Need advice for approaching doctors to get a diagnosis - I'm in my 30s and a Primary Teacher in the UK

Hello :)
Getting a diagnosis will at provide you with some answers and piece of mind. It really does help explain the way you are and you can help you cope better or avoid situations that make you stressed or anxious.

It will then allow you to seek help with your anxiety, whether that be medication and or CBT.

In my case, my anxiety was getting worse (as I was getting older?) and my GP did suggest that there could be other reasons why my anxiety was getting worse, so we agreed that I would write everything down that I thought was odd or unusual from as far back in my past as I could remember.

I presented 8 pages of A8 to my GP and he said he would try ang get a quick review to decide, if things need further investigation. Alas, after 3 months, he said that the Adult Mental health provision in our area (Fareham, South Hampshire) was non existant.

So I requested a private referral - even though I had no idea what was wrong.

A couple of months later i saw a Psychiatrist (The Priory, Southampton) - cost £350 and saw him for 45 minutes. He had read my notes and after meeting me, said he was 95% certain that I had Aspergers.

However, he said that although, he was happy to give me a letter saying this, he said that my work place and official establishments, would expect to see a formal assessment result.

Therefore, he referred me to Hampshire Psychologists for the full assessment including the ADOS test - cost about £2000.

So now I have a Psychologist diagnosis backed up by the formal diagnosis report.

As an aside though, my son was being seen by CAMS, he too was seeking a diagnosis and the Spanish locum, was convinced of his Aspergers but said that they assessed people by committee, a few a month!!

After 6 months (just before he left) - he decided to formally diagnose my son and wrote a letter to that effect. Note that he didn't have the ADOS test OR a lengthy report, just a short letter.

However, this letter has been accepted by all official establishments

So It might be that you might try the private route and not necessarily need the expensive formal assessment.

What annoyed me slightly about the formal assessment, was that although I was referred by the Psychologist (with a diagnosis) I still had to have the initial assessment with Hampshire Psychologists (£250) - which seemed a bit pointless. The actual assessment cost ~ £1700.

On reflection, I noticed that I had actually been referred to Hampshire Psychologists - Southampton. But my referral had gone AWOL and I was seen by a couple of Psychologists in Basingstoke & Reading. They seemed to start from scratch and didn't take into account the Psychiatrists assessment, ie did I really need an initial "screening" assessment?

In your case, at least you would pay for the initial consultation, they would then decide whether a full assessment was required - ie they will make a judgement at the first consultation whether they think you are Autistic or not. There were a few forms to fill out initially - the AQ and EQ tests and general medical questions.

So you might pay £250 to be told that you are NOT Autistic or that you probably are, but will need to pay another £1700 to formally confirm it.

At your young age, it would definitely be worth it :)

Anyway, as I advice everyone, write down all the reasons, why you think you have Autism, and stories from your childhood, quirks or strange habits etc. Once you have all that written down, take it to your GP.

He has to see you and can't refuse a private referral if you insist on one!! I also think that you can actually contact these private organisations (like Hampshire Psychologists) with a "Self" referral - so no need to go to a GP??

Best of luck :)

yes some private guys will put on their sites "self referrals accepted"

yes some private guys will put on their sites "self referrals accepted"