Life is hard

Nobody's giving me any support. And mental health services aren't interested in helping me either. It's not that they're under-funded or anything; they don't even try to help!

Mark said:

Nobody's giving me any support. And mental health services aren't interested in helping me either. It's not that they're under-funded or anything; they don't even try to help!

Can I ask what you expect that support to look like please?

I think you will find they do have very little funding for the volume of support that the community needs. I believe part of that is them not being able to recruit and train staff in the volumes they need because of the low salaries offered and the pressures that these jobs bring.

In the scale of needs, the "low requirements"  or "high functioning" or "aspergers" (chose the label you prefer) people on the spectrum have largely got the capacity to self support if they apply themselves, so are largely de-prioritised by the support services.

Not everybody has this capacity I realise but as a group we are probably low on the priority list for them and with good reason. Those with physical needs and much higher support requirements are the ones who should get the limited resources available.

I know this opinion will not be a popular one, but it makes sense when you take others in higher levels of need into consideration.

While i agree I should be lower on the priority list than many, finding out you are autistic was very traumatic for me.  Some help with sorting through things would have been very beneficial.

i had and am having a hard time dealing with certain aspects ... I can only imagine what it would be like for someone not blessed with my moderately high iq.

I’m totally opposed to online based counselling over the internet, as this is part of the problem, not part of the solution, despite the fact that there are no or very limited services via the NHS or via autism charities and of those that are provided for adults, they are very expensive and/or require GP referrals, where post-Covid, it’s become almost impossible to even speak to a GP on the phone or online, let alone in person - then if you actually get to speak to a GP, it’s only for one issue at a time and only for 10 mins - even the religious bodies have stopped providing services like the priests and nuns used to do years ago - indeed there was once a time when “mental health issues” were dealt with by speaking to the local Catholic Parish Priest in many a village in Rural Ireland for example and this is something that we really do need to return to 

I've availed myself of the service given, found a guy who looks like he could be helpful.

If I can find a way of paying him, that looks promising.

Kudos for supplying the practical help...

thanks. it seems the vulnerabilities of zoom have been improved, which is good, but i would prefer, at least initially, doing it face-to-face.

Touay said:

i'm not sure about doing anything like that over the internet

The technology is secure and so long as you have a private environment to do it in then it can work well.

Think of the advantages of getting the best specialist without having to travel long distances each time, the money you will save on transport, the lack of health risk from public transport or being in close proximity to someone who may or may not have the flu / covid etc.

If getting the private space is an issue then you can always part the car (assuming you have one) somewhere quiet, hotspot your phone to the laptop and do it from there - I've done this once or twice.

I recommed getting a headset so that no-one can overhear the therapists side of the conversation at least. I used the headphones that came with my mobile phone as they have a microphone built in as well.

This is just to highlight the benefits - if you prefer face to face then I think many of the therapists do this too, which is why you can also search by location to see who is close to you.

Thanks Iain. I'll take a look, but i'm not sure about doing anything like that over the internet.

Touay said:

my issue is finding anyone local with experience of autism

Face to face therapy is becoming an outdated concept - if you have a computer with webcam (eg laptop ot tablet) or at a push a mobile phone then you can do the therapy online. I've done this from my initial meeting with a psychiatrist to the subsequent therapy with psychotherapists.

You don't even need special software - they send links to Zoom sessions which your web browser should be able to handle without and problem.

All you really need is privacy for the session and an internet connection (I used to hotspot connect from my mobile phone when I had to).

To find a therapist I can recommned:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling

Select your location and on the ISSUES box chose Autism:

You can then look at the profile of the therapists and work out which one seems suitable for you.

I have no connection with the company other than as a user of their services.

I Sperg said:

My diagnostician looked ta me and told me point blank "there's noting we can do for you."

Have you tried a different therapist? Some have way more experience than others and can come up with different approaches to the issues you are experiencing.

I could have written that. Word for word. Is nice to see someone else speak my truth.

My diagnostician looked ta me and told me point blank "there's noting we can do for you."

hi. i could manage that for a short time. my issue is finding anyone local with experience of autism who is either not coming across as unqualified or very expensive.

hi. i could manage that for a short time. my issue is finding anyone local with experience of autism who is either not coming across as unqualified or very expensive.

I’m totally opposed to online based counselling over the internet, as this is part of the problem, not part of the solution, despite the fact that there are no or very limited services via the NHS or via autism charities and of those that are provided for adults, they are very expensive and/or require GP referrals, where post-Covid, it’s become almost impossible to even speak to a GP on the phone or online, let alone in person - then if you actually get to speak to a GP, it’s only for one issue at a time and only for 10 mins - even the religious bodies have stopped providing services like the priests and nuns used to do years ago - indeed there was once a time when “mental health issues” were dealt with by speaking to the local Catholic Parish Priest in many a village in Rural Ireland for example and this is something that we really do need to return to 

I've availed myself of the service given, found a guy who looks like he could be helpful.

If I can find a way of paying him, that looks promising.

Kudos for supplying the practical help...

thanks. it seems the vulnerabilities of zoom have been improved, which is good, but i would prefer, at least initially, doing it face-to-face.

Touay said:

i'm not sure about doing anything like that over the internet

The technology is secure and so long as you have a private environment to do it in then it can work well.

Think of the advantages of getting the best specialist without having to travel long distances each time, the money you will save on transport, the lack of health risk from public transport or being in close proximity to someone who may or may not have the flu / covid etc.

If getting the private space is an issue then you can always part the car (assuming you have one) somewhere quiet, hotspot your phone to the laptop and do it from there - I've done this once or twice.

I recommed getting a headset so that no-one can overhear the therapists side of the conversation at least. I used the headphones that came with my mobile phone as they have a microphone built in as well.

This is just to highlight the benefits - if you prefer face to face then I think many of the therapists do this too, which is why you can also search by location to see who is close to you.

Thanks Iain. I'll take a look, but i'm not sure about doing anything like that over the internet.

Touay said:

my issue is finding anyone local with experience of autism

Face to face therapy is becoming an outdated concept - if you have a computer with webcam (eg laptop ot tablet) or at a push a mobile phone then you can do the therapy online. I've done this from my initial meeting with a psychiatrist to the subsequent therapy with psychotherapists.

You don't even need special software - they send links to Zoom sessions which your web browser should be able to handle without and problem.

All you really need is privacy for the session and an internet connection (I used to hotspot connect from my mobile phone when I had to).

To find a therapist I can recommned:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling

Select your location and on the ISSUES box chose Autism:

You can then look at the profile of the therapists and work out which one seems suitable for you.

I have no connection with the company other than as a user of their services.

I Sperg said:

My diagnostician looked ta me and told me point blank "there's noting we can do for you."

Have you tried a different therapist? Some have way more experience than others and can come up with different approaches to the issues you are experiencing.