Any last minute tips for getting my GP to take me seriously when asking for a referral?

You're right, mate. It's just hard to be philosophical about it when we so often read of doctors getting the basics wrong. x

Thanks for the reassurance Steven.  I can be both needy and unsure.

Hi Becky, Idon't have any advice (sorry) you seem as prepared as you can be. Don't be afraid to pause to drink water during the appointment and think ifyou need to. Wishingyou the best, I know it's a tough situation. Thinking of you.

Dude - if I may be so bold as to say - 'don't be so / too hard on the doctors.'

Autism is a deeply complex affair.  Before I realised that this was the root of my nature, I was probably about as ignorant and/or dismissive of the 'concepts' surrounding ' autism'.....it is the type of stuff that would give me a headache trying to understand....so I would have stayed a bit "arms length" perhaps of the finer details.  Perhaps to put it another way, I would have laughed, pittingingly at you or anyone else who suggested that I might "have autism."

I don't fancy my chances of having a fulfilling path to a formal diagnosis....but I don't blame the doctors for that.....I blame the complexity of autism.

Christine McGuinness is another example, I had someone say to me that if she was autistic then she wouldn’t be able to walk up and down catwalks half dressed, what we choose to display is often smoke and mirrors, it’s an act or as we call it, masking. It’s not unusual for an autistic person to enquire for  an assessment armed with about ten A4  pages and not stop to draw breath. Don’t let the GP shut you down. They won’t see how exhausted you will be later for just taking.

This is really not helping my anxiety about asking for a referral and is making me doubt whether I am autistic, which I've been struggling with anyway, even with all the tests and the mental health nurse and counsellor telling me I should be assessed.

It'd probably be more straight forward if it were an in person appointment as I wouldn't have been able to meet his eyes and would have been stimming from the anxiety of it all. I hate speaking on the phone, it just makes things harder.

I'm going to have your message on my laptop when he calls back so I can say just that. I've never felt so unlistened to by a medical person.

I feel we should all take more life advice from Blackadder in general, although I refuse to wear my pants on my head because that's not how you're supposed to wear them, as the autism I apparently don't have won't let me use things in ways they're not intended to be used.

Due to some doctors' ignorance, autists now have to fake being autists in order to get treated like autists.

I'll mention the Chris Packham example as I explain that autistic people can be articulate, and that I had to force myself to talk as well as I could on the phone, it's by no means easy!

Yes very much so, I don’t think he had actually listened to what I had said, the Witch Finder manual had been looked at and I ticked a box, I know it’s being a bit devious but sometimes you have to give the crowd what they want. 
P.S  Simon, I am a mechanic. 

It's like being obliged to deliberately smash your car up ahead of taking it to the garage, in case the ignorant mechanic says "Well, it's only a scratch - why did you bother me by bringing it here?"

Yet another gp with no idea about autism, most autistic people can walk and talk, Chris Packham articulates very well and is autistic. I explained to my gp about how autism affects my life, at the end of the appointment he stated that he was going to refer me for assessment as I hadn’t made eye contact for the entire consultation. I chose not to make eye contact, I could have easily looked at his chin, I knew eye contact would have been used against me. How sad is that. Unfortunately most doctors still see us very stereotypically. 

* It's completely your concern, not his, whether a wait would be exasperating & ultimately fruitless for you. He shouldn't be attempting to do your thinking for you on this matter.

* Articulate speech and writing are not exclusive provinces of neurotypical people, and neither is an organised approach to life...to say the least. Further, you were of course obliged to use language in situations like the one with your GP; so, naturally, you absolutely would strive to be as articulate as possible so that he might have understood your especial circumstances. This is merely par for the course in most social situations, and he should have borne this in mind...not least because it's totally obvious.

* It's extremely poor that so many GPs are ignorant about Autism and about the possible options available to autists both actual and potential. Worse, too many clearly attended the 'You just made eye contact, so you can't be autistic' medical school.

OK - two last minute emergency idea for you........

Idea No. 1

Take two pencils in your pocket - if you fear the doctor is considering you "too normal" stick one pencil carefully in each nostril and state clearly that you are a walrus.

Idea No. 2

If you sense the doctor is not taking your peculiarities seriously enough, start rocking and swaying and hitting the side of your head gently with the heel of your palm.   FYI - this is my "go-to" taking the p ee gesture if people start telling me what autism is all about.  It always raises a smile and often defuses an awkward moment where I want someone to just stop talking !

Best of luck today.

Number

Well, being prepared may have done me more harm than good. The GP has said that because I'm articulate and able to talk through this with him, and have got to this stage of my life without serious issues (ignoring the depression and anxiety), that if I were referred it would be a long wait, and it's likely they wouldn't offer me any support after a diagnosis if I got one, so there wouldn't be much practical point in referring me. I asked about the Right to Choose and getting a referral to Psychiatry UK, which he didn't seem to know about. He's going to speak to a senior GP about whether he can do a referral, and if so whether it can be to Psychiatry UK, and give me a call back this afternoon.

Thank you. I process things by finding out as much information as possibly to prepare for every eventuality, I just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything obvious.

Honestly, it seems to me that you've been commendably thorough and have everything in hand. It might be a good idea to stress all you've written in the last paragraph especially. All in all, it's hard to see how your doctor could refuse a referral. Good luck!