I had my assessment

That’s really helpful, thank you.

I knew they had been mentioned before and I did a little research - but came a little unstuck when I could only find reviews for Harley therapy. I feel like I’ve done so much research that I fear I’m going into overdrive). I may just brave myself up enough now to book. It’s really comforting to ‘know’ someone who had used them. Thank you again x

Hi, I went to Harley Psychiatrists. Reception staff were really friendly and the Dr was lovely. It cost £685 for the assessment and brief report.

Hi Pikl (and everyone!)

Would you mind sharing who you saw privately for your assessment? I’m looking at finally speaking to someone to be assessed  but a little overwhelmed by it all and not sure who is best. Thank you. 

Thank you SpaceOctopus. At the moment I'm still hiding from it, uncertain how I even begin to process. Also to reconcile how I will be seen in my job with a diagnosis. I'm letting my manager know today.

Thank you it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one who fells like that it really is like an actual different person to now.

I don't know about you but I had my diagnosis REALLY quickly luckily I had the luxury to go private I found a clinic that specialises in diagnosing ASD I it took me a total of 3 weeks from getting my appoint booked to getting my diagnosis so it was all go go go with the questionnaires and the assessment it's self and after the assessment I got my report 4 days later. there wasn't much in the space of taking time to think about it all before it happened.

It's been a month I can start to feel myself coming to grips it with it all a bit more but I because I've been masking so much for so long I catch myself doing it a lot I need to learn to "embrace my autism" I'm just scared of being judged and treated differently by my family

O said:

I feel like the person who I was pre diagnosis is not the same person as I am now,

I have to give that insight kudos. Spot on. My life is split into pre and post diagnosis now. All the noise and guff that used to run round my ahead about the "why" I found life (read: people!) so completely disorientating and why I couldn't get to grips with it  was just put to bed overnight.

No need to apologise for being deep - I really connected with what you wrote. 

The environment (like all groups working together) is totally chaotic which is why they'll never get me back in the office. Generally if I know what boundaries I'm working in and who does what I seem to be able to juggle things fine. It can be exhausting but I can get through it. 

Where I falter is when things are unclear or if people don't have the information that they really should have or they make decisions without reference to what is realistically achievable (in terms of a quality output) - which is most of the time 

Big congratulations are in order! Hopefully you can now start to disentangle some of the things you struggle with from the crazy neurotypical world that exists out there and forge a new identity that is true to yourself and promotes your strengths! 

Hope all is well!

Thank you Desmond

It really is!

Excellent news.

Now you may breathe easier.

thats an achievement  in the middle of a pandemic

HAHAHA That's funny "I'm no good at chatting up and I always get rebuffed" LOL how to describe my life in one sentence

O said:

I move into a different room when there's too many people making too much noise

You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62eTq8ErUOQ

That's true couple members of my family mentioning now for example about my eye contact or I move into a different room when there's too many people making too much noise etc etc.

In the moment I don't think anything of I feel like its normal for me but then they mention it and it makes me think about what I'm doing.

I've definitely noticed my swimming a lot more but I definitely suppress it when I'm with my family because they are very judgemental so I kind of save all up until im in private and have little stim fest when im in my room lol  (but seriously I do want to be comfortable enough not worry about stimming around people)

Hey, I'm still not able to process,  yesterday I felt shaky and sick all day. Today I'm mentally running away from thinking about it. I'm so glad I have an answer, and that I'm not an alien or a weirdo. I think I'm just a bit lost now and have no idea how to begin searching for myself. How are you doing?

I had learnt to hate myself for not being normal, for standing out. I blamed myself for being a target for bullies. I had never considered ASD until the therapist suggested it. Then it was a case of I HAD to know, and it had to be NOW. I'm terrible for that, always need an immediate yes or no, can't deal with  waiting or maybe. I truly hope you get your assessment soon. Waiting is awful.

I'll bet it is. Mine's in a tiss arguing that every little point I'm identifying with from my podiatrist ex boyfriend telling me years ago that my gait was a bit odd to why I my first term at school I was fixated by the scholarly scarf of an older boy, but not interested in what other five year old girls were doing as evidence I must be on the spectrum one minute to dismissing it at due to some other cause the next. And I haven't gotten as far as the assessment yet.

5 months is good going. My GP has referred to our local services, but I've no idea how long the wait times are. Meanwhile, I've filled out the Lorna Wing triage paperwork and am waiting to hear from them. Don't know whether, I'll end up having to go private or not yet.

I hope once the reeling stops, you find your result helps you plan a positive way forward. I just want to be put out of my misery sooner rather than later, but I guess I'll have to be patient.

I'm glad you got some answers. Hope you are feeling OK. 

Thank you Dawn! Do you mean for the assessment? I waited 2 and a half weeks as I went private, my borough doesn't assess adults on NHS, and I needed answers. It wasn't as expensive as I expected, still not cheap though. My Journey from being told I'm likely autistic by a therapist and getting a diagnosis, has been 5 months, a very short time really. Probably explains why my head is still reeling.