Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello, I do apologise if this is the wrong place to ask a question like this, but I'm rather in a crux at the moment. I'm in my early twenties, haven't been diagnosed with any behavioural or neurological conditions, and have never until a few days ago seriously thought of seeking any professional help regarding a number of social impediments that have been quite a hindrance throughout my life. I'm increasingly in a position where it's required of me to actively exert myself with some degree of normalcy in essential and relatively commonplace situtations, and during one such occasion, it struck me quite forcefully that if I don't actively seek help i'm not going to have a very pleasant adulthood. I've thence spent the past few days obsessively self analysing my behaviour in any anecdotal sitution my mind can recall, rather to the detriment of my general mental wellbeing. I've noticed that my behaviour does in many respects accord with notable symptoms of HFA, though to be honest I find the process of self administration so wracked by ambiguities that it's becoming more of a hindrance than a help, and I'm finding it genuinely impossible to decide whether or not I'm just suffering from social anxiety. It's thence my instinct to try and see a professional about these general concerns without any prescriptive preconceptions wherein, rather than going in and saying that I think I have A or B, and asking to be assessed for that, I might be able to deduce something by actually speaking to a professional in a relatively open context! I was wondering, therefore, if there might be any preferential means for achieving this, since I'm rather scared of going into a GP, saying something blathery and general for a while, and leaving without having achieved anything whatsoever. Sorry again if this isn't the right place to ask for advice like this, but if anyone had any I would be very grateful!
Thank you very much for the suggestion! I will definately look into it.
Thank you very much for the info and the links, I wasn't feeling very clear headed when I wrote this, so it's reassuring to have something more systematic to fall back on!
It sounds like you have a lot of self-awareness which is great as you area already part of the way there.
I was diagnosed with autism last year at age 45 but have suffered from social anxiety all of my life. I guess I wanted to say that regardless of whether or not you are diagnosed with autism, social anxiety can be very severe and in my case it has had a big impact on my life. You mention that you might 'just' be suffering from social anxiety - in my case I did some cognitive behavioural therapy which helped over a period of time. In addition to seeking a diagnosis for autism, you could always try some online CBT or reading a good book about dealing with social anxiety. It might help too. Good luck!
Hi. Congratulations on having the self-awareness that I wish I had at your age! I've been recently diagnosed with high-functioning ASD in my late 40s after lots of angst. I'm sure earlier awareness could have saved me lots of heartache over the years...
If you have reason to believe you may be suffering from an ASD then the standard diagnostic pathway is to get a referral for diagnosis from your GP. Before you run and book an appointment for that I'd recommend doing some research and preparation to make sure that's a good thing to do and to make it a productive experience.
The NICE criteria for an adult diagnosis referral are here:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG142/chapter/1-Guidance#identification-and-assessment
That gives you what your doctor should be looking for before deciding to make a referral for diagnosis or not. I'd suggest taking the adult AQ and EQ tests which you can find with their scoring keys at:
https://www.autismresearchcentre.com/arc_tests
You aren't in any hurry so you might as well do the versions with the most questions. Those questionnaires aren't diagnostic, they are for screening purposes. But if you score appropriate scores on those tests, then that's indicative that investigating you for ASD is worthwhile.
You might also find:
https://rdos.net/eng/Aspie-quiz.php
interesting.
If you find those tests give you a suggestion you might have ASD, then what I suggest you do is type/write an up-to two sides of A4 "life-history" which tries to indicate where you have had life problems that you think are related to ASD, based on the NICE criteria for referral in https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG142/chapter/1-Guidance#identification-and-assessment. Specifically the criteria in 1.2.2.
I'd also spend time doing some more research about ASD and how it might impact you, especially if you are female because the presentation in females tends to be a bit different that "the standard".
If having done all that and you still think ASD is likely, then book an appt. to see your GP. Take with you:
* A copy of the NICE guidelines for adult referral,
* Your AQ and EQ tests with a copy of the scoring key,
* Your sheet of A4 with your life history where you've demonstrated issues according to section 1.2.2 of the NICE criteria.
* Copies of anything else that you think might be relevant with a description of why you think that's so.
That should then be a relatively stressful experience because your GP will mostly be reading all the information you provide them, and you should just have to answer any questions they might have.