Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello. I am 36 years old. I have suffered with depression and anxieties almost all my adult life.I was referred to the Asperger's service on the NHS in 2014 after seeing several counsellors and therapists who recommended an assessment for Asperger's. The first to suggest that I might have Asperger's was a private funded counsellor, paid for by the college I was attending. The NHS services gave me a few short appointments. The first of which was with a nurse, and involved mainly questions about my childhood which I could not answer. The nurse seemed to have an attitude towards me, and said I didn't have Asperger's because I could not answer the questions - so therefore did not meet their criteria. I then asked for a further assessment with an actual doctor. I took someone with me to the appointment. The doctor seemed to have an attitude towards me and my companion. Virtually all of his questions seemed to be anchoring around a theme which seemed to be - that he must have thought that I was abused or neglected as a child. Again, not many of these questions could be answered and there were almost no questions relating to the symptoms I experience and how they affect my life.Now, just now in 2018, they have decided not to give me a diagnosis. The doctor said they will just refer me back to psychiatric services and recommend CBT and further assessments. He believes my symptoms are something to do with my personality. However he said that personality disorders are not diagnosed any more. I think it was a personality clash between myself and the doctor. He probably felt like I was wasting his time because I could not answer his questions. I feel that they have wasted years of my life - as I have been waiting for appointments this whole time.They have refused to give me a second opinion with another doctor and will not give me any more assessment time.Many people I know believe that I must have Asperger's. When I told some people that I was being assessed, they said that they thought I had Asperger's but never mentioned it before because they either did not wish to offend me or because they assumed I must already know.When I first learned what Asperger's and Autism is, I did a lot of research. I became able to identify autism in all of the other students at the college, whom I previously thought just had some learning difficulties such as dyslexia. It became clearly obvious to me if someone has autism or not.With every other illness in the world, the diagnosis is given based on the symptoms. With most illnesses, the doctor isn't even concerned with the cause. For example, if an alcoholic has depression then they diagnose depression and treat depression. They might recommend for the person to stop drinking, but they don't diagnose alcoholism and ignore the depression.One thing which is not made clear at all, in websites like this and the information available - is that if a person cannot answer questions about their childhood, no matter what symptoms they have, they will be refused a diagnosis for Asperger's autism. This should either be made abundantly clear, or it should be changed. The assessment criteria for an adult should depend on the symptoms alone and not the cause.There is no cure for Asperger's, yet they will try to cure me with CBT and give me other assessments which produce negative results.What am I supposed to do if I cannot answer questions about my childhood?
Asperger said:One thing which is not made clear at all, in websites like this and the information available - is that if a person cannot answer questions about their childhood, no matter what symptoms they have, they will be refused a diagnosis for Asperger's autism. This should either be made abundantly clear, or it should be changed.
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, and it is quite clear according to the diagnosis criteria in the DSM, that for someone to have autism, the symptoms must be present since childhood. That's why most assessments request that you bring a family member along that could answer questions about your childhood. I agree that if someone cannot remember their childhood, it doesn't necessary mean that they cannot have autism, but the person doing the assessment might not have sufficient evidence to reach a conclusive diagnosis. And they wouldn't want to give a false positive misdiagnosis (which could be potentially harmful as well). There may be some other ways for a diagnostician to reach a conclusion with some flexibility, and I've heard that there are cases of that as well, but it would be a lot more difficult for the diagnostician to know for sure, and it would require for that person to have lots of experience to be confident. Perhaps you can try seeking someone with a long history of clinical experience and ask them beforehand whether they may be able to help before going for the assessment? There are private routes and you are allowed to ask for a second opinion with the NHS.
I know it is a pdd. All I can tell you/them is that - the way I am is the way I have always been...And if they ask me the symptoms' I have, then - I have always had them for as long as I can remember.
And they may class it as a development disorder, but the word syndrome means a collection of symptoms, not a collection of causes, or collection of childhood memories.
qwerty said:I have no problem if in the future, people realise there are two types of autism, and call them Type 1 autism (developed in childhood) and Type 2 autism (developed in adulthood).
I would agree with this type categorisation. But like I said somewhere on this page, this would require getting the board of doctors to amend the diagnostic manual. To build a different criteria for adults, which they could only do if they base the diagnosis on symptoms alone. Then give reference to the development by the type speculated.Autism is still autism, whatever causes it. Different people develop at different rates. The diagnostic criteria which is based on childhood alone is flawed for diagnosing adults. It leaves adults who appear at every level to have autism, without a diagnosis.The current criteria completely ignores the meaning of the word Syndrome - when adult's diagnosis is concerned.
Asperger said:I don't drink alcohol at all. It was just an example.
Yes, I mean the logic here is the same as your example - causes matter. Similar symptoms developed with different causes may need different diagnoses. For example, my example of sensitivity to loud noises is an autistic symptom, but can be due to other reasons.
Asperger said:The brain cells constantly regenerate.
The brain has a very limited capacity for regeneration.
Asperger said:So if someone developed the symptoms of autism or Asperger's in adulthood, is it really a different condition at all?
I would think it's a different condition. For example Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes share a lot of the same symptoms (high blood sugar), but they have different causes, and because of this, some treatments are the same, some treatments are different. Type 1 diabetes is developed in childhood and the cause is caused by very little or no insulin is produced by the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes is a long-term metabolic disorder due to insulin resistance, which is the inability of cells to respond adequately to normal levels of insulin. So I believe biological causes are important. I have no problem if in the future, people realise there are two types of autism, and call them Type 1 autism (developed in childhood) and Type 2 autism (developed in adulthood).