autism assessment waiting list.

I have a phone call booked with my GP for the 7th of August. Definitely going to query the Right to Choose option. Thank you for the advice. 

Regards the follow up support, even being able to categorically tell people I am autistic will make me feel as though there could be growth & understanding in my relationships. Currently it is very difficult to manoeuvre in my social & professional life.

I agree that it's disgraceful. My wait on the NHS was just over 2 years and that was bad enough.

As mentioned already you can go through the 'Right to Choose' pathway and reduce waiting time considerably. I have seen posts on here from people who were assessed within a few months using that route.

Just to make you aware (and save disappointment later), any support post diagnosis is pretty much non existent in most areas

Thank you. It helps to have a community to talk to. Expecting people to wait for years for diagnosis & support is just disgraceful. If it were a physical issue & could be seen... This wouldn't fly. 

That’s even worse than the 3 year waiting list here! It’s absolutely dreadful and we have as you put it, been abandoned. There is a part of me that thinks that maybe they hope we’ll put it to the backs of our minds and struggle along as we have always had to prior to the referral. I’ve been in and out of doctors with mental health issues since my teens and have massively struggled to fit into the roles that society dictates that we should. Surely offering us the correct diagnosis, help and support would be better for everyone in the long run… I really understand how disappointing it is.

I have recently been referred, told by my GP it'll be a year before assessment. 

From the waiting times some others have mentioned here I consider that quite good. It's still a long wait though. 

I have been through the rounds of form filling. I have now been told that I am on the referral list for ASD assessment - but the wait time is 7-8 years! How can that be right. My mental health is suffering & I need support to manage my professional & personal relationships. After years of self analysis & coming to realisations about how my mind works... I just feel abandoned.

I have been told that there is a 3 year waiting for me in the UK

1. My daughters wait is 2 years from referral to assessment so we went private. My daughter lives in hoodies (when she has to get dressed)  regardless of weather because its her 'safe' clothes.

I'm in Northern Ireland and was told 5+ years for an adult diagnosis (which was better than when I was 19 and told I was autistic and that there was no service for adult diagnosis at all back then). I was lucky that my university's disability department reimbursed me for half my private assessment fee as I needed immediate access to support and therefore an immediate diagnosis. I waited ~3 months for my assessment privately. I am able to get access to support at University now but I have been on the list for ASD intervention services for over 3 years now and still don't know when I will get support from the NHS.

I am also most likely ADHD and on the waiting list for that. Currently in my area there is no service at all for ADHD diagnosis and private assessments won't be accepted by the NHS. 

The whole thing is a bit of a nightmare and a waiting game - sorry you are having to wait and don't have an official date to count down to yet. Sadly there are whole generations of Autistic adults that were missed when we were kids because we weren't 'severe' enough in the healthcare systems eyes or because we don't present exactly as the textbooks describe. It's very frustrating and I'm sure everyone here can empathize. 

Also, I love a good hoodie but it's bathrobes and PJs all the way for me :D

I have been told 4 years (near Bristol). This is of minor concern to me as my GP and Mental Health Services are basing my care on an autism diagnosis. I consider myself lucky.

No to hoodie as I don't like things over my head.

Hi

Im in Wales and on the waiting list for the pat 5 months. The waiting list is up to 2 years. 

Is your GP doing the assessment or have you been referred? Maybe worth checking? 

I love the cosiness of my hoodies x

Waiting since Feb 2020! Have asked to use right to choose but GP has screwed it up twice and not send off the forms. Currently going through GP complaints procedure. 

It depends on where in UK you are. Mine was exactly 7 months from GP to diagnosis and I didn't go down the 'Right to Choose' pathway. 

Hi, the paperwork can be cancelled, you have to speak to your GP and ask for Right to Choose, I think you choose an assessor between you and them, obviously cost is taken into account. I personally choose to wait as most private companies conduct the assessment as  an online interview, I wanted a face to face.

Is it too late for the "right to choose" ? Seeing as type questionnaire I was asked to fill out was sent off. 

It took a lot longer than 81 days to get a date. The waiting list is long and you're probably not going to get anything more specific than "you're about 18 months from the front of the queue" until a few weeks before the thing. 

In my case I think I was told 18 months, then 18 months still several months later. Then I got moved to a different waiting list because my Borough started doing assessments and told 6 months+... and then probably less than 2 months after that I got emailed with the forms and got a date a couple weeks later. ... so what I'm saying is that it's a bit of a mess. 

I would love to wear hoodies and jeans all year round, but my comfort in those clothes is outweighed by the discomfort of being boiled alive when it's 20+ So shorts and t shirts have to do 

Hi, the waiting list in the UK is between 2-4 years. You can ask for ‘Right to Choose’, you use a private assessor and the NHS will pay for it. From seeing my GP to being put on the NHS list was 6 months. In answer to your other question, no I can’t tolerate things around my head.