GP Help

Today I took my first steps of going to my GP appointment, and discussing my thoughts regarding possibly being on the Autistic Spectrum. I went with my mum who also gave some background information regarding childhood/young adulthood and I mentioned certain areas which made me want to get checked/assessed.

I am 21, and the GP recommended I look into services at my local 'Find it Out' centre, which is basically generalised counselling/emotional support. There is no medical training/thorough psychological training in the areas I am needing it in. Not only this, but these services are only offered between the ages of 11-18, which confuses me further as to why I have been told to go down this avenue.

I mentioned how I understood from research, that referrals are made for a diagnosis etc, to which my GP said was true, however was not always the first steps, and it is further along down the process.

I would like others opinions on this, as well as wondering if a second opinion may be the best option?

Thank you to anyone who replies

Parents
  • Hi Jess, as Patch said, well done on taking that first step. Don’t be discouraged or dissapointed,  you simply need to go back to the gp (a different one if possible) armed with all the information you need. 

    There is a clear cut process that is to be followed in this country for an assessment of autism. I’ll put the link in here. You just need to read the information, make some points, then go back to the gp with the information. It would be good to go with somebody who won’t take no for an answer but if you have all the information at hand, they can’t really say no. 

    I’ve found that counselling etc hasn’t really helped in the past, it has been and can be kind of helpful to help you through difficult patches, so I don’t dismiss it, but what has been most helpful is getting my diagnosis and learning about autism. 

    I think there’s also something you can print off from the site to take with you but either way, these guidelines are set out by NICE and must be followed by the gp. The gp simply needs enough ‘evidence’ that suggests  you could on the spectrum, so he can put this down in his referral. I was on the other side, I worked in the mental health team and often the referrals from gp’s would be inadequate and the team wouldn’t accept them, which is rather silly, but it gave them (the mental health team) a bit more space before they had to accept the referral. 

    Here’s the link ~ http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx

    Take your time, there’s no rush and you’ve done the hardest part, you’ve made the first step, you’ve honoured yourself by taking that first step, it’s all going to work out ok. Good luck, not that you need it, but you know what I mean. 

  • What BlueRay said. There should be a local pathway for diagnosis of autistic adults, but it's possible the GP doesn't know it. 

    The Royal College of General Practitioner's GP toolkit often links back to this NAS site.  This NAS page has a section "Your GP’s responsibilities":

    In England, your GP should be following NICE guideline 142 and be aware of the statutory guidance requiring a clear diagnosis pathway for adults.

    It may be worth checking the NAS directory for diagnostic service too, although in some places the information is out of date.  If you still can't get identify the route to the adult autism diagnosis service, then the local mental health trust probably has something like a single point of access and referrals who should know (the diagnostic service is probably provided by the trust too). The idea should be to identify autistic people before they end up with a mental health diagnosis, so in some ways the MH route makes little sense.

    It's also amazing how many counsellors, therapists and psychiatrists don't take possible autism seriously. A minority will pick it up, and sometimes counselling or CBT can help. I believe certain types of therapy (specifically psychodynamic) can be actively harmful to autistic people. It shouldn't be this hard, but it still is in some places. Good luck.

Reply
  • What BlueRay said. There should be a local pathway for diagnosis of autistic adults, but it's possible the GP doesn't know it. 

    The Royal College of General Practitioner's GP toolkit often links back to this NAS site.  This NAS page has a section "Your GP’s responsibilities":

    In England, your GP should be following NICE guideline 142 and be aware of the statutory guidance requiring a clear diagnosis pathway for adults.

    It may be worth checking the NAS directory for diagnostic service too, although in some places the information is out of date.  If you still can't get identify the route to the adult autism diagnosis service, then the local mental health trust probably has something like a single point of access and referrals who should know (the diagnostic service is probably provided by the trust too). The idea should be to identify autistic people before they end up with a mental health diagnosis, so in some ways the MH route makes little sense.

    It's also amazing how many counsellors, therapists and psychiatrists don't take possible autism seriously. A minority will pick it up, and sometimes counselling or CBT can help. I believe certain types of therapy (specifically psychodynamic) can be actively harmful to autistic people. It shouldn't be this hard, but it still is in some places. Good luck.

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