Published on 12, July, 2020
I've got an appointment with my GP this afternoon to ask for an assessment referral for ASC. This is on the advice of my counsellor and a mental health nurse I've been speaking with through Occupational Health.
Going from advice on other threads I've looked at the DSM 5 criteria and looked at how I meet them, as well as doing the AQ test and several others, all of which show a strong likelihood of ASC. I've made a list/notes to go through as I find pressured conversations hard.
Is there anything else I should do/say? It's a telephone appointment.
I'm a nearly 40 year old woman who has spent most of my life masking it seems, with the usual consequences of that in depression and anxiety, as well as digestive and sleep issues, all of which have stopped me being able to work and live my life at various times, including at the moment.
My impression (having had this conversation last year) is that GPs are less interested in whether or not you are likely to actually be autistic when deciding whether to refer you, and more interested in what benefit the diagnosis will bring you. If you say "I need it for work" or "I am thinking of going back into education and would need accommodations to do that" (this is the line I used) they are more likely to refer you.
Yes, that did seem to be what the doctor was saying. This feels similar to what Steven said earlier, with us having to obviously pretend to be able to get a diagnosis.