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Advice for Referral/Assessment?

Pea

I am currently looking into getting a diagnosis for autism through my GP. I spoke to them over the phone about two weeks ago and they sent over an ASQ for me to fill in - I got 47/50. GP will be referring me, but warned it will probably be a 2-3 year wait for a diagnosis through the NHS. Unfortunately, I need this diagnosis sooner to access support from my university. GP suggested going privately, but I can't afford this. He then shared that some private clinics will charge the NHS instead, so I effectively do not have to pay for assessment etc. However, he could not tell me of any clinics that do this and told me to look this up online/ring around. 

So far, I'm not finding anything useful about this, only really finding information for children. Could be overthinking it, but I am really nervous about phoning up clinics to ask if they offer this service. Does anyone here have any experience of these clinics? Is there any other way to receive a diagnosis quicker? I'm finding my course rather difficult, but cannot access the support I need through the Disability services without proof of an actual diagnosis. Have tried to get funding from my university, but they will not pay for the full amount and I simply can't afford to top up the bill.

Also, any advice from females in academia experiencing autism would be wonderful.

Sorry if my questions have already been answered. I am new to this website and am finding it difficult to find the answers I am looking for. Many thanks. 

Parents

  • Hello. I do not have an autism diagnosis yet but whilst at uni I had a breakdown and they made me go to somewhere for a disability assessment and they said I needed help like taxis to uni because I had anxiety on buses and recorders for lectures because I was trying to write every word down in real time, I got a helper to keep me on track, and they said the uni has to provide a quiet space. I dont know what they thought was wrong with me, ended up with a laptop & stuff, so I got help. I'm doing another degree and I think I'm still classed as a disabled student. I think they helped because my issues looked like anxiety/depression and my GP confirmed this. I think you can register with student finance as a disabled student and then get GP or uni to confirm you're not making it up. Maybe my route was different because the uni was quite worried about me.

Reply

  • Hello. I do not have an autism diagnosis yet but whilst at uni I had a breakdown and they made me go to somewhere for a disability assessment and they said I needed help like taxis to uni because I had anxiety on buses and recorders for lectures because I was trying to write every word down in real time, I got a helper to keep me on track, and they said the uni has to provide a quiet space. I dont know what they thought was wrong with me, ended up with a laptop & stuff, so I got help. I'm doing another degree and I think I'm still classed as a disabled student. I think they helped because my issues looked like anxiety/depression and my GP confirmed this. I think you can register with student finance as a disabled student and then get GP or uni to confirm you're not making it up. Maybe my route was different because the uni was quite worried about me.

Children
  • in reply to NAS74306

    I'm really sorry to hear that you had such a tricky time. I hope you are feeling a lot better now Slight smile Your university sound very supportive! My lecturer did recommend I go to support services anyway, just to get the ball rolling. I think I will try this as well. I think I have also experienced the anxiety/depression diagnosis, when actually I have felt like this my entire life - the diagnoses never really felt appropriate, almost like there was something else? Anyway, thank you for your reply!