How can I prepare for the assessment?

Overthinking is in my core hahaha I'll do my best not to.

Yeah my initial appointment was just me and about an hour. It's the next set/full assessment that is longer and usually involves people who knew you when you were a child

same. found myself naturally unmasking in the assessment itself - probably because the assessors understood autism and so i didn't feel need to blend in. just happened. meeting with other autistic people also helped for me (only done that twice now). don't overthink it.

That's a difficult one, I became aware of my masking a couple of years ago but I don't know how to not mask if that makes sense?

I ended up having a conversation with my parents about what I was like as a child, because if they ask anything about how I might have potentially presented with traits in my younger years I would have had no idea. I feel more comfortable about it now being able to paint a picture of who I was when I was younger, even if it doesn't necessarily fit the obvious ASD criteria.

Thank you, this is very helpful.

Oh 3 hours? They told me I only had 1 hour set aside for this appointment, which I'll be attending on my own. Maybe there will be more if they feel it's worth pursuing then?

I’m 48. I had one a few weeks ago. I wanted to prepare, but didn’t know how. On advice from several people, I went in blind. That’s the best thing. You don’t know what they’ll ask, or what you’ll do, so just be yourself. If you know you mask, do your best to drop it.

Not a 'competitive thing' of any description with me, just a visceral need for predictability - a recognised autistic trait itself. At no time did I see myself as in any sort of competition. No, not an applicable trope for me at all.

I have had instructional and teaching experience of medics. A fully qualified medical doctor, who I was supervising on an MSc course, is the only person since school that I have come close to smashing my fist into. 

Oddly enough, I'm exactly like that with exams, I have to be 100% prepared for them, but then that's my upbringing - I was raised to value academic performance so I did whatever I needed to do to ensure that I got better marks than everyone else. At no point did "being better at being autistic than anyone else" get raised as a desirable trait, so that competitive thing wasn't triggered.

Probably helps that all my friends who are doctors are nice people who are good and honest at what they do, and I've never had any negative medical experiences, so I didn't have that inherent distrust either.

I was equally certain, I had done a huge amount of research, that I was and am autistic. However, I was equally certain that for 99% of the time, when I am with strangers, I appear entirely neurotypical. How to approach a diagnostic assessment is very much dependent on the individual and their presentation and cognitive style. Me, I need predictability, plus I was a professional researcher, so I approached autism diagnosis like a research project. I amassed as much knowledge as possible about diagnostic criteria, autistic traits and how my own traits fitted into those indicated in DSM-5. It was the same process I would undertake for an exam or writing a scientific paper. Strolling into an assessment with no preparation and hoping for the best, is just not how my mind works. Different strokes ...

Also, having known a number of clinicians professionally and personally, I have a rather jaundiced view of their reliability. 

Do not prepare and you will do fine and be assessed correctly.

I'm glad I'm not the only one! "Brendon" and I are inseparable - luckily he's not too big, he usually sits in my handbag peeking out the top.

I am so very glad I got my diagnosis out the way just before Covid hit so I could do everything face to face - I absolutely hate any kind of video call! Hope it's all worth it in the end though.

I have to admit that I do take a cuddly toy with me to most of my hospital appointments and as and when I do have my face-to-face appointments, 'Molly' will be very much in appearance lol. I've had her for years now and she's always a massive comfort to me when it comes to hospital stuff.

I have a video appointment with a pre-assessment autistic group (and a specialist doctor) and even though I am going to be at home, will have 'Molly' and my Mum next to me, I am really, really anxious and nervous about it. I hate these sorts of things anyway, but it's another rung climbed up the ladder for a diagnosis.

Good luck to Piki86 for your appointment - let us know how it goes

Mweekie xx

Yeah, fair enough. I think I was very relaxed for a couple of reasons - firstly, I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that I was autistic, and because it was so totally obvious to me, it never occurred to me that it could be anything short of totally obvious to a professional in the field (and apparently it was pretty obvious - I suppose not many grown women take a cuddly toy to their medical appointments). And because the diagnosis was something I wanted and felt entirely positive about... I mean, I'd have been a little bit disappointed if they'd said no, but the NHS was always the first roll of the dice, I'd have paid for a second opinion if I'd needed to.

I think that your approach, while honest, might not be suitable for someone who habitually camouflages and masks when with strangers, and who is very good at it, having had decades of practice. It would not have worked for me. My only visible autistic trait, as described by the psychiatrist, was a somewhat 'flat affect'. My diagnosis was firmly based on my traits as described by me, my recollections, and those of my wife. I find that the anxiety of situations like the assessment tends to make me forget things, so having a detailed set of written notes was absolutely vital for me, and my peace of mind beforehand.

I had mine at a similar age - my advice would be, don't prepare. The more research you will do, the more you'll over-think it, and you'll just be trying to recall the "right" answers that you think they want to hear, to the questions you are expecting them to ask.

At the end of the day, they are not trying to catch you out or trick you in any way. Their role is not in any way to "prove" that you are not autistic, any more than the onus is on you to "prove" that you are. You're not in court!

I saw two people when I had mine, first a woman and then a man, with some waiting in between - I was probably there about three hours in total (when I said "don't prepare," you might want to prepare a drink, a snack and something to read!). They were very nice - it certainly felt more like an informal chat than, say, a job interview or something stressful like that. I did bring my emotional support plush Kiwi, but he wasn't really needed.

Also, bear in mind that drawing a blank when asked a question you weren't expecting is a very typical autistic thing to do - it may make you feel awkward, but it certainly won't hinder a diagnosis - probably the opposite!

Be yourself.. 

Mine was NHS assessment and they spoke with my partner for 3hrs.. looking at my report, it’s the things she said that got my diagnosis.. I hope that makes sense 

You can't really just anwser the questions honestly give it some thought as some are fairly difuclt to understand but besides that it's fairly chilled. With me they were more or less able to tell I was autistic just by looking at me due to my lack of facial exspresions. But I wouldn't worry about it to much if you know to the point where your getting an assessment chances are you'll pass. 

Have a look at the clinical diagnosis criteria for ASD (DSM-5 is the most heavily used), they are available online. Look at the criteria and try to fit your traits and history into the relevant categories. Write up all your history and traits and place them into the various diagnostic criteria, take this note with you to any assessment. Recall and write down as much as you can.