Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello
I am new to the Autistic community and i am looking for some advice.
I am a 42yr old Male and recently decided to get tested for autism as i have always struggled with social situations, anxiety, making friends and general interactions also i have never been in a relationship because i cant seem to connect to other people romantically as well. Also in therapy sessions due to anxiety/depression i struggle to engage as i struggle to verbalise what is wrong with me, i just end up making things up or agreeing with the therapist.
My GP agreed and I now have an appointment with Psychiatry UK for an assessment.
I am now starting to freak out about this appointment as i am terrible at explaining myself especially what i am feeling as well as how i am feeling, and i am not very good at communicating things about myself. Can someone tell me about these assessments? was it wise to go private to get assessed? Also i have heard it takes 3 or 4 sessions to get diagnosed but Psychiatry UK say they only offer one session.
I am worried that the time is not long enough to properly assess me and that i will be misdiagnosed. I am also worried that i have 'faked' being ok for so long that it will con the assessors, in some ways i am "normal" and in other ways i am not normal"
Apologies if this is hard to read like i say i struggle to say or write what is happening for me.
Thanks
Adam
Hi Adam. I'm also 42 and I had my autism assessment last year. It was only one session, and I quite enjoyed it, though I didn't enjoy reading my report - it made me feel bad for talking about myself. However, you may have a much more compassionate and knowledgeable assessor. Here's a link to a short video about my assessment and reflections on a positive assessment experience: www.youtube.com/watch
Thank you for your help.. Apologies for not replying sooner i am not getting notifications of responses to this post and i forget quite easily i posted about this topic..
No problem, Adam.