Confused and anxious about GP's comments re: private assessment and diagonsis

Hi

I am not sure if I am posting this in the right section or if it should be in Health and Wellbeing but I am after some advice regarding an official diagnosis and whether the NHS consider a private diagonsis as official.

Background information:  I was diagonsed at 8 with "significant motor coordination difficulites" (dyspraxia) but it was felt that aspects of my emotional and personal development was also causing me difficulties.  I was involved with an education psychologist who, in my primary school years noted that I "presented as shy around strangers and did not respond well to change, preferring what I was used to".  In secondary school I developed anxiety issues and discussions between my parents and the educational psychologist suggested that I was "over sensitive to new subject areas and concerned about dealing with anything novel."  At that time it was felt that I displayed "autistic tendancies" but the educational psychologist did not feel I would meet the criteria for Asperger's Syndrome (as it was then).

In 2004, at the age 19, I discovered Tony Attwood's book The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome and felt that I shared many of the characteristics of the condition.  After speaking to my GP I was referred to a Consultant Psycharist within the NHS who, in my opinion, had a rather old-fashioned view of autism, and told me that I couldn't have autism as I was female, articulate and did not flap my hands.  He felt my lack of social skills were more problematic when faced with new social situations and diagonsed with social anxiety, a diagonsis that I felt did not fit me as my difficulties were much more complex than just a lack of social skills.  I had obessive interests, difficulties in commuication in that I tended to take things literally and struggled to read non-verbal communication and struggled with change.

Downhearted I put the whole thing to bed for over a year until one day I decided to seek a second opinion and contacted the National Autistic Society who but me in contact with a Consultant Psychiatrist who offered private autism assessments.  I contact the Psychiartist and arranged an appointment.  In 2006, at the age of 21, I was finally diagonsed with Asperger's Syndrome.  In the report the Psychiartist stated that she had "sent me a copy of the Autism Quotient questionnaire and I scored 41 out 50 which is a high score and confirms my (Psychiarist) clinical diagonsis of Asperger's syndrome." I also provided her with an extensive medical and personal history up to that point, outlinging events from my life that showed were I met the criteria for autism.  From this she stated in her report that I myself had "correctly identified that I have all the symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome, including difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication and obessive interests, as well as the liking of ritual and routine."

I took this to be an official diagonsis and have done so for the last 13 years.  This has never been questioned until now.  At the time I took it to my GP who was happy with it and kept a copy for my medical records.

Recently, my GP has retired from practice and I have come under the care of a new, younger GP.  I went to see her today to enquire as to whether there was some autism specific support for adults in my area as I have been struggling with things recently.  She read through the report and then asked if I had ever recieved an official diagonsis for autism.

I was rather taken aback as I had always considered the 2006 private assessment to be an official diagonsis.  She said if needed I could be referred for an NHS diagonsis but to be aware that there is a long waiting list.  I declined this offer as I was rather upset at the thought that the diagonsis I thought I had was somehow invalidated because it was not an offical NHS diagonsis.  Giving the struggles (outlined in my background information) that I went through to get that diagonsis in the first place I am very protective of it.  I have now spent all day in hightend state of anxiety, doubting myself, my autism and worried that the diagonsis will be taken away from me.

I would like to ask if anyone else has experienced this situation before and, if so, what happened?  
Is my private assessment and diagnosis valid?  
If not, is it worth pushing for an NHS diagonsis or is this just a paper-filing exercise?  

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

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