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Failed autism assessment

NAS74532

Hiya,

My fiancé and I have long suspected that he may be on the spectrum and he went for an nhs assessment this week, however they did not diagnose him. I really don’t agree with the outcome and found some of their reasoning quite laughable- things like “he had good eye contact”, “has an imagination” etc. 

I’m also aware that he can come across very neurotypical, and is good at masking. He frequently suffers from shutdowns, Is unable to explain or understand his feelings, has severe social anxiety, sometimes takes things literally and generally needs everything neat, organised and symmetrical, used to hit himself as a child (still gets the urge to do this). He’s also had problems with relationships ie never having a girlfriend or even dated until he was 25, superficial friendships and bullying at work, and autism runs in his family. 

On the assessment report, I saw that he scored very highly for everything and if he’d have gone 1 point over in all scores he would’ve been diagnosed. Is a second opinion worth seeking out? Has anyone experienced something similar?

Thanks 

  • I make good eye contact - it is entirely conscious and learned, and I have a rich imagination, always have had. I also have an autism diagnosis. Sounds like the clinician(s) are working to outdated notions of what autistics are capable of. Many clinicians confuse 'social imagination', which some autistics have lower abilities in, and other forms of imagination.

  • It seems a bit short-sighted to use an arbitrary cut off point and say someone isn't autistic because they scored one point below, despite meeting most of the criteria. I would get a second opinion.

    It's always tricky when someone is good at masking. I wonder if that is taken into the diagnostic process in any way. I force myself to make eye contact with people, even though it feels immensely uncomfortable.

  • Dear , you may find it useful to gain a second opinion with diagnosis if possible. It is important the professional you see has experience of autism spectrum disorders. You can find details of diagnostic services on our Autism Services Directory in the Assessment and diagnosis section: https://www.autism.org.uk/directory. I hope this helps.

    Best wishes,

    Anna Mod