Assessment on saturday :s

Probably. Have been discussing it with my counsellor, ill explain about why i wear headphones (which has been commented on before) and will probably ask for written instructions before discussing things verbally. Apparently there is a local service i will be referred to for further support too

Are you going to seek changes to your working conditions?

Yes, luckily im off work til thursday so i have some time to process it all. Glad to have had the answer so quickly. Definately feels like a weight off my shoulders

That’s great news! Will take some time to digest as it happened so quickly in the end. I hope it is a massive relief for you now x

A bit of a relief then? To be honest they don't refer people for a full assessment unless they are pretty sure :) I guess you'll be trying to decide what Asperger's means to you and how you might react differently? I found I am less inclined now to be tolerant in Social situations than I used to be and it would be impossible to change the way I feel and react..:)

Just thought id update, i had my feedback appointment today and diagnosis has been confirmed, aspergers syndrome. Will get the full report through next week. Currently feeling very relieved! 

Thanks everyone who posted replies and support

I am so relieved for you - everything you've said is something I recognise and then for OH to nearly put all the forward motion on the skids! I do know what you mean, though and it's worthwhile remembering that OH support is usually concentrating on "Are you fit for work?" and not "How can we help you be fitter for work?" - you may find it useful to ask for a referral to Remploy (they're very practically minded and seem to understand that ASD can't be put on a Flexi-hours contract!).

Phew! Glad it’s out the way for you and fingers crossed for the result x

Thankyou, i just got home from the assessment. I think it went quite well, i struggled to answer one of the questions and had a bit of a mental shutdown, which the guy picked up on and then asked about. We did the AAA and went through my sensory questionaire in more detail. I will have a feedback session next week to go through the results and the report

Hope things go well. Let us know afterwards x

Thankyou this does help. I spoke to the dr yesterday and apparently what my OH wrote doesnt match all other evidence submitted, including info from my brother, so that eased my mind a bit. I think my OH thinks its all a load of rubbish and i cant possibly have it. I guess im my own worst enemy for being such a private person

Im meeting with a clinical psychologist today for a 2 hr interview. Not sure whats involved, im expecting ill have to discuss all the things you mentioned

Just try and focus on what difficulties you have. I found telling ’the story of me’ helped, starting from childhood, going through school, early adulthood, issues with jobs, education, family relationships etc  What’s the story of you?

What challenges did you have with friendships growing up?

What are your friendships like now?

What are you like with socialising?

How much would you say you mask?

Do you have any hyper flexibility?

Do you have any sensitivities? Smells/touch/lighting/sounds?

So you think you’ve had Aspie burnouts in the past?

Do you think you have meltdowns?

What’s your anxiety like?

Have you been able to stick at a job/do you think your education or career has been affected by your issues?

How do you process information?

What are you like with following conversations?

What are you like with money?

What are you like with interpreting emotion in others?

Can you work out someone’s motive or do you struggle to read between the lines?

What’s your home like? Chaotic/organised?

What makes you happy/angry?

Do you get stuck in routines?

Do you daydream a lot?

Do you avoid doing tasks?

Are you a control freak/perfectionist

Do you prefer things to be black or white rather than in between?

I’m just throwing out a few suggestions to try and help you focus on what the issues which led to you requesting assessment are.

I don’t know what format of assessment you are having. After completing pre-assessment paperwork/questionnaires I was interviewed by an Asst Psch then the clinical psych. They talked about what I’d written down about myself and asked me questions where they needed to get more info. They just needed to know who I was and what the issues were so they could make a decision.

Hope this helps x

Pls help i am panicking all over again. My OH filled out the questionaire and it basically goes against everything im struggling with, stated i was completely normal and displayed no problems, and its made me even more confused that this is all in my head. I dont know whats real anymore, im really panicking and thinking of cancelling the assessment. I dont know what to do

Good luck!

Bizarrely I’ve been through parental estrangement too. I have a limited, strained relationship with my Mum to facilitate a grandparent relationship for my children only. When I asked her for information on my development I told her it was to do with one of my daughters’ ASD assessments so she doesn’t know anything about me going for diagnosis.

Good luck for Saturday. Let us know how you get on :-)

Ignore the other people, go to the assessment, and make sure you think out your answers (because I missed something from going too fast). If you go to get your assessment, it means you can move on and take it from there.

Congratulations on your diagnosis!

And thanks for the in depth reply, you have really helped calm my mind a bit. I think its all been a bit of a shock to the system as i was only given a weeks notice for the appointment and had already prepared myself for a long wait!

I also wont have anyone attending appointments with me either, my bro and partner are just filling out questionaires. and im estranged from my parents so no access to developmental history.

Your last paragraph really rung true to me and made me see clearer on the subject. I guess i spend so much time acting the part and glossing over the struggles that its become hard to tell whats real

Hello :-)

I don’t think you are alone in the self doubt all in my head thing; I also had my appointment expedited (had 3 weeks notice though).

I attended my assessment with those same thoughts in my head this morning (thinking how embarrassing it would be if I came back having to say ‘apparently I’m just a self obsessed fantasist with a bit of anxiety’. But my diagnosis was confirmed: mild ASD, aka Aspergers.

I still feel like a fraud.

Am glad the waiting is all over but I need time to process it all as it happened so fast (was expecting assessment in May)

I just tried to blank my mind during the session and just let it happen - there was nothing I could do but just attend and hope what I’d submitted on my ref form gave the assessors the information they needed to confirm diagnosis.

*** I delayed competing my paper work (classic demand avoidance) but MADE myself start it and everything came tumbling out. So, when I attended I felt as prepared as I could with all my ‘evidence’ fresh in my mind (and a copy of what I’d sent them for reference, of course) ***

It doesn’t help that we become such good actors at ‘being normal’ that even the people closest to us are puzzled by the reality behind our masks when we try to explain.

They asked if I had any questions after the confirmation. I didn’t at the time but should have asked them: ‘what exactly is it about me that has given you the evidence that I am ASD?’

I suppose I need proof that it’s not a case of them rubber stamping my self diagnosis (even though you have to self diagnose so that you can get to the assessment stage!!!???). I need them to explain that only an ASD person would say the things I said about myself so I know for sure how genuine my diagnosis is. Does that make sense?

I have to wait for the full report to see what the basis of their conclusion is...

I didn’t have any family members attend with me btw; I got some info from my mum on what I was like as a toddler and small child and wrote the rest myself (I mean, we live in our heads - no one will know us better than we do ourselves). The advice I was given is that it can be helpful to provide another perspective but it wasn’t essential and was entirely personal preference whether to have someone else attend.

So I would say your confused ‘am I a fraud’ thoughts are a result of being a high functioning person with ASD who has become so expert in fooling everyone around you, you don’t notice how many of your traits you routinely disguise on auto pilot. It’s hard to evidence traits in black and white without making it sound like you have artificially researched what to say to get the diagnosis you want. But your traits are just disguised - they are real issues and challenges, not fake.