Preparing for Online triage appointment

Thanks for your information and advice moon, 

It has been really helpful.

I have the advantage when it comes to masking that I have a 2 hour driving lesson ending an hour before the appointment and am usually too exhausted to mask after them so that will help temper that side a bit.

Thanks that's really helpful and comforting to know, I've already started making notes on the reasons and issues that led me to seek assessment but I think it's a bit much so I might try and prioritize a bit or at least rank them,

I have talked about this in post autism support sessions with my support worker, the professional who diagnosed me picked up inconsistencies in my masking, camouflaging and assimilating behaviours in my pre autism assessment meeting I had. before the actual assessment. I was a really unusual case as I am male but presented with the more feminine profile of autism spectrum disorder as I was actively masking my issues & relatively well according to the professional. The professional who diagnosed me had a hard time figuring out whether the autism caused behaviours that led to events that developed into post traumatic stress disorder or I had post traumatic stress disorder caused symptoms similar to autism spectrum disorder.

It wasn't until the actual assessment that the professional who diagnosed me with autism had worked out that I also had quite a lot of undiagnosed commodities like Dyslexia, Dyspraxia , Dysgraphia and Attention Hyperactive Deficit Disorder by reading through old school reports. Because my family had forced me to and traumatised me to behave in such as way and keep me from after school activities and school trips the professional who diagnosed me decided to ignore the questionnaire she sent my family to fill out and manged to get into contact with teachers who had taught me in primary and secondary school to back up evidence to my diagnosis.

I've asked the professional who diagnosed me with autism how they instinctively knew I was somewhere on the spectrum as so many doctors, CAMHS workers missed it and they basically said even though i was masking it extremely well they had this unsure feeling around me and went onto explain how some people pick up on that vibe which can unsuspectedly make you a target to certain individuals or just make other people uncomfortable around you or have a suspicious attitude towards you which explain some of the issues i had in the workplace as an adult. 

Know this is where it get really interesting as both my oldest brother and brother in-law decided to seek an autism diagnosis. My oldest brother is a nasty individual who basically though the diagnosis was easily obtained as I had received it and that the diagnosis could act as an excuse for his appealing behaviour and attitude. one of the supporting evidence is that he doesn't eat vegetables and is aggressively blunt, he also tried to mimic and replicate my non masking behaviour during the assessment and the same professional who diagnosed me didn't give him a diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder but referred him to a specialist in negative personality disorders which at the time a though was hilarious.

My brother in law tried to get autism diagnosis as he thought it would be something he could use to play the benefit system so he didn't have to work and he did the exact same thing as my brother a faked the behaviour and he was thrown out during the autism assessment.

basically i am telling you they can tell when your faking it and when your being genuine with them.                    

Hello Fibonacci Squid

That sounds quite a thorough triage assessment of it’s for 60 minutes and includes two interviews!

I went to a diagnostic appt a month before lockdown so it was face 2 face.

Mine was the same format you describe: an interview with two people. One was an assistant psychologist, the other was a chartered clinical psychologist.

The first conversation was structured  around what I had told the service about myself in terms of my autistic traits (whatever I’d had to complete to describe my difficulties)

***NOTE: I took copies of what I had submitted as my evidence about myself  so I could refer to it if needed***

I would have felt unprepared and even more anxious had I not brought that with me. My short term memory is so poor I hate being without my notes and references (aka external memory)

I was asked to go into a little more depth for her to understand my challenges, she also asked me questions about certain situations. Some of these were real eye openers to me as they indicated more autistic ways I hadn’t even realised were ‘autisms’

The second interview was with the senior clinician. Honestly, I don’t remember much about it really. She might have described the key traits and explained how I demonstrated them??? I think she asked me what made me annoyed? Or what people did that caused me annoyance? She did ask me how I felt about being diagnosed. Anyway, I was told there and then given a certificate signed by her so I could use that as evidence of my diagnosis pending the full report coming out.

I was soooo anxious before I went in. Fortunately I did get good information about the location and instructions for the day. I viewed the location on Google maps beforehand to plan where I would park and cycle (I was commuting with my bike on the back of the car at the time so that I could cycle part of the way for exercise)

I got there early enough to check out where it was first then went to get a cuppa before going in (I had to go back and ask for milk! Flippin’ cafés: so many unwritten rules and they all do things differently!!!)

I was also anxious about them thinking I was a fraud and wasn’t sure how to behave on the day.

In the full report they referred to the way I engaged in conversation and my tone - things I had not even realised were being assessed.

I then left the building or rather I tried to leave the building, several times. I couldn’t open the door to get out and, feeling like a complete pillock, had to go back up several flights of stairs to ask the security guy to let me out !!! I think he was a bit stunned but was sympathetic obviously knowing the kind of clients which attended his work place

I must write in with that story to the ‘Adrift’ podcast….have a listen if you haven’t already. Lots of stories about social ineptitude

Agreed - not advocating escalating anything.

I am dubious that any normal level of medical training can see through my mask if I am in good form... I am just practicing letting a little of my natural/desired behaviours manifest when I am out in public.

The person assessing you is medically trained to spot camouflage or masking behaviours so you don't need to worry. I don't know how to put this, but if you escalating your behaviour during the assessment they will think that your faking it and not take you seriously. Just be as honest and truthful and try your hardest to explain the how it effect you on a daily basis. you never know they may diagnosis you with autism and refer you to another specialist to be assessed for ADHD or PTSD. 

I had a voice only triage a year or two back - I can't remember how long it was, but I think << than 1 hour.

Have you done some of the Autism diagnostic tests (AQ50 etc.)? The questions encouraged me to think about my behaviours (rather than just live them!).

To prepare for triage I went through the symptoms of autism (eg: as shown here https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism), and noted down real-life anecodotes from my past for each applicable symptom.

They seemed particularly interested in my childhood examples, so if possible I suggest noting down how the symptom manifested in both childhood AND as an adult. Talk to siblings, parents etc, if possible for insights on possible autistic behaviour when you were young.

Before I realised I was autistic, I assumed that everyone (in general) thought at least vaugely like me. Once self-diagnosed, I was quite surprised to find for example, that not everyone masks when they leave the house. So it's worth having discussions with any neurotypicals you know well about the way you think, what you find difficult etc.

I have my actual autism assessment via video in September... I'm trying to practice NOT masking in front of people - but after 50 years I'm finding it very difficult... stuff like not looking people in the eyes if I don't want to (since normally I force myself to stare at their nose) and also just stimming if I need to (I like to set my leg auto-bouncing with golgi reflex).

Good luck. I hope you reach enlightenment.