Adult Diagnosis

My experience was the same reaction from the GP.  And I was also told that even if he put me through for an assessment it would be two years at least before I got my diagnosis, but my local authority did not pay for adult diagnoses anyway.

You could ask for another opinion.  But the attitude in many cases seems to be that you have managed all these years so what is the point?  Never mind the fact that in my case I had been suffering bouts of severe depression all my life, that I had frequently been misunderstood, that I had been unemployed for most of my adult life, that I could not get through a job interview despite qualifications, that I was the target for bullying.  The only thing that mattered was that I was in my sixties so things wouldn't change.  

At the time I was undergoing severe problems at work.  I took the only measure I could.  I went 'private'.  Within six weeks I had my diagnosis which helped me get assistance at work from Access to Work, and it resulted in the adjustments I needed.  I can't pretend that this was the end of my problems at work, this is something I have chronicled elsewhere on the forum and won't go into it here.

There are many who believe that a private assessment is not recognised by the NHS.  That is not my experience, and the fact is that those qualified people who offer private diagnoses are invariably employed by the NHS to do assessments.  The NHS constitution also prevents discrimination against those who have had a private diagnosis for any condition, not just autism.   I received a diagnosis pack from my consultant, with his reasons for diagnosis as well as things that could be done to help me both in a work situation and in everyday life.  It was a great help to me.

The only thing I would add is that on receiving the diagnosis there were a strange mixture of feelings.  On the one hand I was very pleased that at last I had a reason for problems throughout my life and a way forward.  On the other there was some sort of 'grieving' for what might have been if this had been recognised throughout my life.  But once this initial reaction had calmed down, there was a much more positive feeling in my life.  I am now very accepting of my condition, iand to me it does not mean I cannot do things.  Just that I do things differently and I think things differently.  And once others realist this, they too are far more accepting of different but unharmful behaviour. After all, it takes Allsorts to make Bertie Bassett.

My experience was the same reaction from the GP.  And I was also told that even if he put me through for an assessment it would be two years at least before I got my diagnosis, but my local authority did not pay for adult diagnoses anyway.

You could ask for another opinion.  But the attitude in many cases seems to be that you have managed all these years so what is the point?  Never mind the fact that in my case I had been suffering bouts of severe depression all my life, that I had frequently been misunderstood, that I had been unemployed for most of my adult life, that I could not get through a job interview despite qualifications, that I was the target for bullying.  The only thing that mattered was that I was in my sixties so things wouldn't change.  

At the time I was undergoing severe problems at work.  I took the only measure I could.  I went 'private'.  Within six weeks I had my diagnosis which helped me get assistance at work from Access to Work, and it resulted in the adjustments I needed.  I can't pretend that this was the end of my problems at work, this is something I have chronicled elsewhere on the forum and won't go into it here.

There are many who believe that a private assessment is not recognised by the NHS.  That is not my experience, and the fact is that those qualified people who offer private diagnoses are invariably employed by the NHS to do assessments.  The NHS constitution also prevents discrimination against those who have had a private diagnosis for any condition, not just autism.   I received a diagnosis pack from my consultant, with his reasons for diagnosis as well as things that could be done to help me both in a work situation and in everyday life.  It was a great help to me.

The only thing I would add is that on receiving the diagnosis there were a strange mixture of feelings.  On the one hand I was very pleased that at last I had a reason for problems throughout my life and a way forward.  On the other there was some sort of 'grieving' for what might have been if this had been recognised throughout my life.  But once this initial reaction had calmed down, there was a much more positive feeling in my life.  I am now very accepting of my condition, iand to me it does not mean I cannot do things.  Just that I do things differently and I think things differently.  And once others realist this, they too are far more accepting of different but unharmful behaviour. After all, it takes Allsorts to make Bertie Bassett.