Getting a diagnosis- afraid about this process

Soph483 said:

My boss (whom I have been friends with for the past 8 years) has offered to come with me for this. But I'm so worried about it and what to expect during this.. has anyone got any advice? 

Maybe have a look through the information via the following link on this website:

https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/adults.aspx

And it should give you a basic idea of what to expect and some avenues of support if needed.

If you have any further questions which is quite often the case, you will perhaps have a bit more of a framework to compartmentalize your anxieties into more manageable chunks and better formulate your inquiries here.

From what you describe, it seems that you have may have been referred to a Mental Health Team to see if you meet the criteria for being referred onto having a full autistic diagnostic assessment, which usually takes around a year or two even to get, although some get through sooner depending on waiting lists, area healthy authority funding and staff availability and all that.

I originally had to wait two and half years myself to get diagnosed back in 2013, but got offered an appointment at the two year stage of things due to a cancellation. I accepted the appointment much to my surprise as I usually cannot in any way be considered spontaneous!!! It just felt intuitively and compulsively right at the time although I missed the first appointment (my mother drove me (without sat-nav) and we got lost as she was relying on me to read directions and I get numbers and directions muddled up and wrong) so we got lost and had to make another appointment for a month or so later. Hey hoe!

And it always helps to remember:

IBCCES Board Member and international speaker Dr. Stephen Shore was recently interviewed by Lime Connect. Read on for an excerpt and a link to the full interview delving into Dr. Shore’s perspective as a professor and professional who happens to be on the autism spectrum:

Lime Connect: You’ve famously said, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Why is that an important point for people to understand about their interactions with individuals with autism, in particular?

Dr. Stephen Shore: This quote emphasizes that there is great diversity within the autism spectrum. While the commonalities of people on the autism spectrum include differences in communication, social interaction, sensory receptivity, and highly focused interests, it’s important to understand that the constellation of these characteristics blends together differently for each individual. This is why some on the spectrum are good at mathematics while other may be good in their arts, sports, or writing – just like the rest of humanity. Autism is an extension of the diversity found in the human gene pool.

https://ibcces.org/blog/2018/03/23/12748/

Soph483 said:

My boss (whom I have been friends with for the past 8 years) has offered to come with me for this. But I'm so worried about it and what to expect during this.. has anyone got any advice? 

Maybe have a look through the information via the following link on this website:

https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/adults.aspx

And it should give you a basic idea of what to expect and some avenues of support if needed.

If you have any further questions which is quite often the case, you will perhaps have a bit more of a framework to compartmentalize your anxieties into more manageable chunks and better formulate your inquiries here.

From what you describe, it seems that you have may have been referred to a Mental Health Team to see if you meet the criteria for being referred onto having a full autistic diagnostic assessment, which usually takes around a year or two even to get, although some get through sooner depending on waiting lists, area healthy authority funding and staff availability and all that.

I originally had to wait two and half years myself to get diagnosed back in 2013, but got offered an appointment at the two year stage of things due to a cancellation. I accepted the appointment much to my surprise as I usually cannot in any way be considered spontaneous!!! It just felt intuitively and compulsively right at the time although I missed the first appointment (my mother drove me (without sat-nav) and we got lost as she was relying on me to read directions and I get numbers and directions muddled up and wrong) so we got lost and had to make another appointment for a month or so later. Hey hoe!

And it always helps to remember:

IBCCES Board Member and international speaker Dr. Stephen Shore was recently interviewed by Lime Connect. Read on for an excerpt and a link to the full interview delving into Dr. Shore’s perspective as a professor and professional who happens to be on the autism spectrum:

Lime Connect: You’ve famously said, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Why is that an important point for people to understand about their interactions with individuals with autism, in particular?

Dr. Stephen Shore: This quote emphasizes that there is great diversity within the autism spectrum. While the commonalities of people on the autism spectrum include differences in communication, social interaction, sensory receptivity, and highly focused interests, it’s important to understand that the constellation of these characteristics blends together differently for each individual. This is why some on the spectrum are good at mathematics while other may be good in their arts, sports, or writing – just like the rest of humanity. Autism is an extension of the diversity found in the human gene pool.

https://ibcces.org/blog/2018/03/23/12748/