I have my ASD assessment tomorrow, any advice?

Hello, as I said above i have my long awaited assessment tomorrow, they rang a little while ago with a cancellation. 

I'm i think a little scared.

I'm 50, I don't know what to wear tomorrow, that sounds so stupid.

Help

Parents
  • Hi Song,

    Wear whatever you feel most comfortable in... and just be yourself.  They're not trying to catch you out.  I had my assessment and diagnosis almost 3 years ago, aged 56.  It took about an hour and was mainly focusing on my childhood, any problems I'd had in adult life (relationships, work, etc), and things that I generally found to be a struggle.  My eye contact issue was obvious.  I also mentioned the bullying at school, and the problems I had with social communication generally: body language, gestures, and so forth.

    You're bound to feel anxious now - and that, too, will be picked up on.  I went into mine knowing that I had ASC, so I tried to focus on the benefit I knew a formal diagnosis would give me.  Since getting it, my life has changed.  Now, I no longer feel like a freak.  I no longer wonder why I can't make friends, or struggle with things that others take in their stride.  It has improved my mental health, too, because now I know what the underlying reasons are for everything. 

    Good luck.  I always tend to think the worst about something I have to do, and I over-analyse stuff.  But really, my diagnostic assessment was nothing to worry about.  Hopefully, yours will be the same.

    Let us know how it goes.

    Tom

    PS Check out some similar threads under the 'Related' column on the right of this post.  You should find useful information there, too.

  • Good luck, I hope it isn’t to stressful once it begins.

    Try to be yourself,

    And if you are feeling ok let us know how you got on.

    ()

  • Oh wow, that was quick, I feel you are sounding quite ok with it?

    I hope to go for an assessment myself one day, 

    congratulations. X()x

  • Congratulations! And well done on getting through the assessment, it is pretty gruelling. Cathartic, but gruelling.  

  • Congratulations works for me so thank you, I have known i was different for most of the last 40/50 years, now I have a proper name for it and a piece of paper. 

  • don't know what the right thing is to say, but the thing that comes to mind is "congratulations!" Nothing changes about you, and yet, the official recognition kind of does make a difference. It is the recognition for all what you have been through and all the things that are such a challenge for us. 

    Somehow I thought the official recognition somehow unleashed a whole lot of emotions for me (to doubt "didn't they get it wrong" and being unable to believe it, to almost feeling the right to go and lie down in a dark room and Make up for all the times you pushed yourself beyond your limits.

    anyhow congratulations!! (even though it isn't the right thing to say)

  • I have my report back from the assessment. 

    I'm autistic it's official. No surprise there really but it's proven now.

    Thank you all for your amazing support.

  • They are dreadful aren't they, the people at mensa. My IQ test was done at school because school said I was retarded, their words, and mum got very upset. They had me tested and made mum sign a paper that when the result came back saying I was sub normal she would pay the few for the testing. Obviously she never had to pay.

  • What, the assessment?  I'm not sure, but best not to just in case.

  • Are we allowed to say where we were tested on here?

  • Yes.  I was in Mensa for a few years.  I didn't like it, though.  Too many puffed-up people, reveling in their own giftedness.  My IQ was tested when I was 22, and was 148 then. 

  • I had my IQ tested as a 13 year old. And again a few times  since. My mum signed me up with Mensa. 

  • How would the SEN person at school know whether or not you're autistic? I had countless 'professional' people say that to me - including psychiatrists - but they were all wrong.

  • I find it quite difficult to be my true self so I think having such a long meeting might have been good.

    (I told the sen lady at school that I was going for the test, she has known me for over 16 years she said I am no way autistic, that she couldnt imagine them giving me much of a score at all)

    she asked a lot about hobbies, and told my husband that my knitting is a stim, I Knit socks.

  • My interview would probably have gone on longer, but I pre-empted many of her questions because I gave such detailed answers to the ones she managed to ask.  It was pointed out in my diagnosis that I gave overly-long answers.  This sounds like you went through the grinder a bit.  I was also asked questions about relationships - which have all been failures over my lifetime.  I can see now that the failures were mainly rooted in my condition.

    I have a high IQ, too, but they already knew that.  Did you have to do an IQ test, too?

  • I filled in lots of forms before I went, loads of the questions were about the ones I hadn't answered, or the ones I had scribbled notes over. Ii was pretty non responsive by the end and my husband was doing most of the answering by then. She asked a lot about relationships, she said that most of my previous relationships have been abusive.

    I have a super ihigh IQ  but there is no way I would have got an even decent score after all that.

  • I am quite shocked they would ask questions for that long. In my test center they were quite sensitive to the fact that after an hour I started phasing out. It felt good that people actually noticed it. Usually I just keep struggling.  Also they noticed when I blocked (like on answering a certain kind of question, you have to choose one or the other and often both are wrong - I hate that - and they were really kind about it). The tests were spread out over several weeks. Did you have to fill in a lot of forms and so forth? I'm just concerned that if they ask you to do an IQ test after three hours of questions, that might be a disaster :D  I think that long wait is quite typical I also waited about that time for results (because the person writing the report was fully booked?!) but is is a long wait when you really want to know!

Reply
  • I am quite shocked they would ask questions for that long. In my test center they were quite sensitive to the fact that after an hour I started phasing out. It felt good that people actually noticed it. Usually I just keep struggling.  Also they noticed when I blocked (like on answering a certain kind of question, you have to choose one or the other and often both are wrong - I hate that - and they were really kind about it). The tests were spread out over several weeks. Did you have to fill in a lot of forms and so forth? I'm just concerned that if they ask you to do an IQ test after three hours of questions, that might be a disaster :D  I think that long wait is quite typical I also waited about that time for results (because the person writing the report was fully booked?!) but is is a long wait when you really want to know!

Children
  • Oh wow, that was quick, I feel you are sounding quite ok with it?

    I hope to go for an assessment myself one day, 

    congratulations. X()x

  • Congratulations! And well done on getting through the assessment, it is pretty gruelling. Cathartic, but gruelling.  

  • Congratulations works for me so thank you, I have known i was different for most of the last 40/50 years, now I have a proper name for it and a piece of paper. 

  • don't know what the right thing is to say, but the thing that comes to mind is "congratulations!" Nothing changes about you, and yet, the official recognition kind of does make a difference. It is the recognition for all what you have been through and all the things that are such a challenge for us. 

    Somehow I thought the official recognition somehow unleashed a whole lot of emotions for me (to doubt "didn't they get it wrong" and being unable to believe it, to almost feeling the right to go and lie down in a dark room and Make up for all the times you pushed yourself beyond your limits.

    anyhow congratulations!! (even though it isn't the right thing to say)

  • I have my report back from the assessment. 

    I'm autistic it's official. No surprise there really but it's proven now.

    Thank you all for your amazing support.

  • They are dreadful aren't they, the people at mensa. My IQ test was done at school because school said I was retarded, their words, and mum got very upset. They had me tested and made mum sign a paper that when the result came back saying I was sub normal she would pay the few for the testing. Obviously she never had to pay.

  • What, the assessment?  I'm not sure, but best not to just in case.

  • Are we allowed to say where we were tested on here?

  • Yes.  I was in Mensa for a few years.  I didn't like it, though.  Too many puffed-up people, reveling in their own giftedness.  My IQ was tested when I was 22, and was 148 then. 

  • I had my IQ tested as a 13 year old. And again a few times  since. My mum signed me up with Mensa. 

  • How would the SEN person at school know whether or not you're autistic? I had countless 'professional' people say that to me - including psychiatrists - but they were all wrong.

  • I find it quite difficult to be my true self so I think having such a long meeting might have been good.

    (I told the sen lady at school that I was going for the test, she has known me for over 16 years she said I am no way autistic, that she couldnt imagine them giving me much of a score at all)

    she asked a lot about hobbies, and told my husband that my knitting is a stim, I Knit socks.

  • My interview would probably have gone on longer, but I pre-empted many of her questions because I gave such detailed answers to the ones she managed to ask.  It was pointed out in my diagnosis that I gave overly-long answers.  This sounds like you went through the grinder a bit.  I was also asked questions about relationships - which have all been failures over my lifetime.  I can see now that the failures were mainly rooted in my condition.

    I have a high IQ, too, but they already knew that.  Did you have to do an IQ test, too?

  • I filled in lots of forms before I went, loads of the questions were about the ones I hadn't answered, or the ones I had scribbled notes over. Ii was pretty non responsive by the end and my husband was doing most of the answering by then. She asked a lot about relationships, she said that most of my previous relationships have been abusive.

    I have a super ihigh IQ  but there is no way I would have got an even decent score after all that.