Has anybody had trouble accessing NHS treatment after a private autism diagnosis at Lorna Wing Centre?

Ultramarine,

Getting diagnosis of ASD seems very complex I am no expert but just from reading your detailed posts I would hazard a guess you are somewhere on the spectrum!

I was also wondering what 'treatment' you would expect from the NHS after diagnosis, as ASD is a part of your personality and not really something that needs treatment.

What does need treatment is the anxiety that often accompanies ASD. The chances of getting treatment for anxiety on the NHS are  low due to overloading and current high levels of anxiety in general, but it would be possible to ask for help with the anxiety even without an ASD diagnosis.

If.you want to know more about autism there is training available on the NAS website, it may give you strategies that might help you.

Hi Gerty,

Thanks for your message.  I am still very much learning about autism.  I was wondering what it is about my posts that comes across as autistic?  I'd be very interested to know.

I agree with you about ASD not needing treatment - in fact I don't like the 'disorder' part of the title ASD, it sounds as though they are saying that there is something wrong with us.  I don't know how others feel about this.  I prefer to just say 'I'm autistic'.  

But I agree with you about wanting treatment for anxiety.  In fact, late last year, before I started looking for a diagnosis, I had online therapy on the NHS for stress and anxiety.  At the end of this therapy, they told me that I clearly had deeper underlying issues, and therefore they were stepping me up to the next level of therapy (longer-term CBT) and I have been on the waiting list for this for several months.  I recently contacted my initial therapist to tell her I thought I was autistic, and asking if the CBT that I was on the waiting list for was relevant any more, or whether I should instead look for specialised therapy for autism.  She told me that they don't do specialised therapy for autism, but that the CBT offered could focus on the difficulties that I have because of autism.  So I am still on the waiting list for that.  Hopefully the therapist I eventually see will be open and accepting of the fact that I feel almost sure I'm autistic, and hopefully s/he will know something about autism and be able to help.

Thanks so much for telling me about the training available on the NAS website.  Where on the website can I find it please?

Hi Gerty,

Thanks for your message.  I am still very much learning about autism.  I was wondering what it is about my posts that comes across as autistic?  I'd be very interested to know.

I agree with you about ASD not needing treatment - in fact I don't like the 'disorder' part of the title ASD, it sounds as though they are saying that there is something wrong with us.  I don't know how others feel about this.  I prefer to just say 'I'm autistic'.  

But I agree with you about wanting treatment for anxiety.  In fact, late last year, before I started looking for a diagnosis, I had online therapy on the NHS for stress and anxiety.  At the end of this therapy, they told me that I clearly had deeper underlying issues, and therefore they were stepping me up to the next level of therapy (longer-term CBT) and I have been on the waiting list for this for several months.  I recently contacted my initial therapist to tell her I thought I was autistic, and asking if the CBT that I was on the waiting list for was relevant any more, or whether I should instead look for specialised therapy for autism.  She told me that they don't do specialised therapy for autism, but that the CBT offered could focus on the difficulties that I have because of autism.  So I am still on the waiting list for that.  Hopefully the therapist I eventually see will be open and accepting of the fact that I feel almost sure I'm autistic, and hopefully s/he will know something about autism and be able to help.

Thanks so much for telling me about the training available on the NAS website.  Where on the website can I find it please?

Hi Gerty,

Thanks so much for this.  I will definitely look into these courses.  Have you ever taken one of them, and if so, how did you find it?

Thanks for the kind thoughts.  It is really helpful that you've identified that trait in me: wanting things to be black and white, and looking for clear answers where they may not exist.  Now that I think about it, this is exactly what I do a lot of the time.  In fact, I think I will start a separate post on it, as I think it could be a good discussion topic.

https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/professional-development/training-and-conferences

Ignore that it says professional development, you can still do the courses. They are not free but not too expensive either. You can learn how people deal with daily life with autism.

Your answers are very logical, consistent, and thorough, which is very positive and often associated with autism. You are looking for clear answers where they may not exist. Nothing wrong with looking for answers, anyone would, but part of autism is wanting things to be black and white, when the rest of society accepts grey, and getting extremely anxious as a result. Learning about the effects of autism might be a step towards tackling anxiety. You also come across as very intelligent by the way, which is nothing to do with autism but I believe it will help you eventually finding the solution.

I am not an expert but have family and many work.colleagues on the spectrum, most undiagnosed in formal.sense.