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Diagnosing Autism in Women

ChunkyGilmore

Hi everyone,

I have a 20-year-old friend who suspects that she is autistic and is thinking about getting an assessment, but she has a couple of concerns about the process.

The main concern is that the assessment may be performed by someone who does not know how to diagnose autism in women. So, we are worried that she may be wrongly diagnosed with anxiety or depression or perhaps some personality disorder. If this is a reasonable concern, is there a way for her to arrange an autism assessment from a professional who definitely does know how to diagnose autism in women?

Another concern is that the NHS waiting list for adults seeking an autism assessment can be several years long. Would she be able to get an assessment from a private professional instead?

Thank you for reading this and any responses are appreciated!

Jordan :) 

Parents

  • In the run up to my NHS autism assessment, I actually asked them about this and was reassured to be told that, yes, they do allow for the kind of differences in presentation that might be seen in women (although I think these differences may well occur in anyone, irrespective of gender, because historically the descriptions and diagnostic criteria have been built up based on studies which focussed on a very stereotypical male presentation, often skewed towards younger males).   They also reassured me that they took differences relating to age and masking into account too (just as well for a 55 yo female who had "passed" for decades!) 

    So I'd suggest asking the Autism Team and weighing up their answers.  And, before doing so, it might be worth looking at online videos on the subject.  e.g. Sarah Hendrickx or Yo Samdy Sam on Youtube, plus Ausome Training have a series of interviews with autistic women (Ausome Women, chats with autistic women)

    The waiting list is another matter.  I waited nearly 2 years to get my diagnosis but we went privately for our son because it felt urgent and mental health services were really letting him down.  So we used The Retreat in York and they were a lot quicker and gave much more information and support.  The Retreat also do NHS work so we asked about this first and the wait at that time (a couple of years ago) was around 14 months).  I then asked how soon we could have an appointment if we went privately through them and the answer was, "How about next Tuesday!"  I think that all in all, including an initial screening appointment, 3 interviews, some questionnaires and a diagnostic appointment incl. a full report (which I didn't get on the NHS, although some do) discussion of individual strengths and weaknesses and ideas for post-diagnostic support, we spend less than £1500 (although they've reorganised since and their pricing might be different).     

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