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?
The NHS have refused me a second opinion.
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.
I don't know why I can't remember. If I think about it for long enough then I can recall some things. But my brain is too busy looping through the other stuff I am thinking about at the time. It is hard for me to break out of a thought cycle. You can ask me about a journey to school as a child (as you just did) and my brain just wants to tell you about the programming classes I had at college and what projects I would like to work on.
And the amount of times I had to ask him to speak louder - because I could not hear him correctly... I got the impression he was whispering on purpose.
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.
He wasn't a GP, he was a psychiatrist / psychologist.I was not abused, his questions implied that he thought that I was. I was quite offended by his repetition in asking them. Seemed weird.I hate the word Aspie. A person is a person, not an illness. The label goes on the paperwork about the condition, not on the forehead. A person is not autistic, their symptoms are. I can't afford to go private, and they know it. When everyone else says they think I have Asperger's and just this nurse and doctor say they don't think so, because I didn't answer their questions... I find it hard to believe them.CBT won't work for me. I hope you get your answers in a faster time than I got mine. Thanks.
Yea, introverted conservative.He was like a turtle hiding in a shell when I asked what his first name is.
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.
I don't think that can be the case. There are some questions I cannot answer because of my Asperger's / autism (admittedly not factual stuff), but I still got a diagnosis. After all some people won't be able to speak at all in response.
It sounds like they weren't being very transparent. Medical professionals' opinion about nature v nurture vary like anyone else's. Some people think tend to think problems are down to upbringing, some think they are constitutional or personality-based. They draw the boundary in different places, and maybe these thought that you were 'repressing' significant memories from childhood, although there's no scientific basis for that kind of belief. Do you know if they'd had proper autism training?
Why do you think you can't remember your childhood? Can you remember the journey to or from school?
Hello and welcome.
Asperger said: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.
Maybe the doctor has a personality disorder?
I haven't had my ASD assessment yet i go on monday 11am like you i have suffered most of my life and have been diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder OCD and depression ( ive never heard anything about nhs not diagnosing personality disorders that sounds like complete crap from a lazy GP
Unlike you i can remember in great detail my abused childhood (i sincerely wish i couldn't ) however that should make no difference to a professionals ability to diagnose Aspie or Autism my advice would be to persevere and try a different route to get your ASD assessment ( oh and by the way i found CBT and mind matters a complete waste of time but that's just me it may well help you )
i wish you luck
Giddy