who then persuaded me to involve my mum.

    Good luck with your assessment. I suspect the assessors will still prefer someone to go with you but they should be used to the person being assessed being uncomfortable discussing some things so don't discuss them if you are ot comfortable discussing them.

  • thanks for that.  thats a bit concerning for me, ill contact them i think before hand and ask if its possible for me to be assessed alone.  not surprisingly autism (if thats what i have) has made it so that i really dont get myself involved with anyone, including family, so im not close enough to my sister to be comfortable laying bare my entire life

    thanks again

  • My mum came with me. She was there for all of the assessment but I told one of the assessors before the start that there was one issue I did not want them to disclose and in the end there were a couple of other questions I declined to answer so I ended up going along later by myself for a follow-up meeting although I think they had already agreed that I was autistic by that point.