First assessment - unlikely to be ASD

I knew all my life that something was wrong and my dad said that I  Wasn't real fast on things so real late in life finally was tested with a battery and confirmed autism always did have several of the traits.My wife helps me with things.I'am not a dr.

Of course you could go for a Private referral (I don't think you need a GP referral) - The initial consultation will cost around £280, however if they feel you should have a full assessment then that's another £1500 unfortunately! But it is an option like Alwaysconfused has said :)

Hi, no I didn’t do those tests - just the list of statements I had to agree/not agree with and then I had an assessment. My fiancée doesn’t think I am autistic but then I don’t think he really understands it as much I’ve made myself understand it so that’s something he needs to read up on. Of course I may not get the diagnosis I feel if I get a second one - I feel so sure though and identify v strongly. I just need to wait now and maybe my mums interview will help?! 

Did you complete the AQ and EQ tests ? If you did, what scores did you get? If your Mum can't make it, they can't hold that against you. However, in my case I had another appointment (as part of the assessment) with my wife. Although she described my issues, she did not think I was Autistic (although she agrees that our diagnosed Asperger's son does). It didn't make any difference because I was still diagnosed :)

Thank you, sounds like I need it :).   I agree with you, she said I don’t display traits like strong routines or problems at work so I can’t be autistic. But I said what about the social problems, mimicking people, trouble reading people, trouble making new friends, sensory issues...? No. She says sounds like an anxiety or personality thing. Which now I’m reading back sounds ludicrous?!! 

I don’t want to be presumptuous but it does sound like she has made up her mind if she says you don’t tick enough boxes. Now looking back I have found for my first appointment I just wasn’t giving the right information during the developmental history taking, I hadnt done enough research to understand some of the things i had done as a child were traits of ASC, so after further reading and identifying these things within myself I was then able to provide relevant information this time round. The first assessor I had was looking for obvious stuff like no friends, no social life, no education etc. 

good luck

This sounds like what I did! I took the assessment online and it came back as a high score - pretty identical questions today and suddenly I’m not presenting as autistic. It seems so archaic to beking boxes as the spectrum is so wide. I had my assessment with a clinical psychologist who I understand is well practised but I just felt the Aspergers side and how it presents in women wasn’t apiated as women hide it better and it’s often misread as GAD or BPD. It seems to be an issue everywhere. Thank you for your reply - and to others. This is proving so helpful. 

Hey, yes this was part of the first diagnosis. I have a feeling I’ll be stamped with GAD and I called the NAS helpline and was told the assessment is quite subjective - so it comforts me to read (in the nicest way as I’m sorry you’ve had to fight for a diagnosis) that I’m not alone in this. It’s going to be interesting what conclusions she gets to after speaking to others close to me. I will ask for a second assessment, I just want answers now. 

I did the Cambridge assessment and got 58/60, yet in the 1st assessment I was told I didn't tick enough boxes. I was lucky that I had a second assessment and the senior psychologist said my diagnosis was clear cut,  wasn't borderline or could be mistaken for anything but aspergers! I didn't have friends or family as witnesses.

Also had counselling & work assessments that were a farce as the "expert" just parroted the medical definition of autism and deflected from clarifying what HFA & Aspergers are. Mental health is a huge area & underfunded so you may of had a not-so-good assessor. 

If you believe that you have then push for a second assessment.

Was this the first part of the assessment/pre-assessment and development history? 

I’m a 31 y/o female. I went privately for a pre-assessment at the end of last year and was told it’s just GAD

I have now sought a second opinion privately and had another pre-assessment and developmental history appointment and this assessor has advised to proceed to the full assessment. I felt like she understood me a alot more and understood the portrayal of ASC in females. 

I guess what I’m saying is, if you aren’t happy with the result/advice after she has spoken to your mother then I would say try and get a second opinion. And definitely make lots of notes and try and provide these to the assessors. 

Thank you for your reply x 

from what I understand Aspergers in women is an area yet to be fully appreciated and I feel with every fibre in my body that I am autistic - and that’s really interesting what you say about the GAD diagnosis. I’m concerned that’s where I’m heading as she kept saying I’ve spoken a lot about anxiety. I’m hoping the interview with my mum and then with my partner will help as it’s additional voices and views - to help back up what I said. I will also try to get it down on paper - thank you for that tip and in replying. I will seek a second assessment if I get an anxiety diagnosis. 

You still could be. There's a chance the assessor could be wrong. After all the diagnosis is based on opinion, which is subjective.

I once worked at a uni who assessed students. We had to let one assessor go due to their lack of understanding of how autism presented in wormen. She kept diagnosing female students with GAD and telling them they weren't autistic when they clearly were. When these students were re-assed they rightfully received their autism diagnosis.

If you're not happy with the end result seek a second opinion. I'm not the best at verbalising things so I gave my assessor 8 sides of a3 with examples of how I met the DSM 5 criteria. Have you considered doing anything like that? If you haven't you could get your partner to help you with it and then they could hand it to the assessor at their session.