private diagnosis Taunton Somerset

I'm a retired expat, who decided just 5 years ago that a diagnosis might complement  self-identification. Adulthood autism is basically inadmissible where I now live, so I decided to take a look around my home country. I was born quite near Taunton, and still have family there.

The first thing I found out was that long-term expats could expect nothing from local NHS practices. For example, one Somerset NHS trust has downloadable resources for people with autism, but you have to be registered with a local GP; and local NHS practices are not going to show any flexibility in allowing long-term expats to access those resources. (Indeed, I would have to be resident there for months before they would even consider allowing registration. A two month visit was not enough.) And absolutely nothing is available where I now live.

But all the above is NOT particularly appropriate to your immediate need. If you are intent on a private diagnosis, I'd say do what I eventually did: Take yourself off to a different part of the UK. You will find other posts on this site that do actually recommend a  number of private assessors that are not too expensive, and which have a good rep and reasonable waiting lists; and those definitely include the place I eventually went to, and which I have no regrets about. (I"m doing a support group ZOOM with them later today.) I'm a bit wary of doing a direct endorsement, because NAS aren't too keen on us doing that. However, I notice they have left some of the endorsements posted here alone; and that's probably because they recognize those places as being highly supportive of their own cause. It does help that Taunton is right next to the M5. It will probably help if you look for places that already act as NHS contractors in their own area, as they will know the correct procedure about informing your GP. Most private assessors will advertise the trusts they work with, but it isn't essential that you live in those areas.

You could also PM me on this site for further info. But try doing a search on this site first, as I would guess you won't necessarily need to go quite as far from Taunton as myself.

I'm a retired expat, who decided just 5 years ago that a diagnosis might complement  self-identification. Adulthood autism is basically inadmissible where I now live, so I decided to take a look around my home country. I was born quite near Taunton, and still have family there.

The first thing I found out was that long-term expats could expect nothing from local NHS practices. For example, one Somerset NHS trust has downloadable resources for people with autism, but you have to be registered with a local GP; and local NHS practices are not going to show any flexibility in allowing long-term expats to access those resources. (Indeed, I would have to be resident there for months before they would even consider allowing registration. A two month visit was not enough.) And absolutely nothing is available where I now live.

But all the above is NOT particularly appropriate to your immediate need. If you are intent on a private diagnosis, I'd say do what I eventually did: Take yourself off to a different part of the UK. You will find other posts on this site that do actually recommend a  number of private assessors that are not too expensive, and which have a good rep and reasonable waiting lists; and those definitely include the place I eventually went to, and which I have no regrets about. (I"m doing a support group ZOOM with them later today.) I'm a bit wary of doing a direct endorsement, because NAS aren't too keen on us doing that. However, I notice they have left some of the endorsements posted here alone; and that's probably because they recognize those places as being highly supportive of their own cause. It does help that Taunton is right next to the M5. It will probably help if you look for places that already act as NHS contractors in their own area, as they will know the correct procedure about informing your GP. Most private assessors will advertise the trusts they work with, but it isn't essential that you live in those areas.

You could also PM me on this site for further info. But try doing a search on this site first, as I would guess you won't necessarily need to go quite as far from Taunton as myself.