Criteria for getting funding for diagnosis

tell your GP that your metal health is deteriorating. Sometimes they can ping your application and get it moved up a bit.

That's horrendous that you've had to wait so long and then things have just stopped happening. Have you chivvied up your new GP to find out what's happening? If they're not prepared to chase it up for you then I'd see another GP. It could be that the assessment services are just super busy (apparently there's been a sharp increase in adults seeking assessments recently), or you could have got lost in the system, either way you need to find out because if it's the latter, you'll have to be re-referred, which will be a pain but at least something would be happening. Getting qualified in order to get an assessment seems a bit extreme, and I'm not sure that one can diagnose oneself, though of course, you'll make contacts who could be useful in getting you assessed. I suppose it's one way to do it. Lol! It is something you've thought of as a career in the past? It IS expensive going the private route, and there are pros and cons (some employers, some DWP departments, some education facilities etc, won't accept a private diagnosis, though some do) but there are pros and cons to an NHS assessment too. If you have the money available, it's an option to possibly consider if you don't get any immediate luck with your GP. 

I'm in the UK. 2 years ago I went to see my GP completely desperate because I was fed up with upsetting people, not fitting in and being just different from others, a friend of mine who knows me well and actually has stood by me for a long time said he thought i was autistic. So I did 87 tests and I got at least 85% in all of them (I've got a chart somewhere). I bore people to tears with details on Computers, Music, and whatever my current obsession is.

I remember watching Autistic people on youtube talking and thinking THAT IS LITERALLY ME. So when I went to the GP she said she thought I was definitly Autistic and in fact having spoken to other medical professionals who know me they think the same.

But getting a diagnosis? 2 years I've been waiting, I had to complete a huge questionnaire thing which was quite annoying as there were at least 2 spelling mistakes. However, I've heard nothing. Since then changed GP's. THen covid came along and that was the end of that.

Been feeling pretty low about it actually now. I've started doing an Autism course with the Open University, I'm starting to think perhaps the only way to get a diagnosis is to either pay a lot of money or to just get qualified myself.

I don't know if that's helpful but it does get me down.

Hi Emma, 

Are you in the UK (I know there are some US residents on this board, and their criteria differs to ours).

If you're in the UK, I'm not sure why you need to get funding for a test? You'll either go through the NHS (which is funded by them) or go private (which is funded by you). As a female recently diagnosed through the NHS, this is what I did. I prepared a list of traits and how I fit them, explaining which ones I struggled with and how. I especially noted how autism often presents differently in females and gave examples. I explained why I wanted an assessment and how a diagnosis would help me. I also filled in the AQ test and took that with me. I have family members with autism so I mentioned that too.  My doctor agreed to refer me and told me that I'd hear from the assessment centre, either giving me an appointment, asking for more information or simply refusing the assessment. Whilst I waited for the contact I started making even more notes on areas of life that I struggled with, both now and as a child (I'm much older than you and so I didn't have anyone to give their opinions of my behaviour as a child. Therefore I had to do it myself). Things kept popping into my head, events from childhood, my teens, and so on, and I added them to the document as I remembered them, under their respective headings. I eventually heard from the centre and was just offered an appointment. I took my notes with me when I attended the first session and they took copies. The second session was over video call, due to Covid. I was told at the end of the second session that I was on the spectrum, ASD level 1. I received my report 7 weeks later. The whole process took around 2.5 years, from seeing my GP to getting my report, which seems the average. 

they booked me a appointment pretty easy. i used the ask my GP feature, the only GP thingy that my GP uses during corona. i basically just filled in my suspicions and description, which helps because im a very descriptive writer, and he rang back asked a few questions and easy as that he told me hes booking me a assessment, dont need to tick off everything, just answer anything they ask honestly and even if you dont tick some sections they will still book you a assessment and say its a spectrum anyway so you dont have to match everything, some of the questions he asked me i guess that made him say its a spectrum and cant tick them all is asked if i can describe my emotions of which i think autistic person isnt supposed to by the tick list? i dunno, but i can describe anything when i think on it especially by text lol and one question about how you feel being hugged or something which i couldnt answer as i never really get touched or hugged but i did say id probably like it for all i know so i guess that one was a wrong answer. still yet to receive any appointment, said it may take some time and that they are pretty busy these days so may take longer than usual.

Hi Emma,

We have a whole section of the site here which you might find helpful, dedicated to advice on the process of getting diagnosed - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis - but particularly relevant to the situation you describe I think would be this page - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/pre-diagnosis/adults - and the section that says 'Present your case':

'You could say that you've been reading about autism, or that you've been in touch with the National Autistic Society. You could say that you think you experience some of the difficulties autistic people can face, and you would like to seek a formal assessment to be sure. 

Try to give your GP some examples of difficulties you've had in adulthood and childhood with: 

• communication 
• social interaction
• sensory difficulties
• friendships
• employment
• need for routine. 

Say how much you think these affect the different areas of your life.'

You could use this as a guide to write down some of the reasons you think you might be autistic and want to be assessed - having a friend with ASD who thinks you might be, and a high score on an online test would both be good examples - and see what your GP says. If you are refused a referral, you can ask to see another GP if you need to - the information in the link above goes over your rights as a patient and your GP's responsibilities.

Hope this is of some help,
Ross - mod