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Awaiting Adult (42 Yrs old) ASD Assessment

NAS79652

Hello all, I hope you are well.

I have several concerns regarding the ASD assessment and I wondered if you guys had any advise or tips.

1) I went into care at 15 (self referred) and have zero contact or information about my life before the age of 18 - its like I didn't exist - no school reports, photos, journal entries or biological relationships to reflect upon my childhood experience - will this affect diagnosis? I have been warned that I may only receive a "working Diagnosis" due to being unable to "prove" traits existed in childhood. Prove = to provide evidence of and all I have in my memory's and perception and I am unsure this will meet the criteria required.

2) I cant research the process or the ASD assessment centre - I like to get photos inside buildings of new places so I know where to go when inside (toilets) check out lighting and what type of clocks they use, where to wait (if I'm waiting).

Well I just cant plan appropriately - I'm conscious of assessment bias if I do too much research on the mechanics of the assessment but I have so many other questions outstanding that I would like to resolve prior to attending.

Any advise - what happens socially at these assessment interactions?

Many thanks for your time and patients  

Parents

  • I would not have imagined that 'legal system' type evidence would be required for any clinical diagnosis. The DSM criteria require indications that autistic traits extend into early childhood, not that there is a requirement for documentary evidence to exist. I was diagnosed at 59 and only have an aunt in her 90s, who was not able to give 'evidence', who remembers me as a young child; so my saying that I was selectively mute when starting infant school, liked to spin a lot and enjoyed being in confined spaces, was taken as indicating my childhood autistic traits.

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  • I would not have imagined that 'legal system' type evidence would be required for any clinical diagnosis. The DSM criteria require indications that autistic traits extend into early childhood, not that there is a requirement for documentary evidence to exist. I was diagnosed at 59 and only have an aunt in her 90s, who was not able to give 'evidence', who remembers me as a young child; so my saying that I was selectively mute when starting infant school, liked to spin a lot and enjoyed being in confined spaces, was taken as indicating my childhood autistic traits.

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