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Initial assessment

AJ

Hi, so today I was contacted by a local assessment centre following the referral from my GP, asking me to get in touch to arrange an initial assessment via phone/skype/etc. 

I was only referred in March, so I was expecting there to be a longer delay, but I guess without being able to do the face-to-face assessments they might have been able to get through the initial assessments quicker? So maybe after this I'll have to expect a longer wait for anything to happen, but I don't know, hopefully they'll explain that. 

The email I received actually said "initial appointment" but the links provided on their website refer to an "initial consultation" or "initial assessment" as the first step, so I'm presuming they are all the same thing.

Anyway, I ummed and ahhed for so long over whether to call or email that by the time I decided to call the office had closed, so I guess I'll have to wait until Monday...

Does anybody have any tips or things I should think about before an initial appointment? I already made a list of traits/issues I believe I have, although I made this before my GP appointment and get totally flustered and ignored basically the entire list so I'm keen to not have a repeat of that as me speaking to medical professionals and not telling them anything is pretty much the story of my life. Upside down

  • Just replying to bump this.

    Had my initial assessment this morning, quite stressful because there were lots of awkward questions that I had to think about the answer to, which was to be expected I suppose.

    Afterwards she asked if I had any questions and I said no even though I actually had a list of questions I'd prepared. Face palm‍♂️

    She said so much at the end of the call that I can't even remember everything, but from my pre-assessment questionnaire and from talking to me it she did say that I do have autistic traits that they recognise and can support. She said that she'll send a letter with her recommendations (within 4 - 6 weeks, apparently!) and that the letter should be enough evidence to request reasonable adjustments from my work if I decide to ask them.

    So I guess I'll have to wait and see what this letter says since I can't remember everything she said. Joy

  • in reply to AJ

    That sounds good, and glad you got the appointment. Involving your parents is a good idea, indeed some assessors ask for some kind of objective report about your childhood.

    AJ said:
    I'm a little worried I'll look normal on paper

    Yes, I had fears of any autistic traits not being obvious enough. I was very undecided whether I was autistic or not beforehand, but once I suddenly accepted the idea because a friend suggested it, I did think it could various incidents of running away, or big misunderstandings in relationships and so on. Since the diagnosis, that process has continued.  So I could have given them a balance: three reasons I think I might be autistic, and three reasons I didn't. (Some of the reasons I didn't were misunderstandings about autism, such as empathy, understanding, humour and flexibility.)

    I really only had screening questionnaire if I remember rightly, and then things were face-to-face.

    No worries about replying.

    'If needed, continue on a separate sheet...' Slight smile

  • in reply to Cassandro

    Thanks for the reply, and sorry it took so long to respond. 

    I've got a date for the appointment now, they said it normally takes around an hour and they have sent me a sort of questionnaire to fill in and sent back. I already did an AQ10 before the referral, but this one seems more open-ended asking about experiences and issues I've had. 

    I'll have to ask my parents about some of them, I think. I'm a little worried I'll look normal on paper, but there are few things it specifically asks that I can note down about when school gave me extra support with maths at primary school (which didn't really help much Laughing) and extra study sessions during my GCSEs. 

    But I guess this is really just to give them a headstart with the appointment, so we'll see.

  • I've been through it.

    I don't think you need to prepare anything special.

    Some professionals may like to see your list - especially if you send it to them in advance, others not. At an initial appointment they might like to know why you've come to them, so I'd think it's potentially helpful there.