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What to expect at an adult assessment for ASD

NAS24581
over 6 years ago

Hi all,

I'm completely new to this community and was wondering if you could help me?

I am a 23 year old female who has been finally referred for an assessment for diagnosis. 

I'm sure you're all aware of how difficult this can be, being a girl and every single medical professional never taking you or your parents seriously and so on because you outwardly appear 'normal' whatever that is. 

I was diagnosed with an unspecified developmental disorder as a child because they didn't have enough evidence to say I had ASD (or perhaps because I lied a lot to avoid a diagnosis because I didn't want any more bullying or people to think I was weird) it's tough being a teenager!

since my referral I've been browsing this online community and other sites and I can resonate with a lot of the things people are posting and talking about. I too often find myself overwhelmed by sounds and lights as if the world is a living, spinning kaleidoscope. I love animals, they're all I want to talk about and I have loved collecting facts about them for as long as I can remember  

anyway my question is...

What should I expect at an adult assessment for ASD?

what questions do they ask/how long does it take/is it really awkward/frightening

i am really nervous even thinking about it, thank  you

Parents
  • over 6 years ago

    If you use the search at the top of the page you will find a few different answers about this to help you. 

    I think everyone's experience will be different depending on where and who assesses them. I think everyone going through the process is nervous because we don't know the building or people assessing us or what is required of us. It could be that you have a series of appointments or just one. It could be a Dr or a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist, maybe an occupational therapist. 

    You will already have been asked to send in supporting information; medical, education, employment histories which they use to show patterns of things. So one part of the assessment will be talking about those plus communication and interaction problems. 

    You could be asked to do formal tests which assess your working memory, speed of processing, and imagination. I'm not sure if you do these if just being assessed for asd or whether that was the adhd part or whether you will be screened for both or not. 

    They are all professionals who want to help you. But my experience of first and second opinion was very different. Post back if you want to before hand or tell us how it went and what your experience was afterwards. There are people using the forum who are not diagnosed or waiting for appointments just like you and they like to hear about it too 

    You should be able to take someone with you if you want to. 

Reply
  • over 6 years ago

    If you use the search at the top of the page you will find a few different answers about this to help you. 

    I think everyone's experience will be different depending on where and who assesses them. I think everyone going through the process is nervous because we don't know the building or people assessing us or what is required of us. It could be that you have a series of appointments or just one. It could be a Dr or a psychologist and/or a psychiatrist, maybe an occupational therapist. 

    You will already have been asked to send in supporting information; medical, education, employment histories which they use to show patterns of things. So one part of the assessment will be talking about those plus communication and interaction problems. 

    You could be asked to do formal tests which assess your working memory, speed of processing, and imagination. I'm not sure if you do these if just being assessed for asd or whether that was the adhd part or whether you will be screened for both or not. 

    They are all professionals who want to help you. But my experience of first and second opinion was very different. Post back if you want to before hand or tell us how it went and what your experience was afterwards. There are people using the forum who are not diagnosed or waiting for appointments just like you and they like to hear about it too 

    You should be able to take someone with you if you want to. 

Children
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