Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm on the waiting list for Bristol Autism Spectrum Service (NHS) but have no idea how long it will be (I have emailed them to ask but not had anything back), I've only been on the waiting list for about 6 weeks (not including 3 weeks it took just to process the referral) which I know is a pitifully short amount of time, but it's already driving me crazy, especially not having any idea how long I could be waiting-all the letter I got when the referral went through said was that it varies from month to month. As an aside, if anyone has any experience with BASS recently and could tell me how long they waited, that would be helpful.
In the meantime I'm all over the place, especially at uni. Have had both uni disability services and my supervisor ask if I have considered going private though, so am starting to think about it. I need some sort of support, and can't get any without a diagnosis; disability services' best advice was getting a note for anxiety or similar from my GP as that would be as good in terms of support provision-but I don't want to do that, because I don't want it to turn into 'just anxiety'-or I can look at testing for ADD through uni, which is more of an option, though as with any anxiety I have, any ADD symptoms are in my opinion better explained under the umbrella of ASD.
Does anyone have any recommendations for finding someone that does private diagnoses in the area? Had a google and can't find much (have already emailed the one person I did find).
I have heard that some service do not accept private diagnosis, like the councils social services.
Is that true?
California said:
I think this is one of those 'urban myths' that seems to gather some credence by being repeated.
From my experience (I had a private diagnosis due to the time it would take even if I could have got a diagnosis under the NHS - my doctor said my area did not provide a service for 'more mature adults' and said the waiting list would be about three years anyway) there is no problem in getting a private diagnosis accepted. After all, most psychologists/psychiatrists who provide private services also provide the same service to the NHS.
Just ensure that you get the report from the private diagnosis, which should explain the criteria and the reasons for the diagnosis, how you fit into the criteria, etc. Remember these are professional people and any organisation not accepting it is doubting the credentials. The psychologist who diagnosed me also helpfully provided a shorter summary which I could show without showing the full report. The chances are this will be enough, but you could also provide the contact number if it is not on the report in order they could confirm. The report with near certainty will, however, also have the qualifications and a bit of background of the diagnoser which would remove all doubt about its validity
By the way, the NAS have a list of professionals who diagnose autism privately.
Hmm...I don't know. But maybe good to double check if this is true. I thought university-based ones, like university of reading, should be very convincing to anyone who sees it. There are places that accept both NHS referrals as well as self-referrals, e.g, The Lorna Wing Centre. Are there any differences between getting a private vs NHS diagnosis if it's in the exact same place?