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Updated: Initial assessment today!

M

I have my initial assessment at 1pm today and I'm so worried that they'll think I'm just weird and attention seeking and definitely not autistic! I'm imagining it being really humiliating to explain lots of personal reasons why I think I'm autistic just to be completely wrong...

I think I feel they're just going to say this is all anxiety and nothing else. 

Any words of advice from people who have been here?!

UPDATE: I did it! 

I have a headache now and I'm pretty tired. It took about 90 minutes and the assessor was really clear. At the end he told me I'd benefit from a full assessment to get a diagnosis as it would help me to explain my needs to people such as employers. I have to do a developmental history questionnaire next but I can try to answer it rather than needing a family member to so that helps. My mum is still finding it all a bit of a surprise I think and seems in denial of any difficulties I've had or have. I suspect she is actually autistic too.

Parents

  • Nice one. Keep going. I've felt a lot more positive about staying in work (even on those days when I've been overloaded and crashed at rock bottom) since I've had my diagnosis and psychologists report to wave at people.

    That imposter thing. Yep. Completely normal. For weeks after my diagnosis I'd the sneaking suspicion I'd inadvertently conned my psychologist by being "off" on the day by being overtired and not engaging properly resulting in a misdiagnosis. Then I read about others experiences, learnt how NT's saw things, and it all started coming together.

    Stay the course - really excited for you. Hope all continues to go well.

  • in reply to Ethan

    I have felt the same in the weeks since. Then I have to remember how I felt on the day and how I felt in the days after. I didn't sleep for a few days and couldn't switch off from what had happened on the assessment day. I have to remember how stripped back I felt on that day...it was almost like feeling like a child again...like before I had put all the coping strategies for every day life in place. I just wonder how non autistic people would deal with the tasks I had to do. 

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  • in reply to Ethan

    I have felt the same in the weeks since. Then I have to remember how I felt on the day and how I felt in the days after. I didn't sleep for a few days and couldn't switch off from what had happened on the assessment day. I have to remember how stripped back I felt on that day...it was almost like feeling like a child again...like before I had put all the coping strategies for every day life in place. I just wonder how non autistic people would deal with the tasks I had to do. 

Children