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Ultramarine - assessment update

Ultramarine

Hi,  I hope everyone's well.  I've taken a break from this forum for a while, but I wanted to come back and give an update on the assessment process for me, because so many people on this forum were so supportive a few months ago when I was first trying to arrange an assessment. 

At the beginning of September, having reviewed my application forms, the Lorna Wing Centre told me that my assessment would be half a day long (rather than a full day, which many of their assessments are).  They gave me the option of waiting 4-5 months for an online video assessment, or waiting 5-6 months for an in-person assessment.  I asked to go with the in-person option, as I thought that they would get a clearer and fuller picture if I was actually there.  But they told me that they would not offer video assessments to people who they thought would be difficult to assess in this way.

I was wondering if anyone has had a video assessment, and how did they feel about it?  I would still prefer an in-person appointment, but I'm finding the waiting process quite difficult.  I get worried that they will tell me I'm not autistic, which would leave me feeling really lost, because autism explains so much about the experiences I've had, and just makes sense of my life.

I hope everyone else is doing OK!

Parents

  • A few months ago the NHS gave me a choice of booking a video assessment in two months, or on a waiting list of at least 6 months for face to face.

    I opted for the video consultation and had it a few weeks back. I was extremely nervous at the prospect of not being believed, and I too was worried about my masking (forged in boarding school and perfected over 4 decades).

    The assessment was with a single assessor and took ~3 hours, but didn't feel rushed - I had plenty of time to answer questions in as much detail as I wanted.

    I had prepared many pages of notes on my current autistic behaviours, and also as many incidents I could remember from my past that I felt were caused by my autism. I only ended up referring to them a few times though.

    In retrospect I don't think the masking worry was warranted... we had a good long discussion on how, when & with whom my masking manifests... including exactly what I was masking during the interview itself.

    All things being equal I would probably opt for the face to face, but the video assessment was fine... and it did mean I could attend in my pyjamas and conduct it from my "safe space"... so I could focus on the questions instead of stressing about an unfamilar environment.

  • in reply to moon

    Hello Moon,

    Thanks for your reply.  It's great to hear that you had a positive experience of being assessed by video call.  Which centre assessed you?  My GP was going to refer me to the Maudsley Centre, and she said it was 'at least six months' waiting time there as well, so I wonder if you went to the same place.

    I decided to go privately to the Lorna Wing Centre because I knew they specialised in diagnosing women, and I was afraid of not being believed.  I had also heard that the average wait elsewhere was two years, and possibly longer due to the pandemic.  There used to be a shorter waiting time at the LWC too, but they got behind with their assessments because they had to close the centre during each lockdown.

    You've made a very good point, that video assessments don't require travelling to an unfamiliar location, and I wouldn't have to worry about train delays etc.

    I think I'm still going to go with face-to-face, in case the assessor makes a conclusion that I don't agree with.  If that happened, I would want to know that they had had the best circumstances possible to assess me.

    How are you feeling about your new diagnosis?

Reply
  • in reply to moon

    Hello Moon,

    Thanks for your reply.  It's great to hear that you had a positive experience of being assessed by video call.  Which centre assessed you?  My GP was going to refer me to the Maudsley Centre, and she said it was 'at least six months' waiting time there as well, so I wonder if you went to the same place.

    I decided to go privately to the Lorna Wing Centre because I knew they specialised in diagnosing women, and I was afraid of not being believed.  I had also heard that the average wait elsewhere was two years, and possibly longer due to the pandemic.  There used to be a shorter waiting time at the LWC too, but they got behind with their assessments because they had to close the centre during each lockdown.

    You've made a very good point, that video assessments don't require travelling to an unfamiliar location, and I wouldn't have to worry about train delays etc.

    I think I'm still going to go with face-to-face, in case the assessor makes a conclusion that I don't agree with.  If that happened, I would want to know that they had had the best circumstances possible to assess me.

    How are you feeling about your new diagnosis?

Children
  • in reply to moon

    Hi Moon,

    I'm very sorry to hear that your wife's health is getting worse at the moment.  It must be a really difficult time.  

    It sounds like there are different stages of coming to terms with being autistic.  It sounds like you processed it quite a lot after your self-diagnosis, but then getting the official diagnosis brought new emotions to the surface.

    PS - when I say 'coming to terms with being autistic', I don't mean that necessarily in a negative sense.  For me at least, making that discovery has been quite a positive thing, even though processing it has been difficult.

  • in reply to Ultramarine

    I was assessed by NELFT in East London.

    I think I worked through most of my emotional response to being autistic when I first self-diagnosed a few years back - I'm very pleased to understand my past behaviours.

    I was emotional for a few hours after the video call (which ended with her suggesting I was text-book aspergers).

    Unfortunately my diagnosis has been overshadowed by my wifes deteriorating physical & mental health, so I am firmly in defense/desperate coping mode.