Any help / guidance

KolaKube, Hi

I'm sorry to read of your circumstanaces, it all sounds pretty horrendous,

I think the council have given you incorrect information.  I don't think you have to be actually homeless to qualify to go on the social housing register.  Maybe you should have a word with Citizens Advice, or Shelter.  Or how about contacting your local councillor? Or, of course, you could always contact your local MP; many of them hold 'surgeries' these days so you can meet them face to face and tell them your situation.

I'm just sorry I can't offer more advice.

Ben

Hi Ben

thanks for the reply appreciated.

the council told me that if I am not happy with their reply to go to the lgsco which I did but they sided with the council.

I have contacted citizens advice many times but they were of no help just gave me the number for shelter, when I rang shelter they said there are many cases similar to mine and that if their lawyer don’t contact me then they can’t help, their lawyer never contacted me

i sent an email to my mp which was answered by her secretary who asked for more info, once I gave the info the secretary said the mp is aware of housing shortages and is raising it in parliament and that was the end of that. 

I haven’t contacted the councillor as when I don’t get any help I become distressed and self harm 

I'm sorry to read your reply, KolaKube.

You mustn't give up, you must contact your councillor next. Try Shelter and the MP again, keep writing to them. Don't just accept their empty replies.

For Citizens Advice and Shelter, can you book a face-to-face appointment?  It might be easier that way, but I know it could be daunting for some.

Can you look for alternative private accommodation? In most places they advertise in the evening papers.

I'm sorry I can't offer more, but don't just give up..... keep contacting them, make a nuisance of yourself..... don't let them forget your name... you've nothing to lose. And please don't self-harm, if you feel you're going to do that then call the Samaritans and talk talk talk, then talk some more, unload your problems. they WILL listen. It helps to talk, it really does, I know from personal experience some years ago, long before I was assessed.

Ben

I can wait, not a problem for now. Your current situation is more dire than mine and needs dealing with more urgency. My living environment is not ideal but it's not bad either.

Hi Thomas

i understand your concerns with the confidence in the system

hopefully the wait isn’t too long for your asd 

My will power is lacking and so is my confidence in the system. I think my best approach is to seek an ASD assessment, given my life/history tells the story. All the ASD assessor needs to do is look at my history and my current situation to see there is something not right, something that does not reflect how I look and how they perceive me. I mask obsessively and that's not something my Dr could understand or recognize but an ASD specialist should be able to see it for what it is.

I didn't even know I was masking and what masking was until I joined this site and gave some details about myself. That's when someone made a comment telling me that I was autistic masking. Then it suddenly all made sense to me. A random person on the internet was more inquisitive than any Dr or health professional that I've ever seen.

That’s about the same waiting time down here in Greater London 

Thomas, I would fill out the uc50 form again giving real life situations when asked for evidence, if they deem you fit for work ask for the MR, if that fails go to tribunal

noone should be persecuted on their ‘looks’ 

On the Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service (LADS) website, they give an example of time for those over 18 years of age:

Quote: "Lucy was referred to LADS in June 2023. She was seen for an initial appointment in September 2024. The final appointment took place in March 2026 and Lucy received her diagnostic outcome"

Wherever I look the trend is longer waiting times.

I have but I failed the Work Capability Assessment. The assessor came to my home and told me to grab his wrist and squeeze and I was deemed fit to work. That was despite getting diagnosed with agoraphobia several years previous. My problem is that my looks are very deceiving. I look like a guy in his prime, fit and healthy, attractive even, has good fashion style. On top of that I also mask. No one can see through it, they only see what is on the surface. It's always worked against me when trying to get support.

Thanks again, when I was first referred for my asd by the gp it was refused and I was notified within 2 weeks, I’m going to look into paying private so that I know 

go is appreciated

I had my assessment purely to validate my self-realisation that I was autistic. Having coped in society for 59 years I had no expectation of getting any financial or other practical support. As long as you ensure that the private provider is suitably registered with the NHS you should be fine. If any public body challenges your diagnosis it is they who are in the wrong and ignorant of the rules (this does happen, unfortunately).

Taken verbatim from the NICE guidelines for the assessment of ASD, "Diagnostic assessment, which in the UK uses ICD-10, is often within a multi-disciplinary team but at a minimum is by a qualified clinician, usually a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist or neurologist." From the document: Autism Recognition, referral, diagnosis and management of adults on the autism spectrum, National Clinical Guideline Number 142, p. 25.

Many thanks for this info Martin, I’m considering paying privately due to the waiting list and if I am assessed as having autism it will help me come to terms with things

The NICE guidelines for autism assessment and diagnosis only specify that the assessor is a suitably qualified clinician and registered with an appropriate clinical professional body, where they work and how the assessment is funded are irrelevant. Most clinicians providing private diagnoses also work for the NHS. However, this is also irrelevant as the private provider they work for will be registered with and recognised by the NHS. Otherwise, as I pointed out above, why would NHS money be spent on such assessments?

I was privately assessed and diagnosed by a consultant psychiatrist who also worked for the NHS as the senior clinician in a closed psychiatric unit.

Martin, thanks for the info I will look into this, when I rang the centre where my referral for asd was made then said it will take a few months to be triaged so see if I can join the waiting list, then there is a 24 - 30 month wait as they assess children first

im sure I read somewhere that the assessment although paid for has to be done by a clinician who also works for the nhs to be recognised ? 

im sorry to read of your dilemma Thomas, have you not applied for lcw ? I currently receive LCWRA and pip along with uc as I suffer with anxiety 

All the providers I am aware of have waiting times in months not years. You can, of course pay for a private assessment yourself (no need for GP involvement), I think that this is quicker than the scheme. The NHS assessment is based on that for young children and takes longer and involves more clinicians than adult assessment by private providers, so whatever the relative waiting times, the private providers can assess many more people in any given time period. This is why the scheme was instigated.

You still need a referral from your doctor and waiting times are still up to 3 years, so I don't see how it's a better alternative? It would only be a better alternative if you could pay to speed up the possess but I don't think that's possible in this scheme.  

I rather suspect that any private provider that is in the NHS 'Right to Choose' scheme will give valid diagnoses for PIP. Otherwise, why would NHS money be spent in that way?

Your GP can refer you for a private ASD assessment that will be paid for by the NHS, it is called the 'Right to Choose' scheme. It is much faster than waiting for the NHS assessment itself. See here for details: psychiatry-uk.com/.../

I remember a time when people over 45 with social difficulties were afforded sheltered housing, regardless if you were able-bodied. Now if you're able-bodied, it's difficult to get any support unless you have physical characteristics of your mental condition. It's left many of us in a hopeless situation. I've been sanctioned by the jobcentre for 15+ years for not applying for jobs, receiving 67 pounds a fortnight. I would be screwed without support from my remaining parent. I'm 40 and my parent won't be around forever, so I need to start seeking an ASD diagnoses before the waiting time increases further than the current 3 years.

Hi Thomas0856

thanks for the reply.

I already get pip due to my anxiety I want help from social services hence my asd diagnosis 

Hi Thomas0856

thanks for the reply.

I already get pip due to my anxiety I want help from social services hence my asd diagnosis 

I can wait, not a problem for now. Your current situation is more dire than mine and needs dealing with more urgency. My living environment is not ideal but it's not bad either.

Hi Thomas

i understand your concerns with the confidence in the system

hopefully the wait isn’t too long for your asd 

My will power is lacking and so is my confidence in the system. I think my best approach is to seek an ASD assessment, given my life/history tells the story. All the ASD assessor needs to do is look at my history and my current situation to see there is something not right, something that does not reflect how I look and how they perceive me. I mask obsessively and that's not something my Dr could understand or recognize but an ASD specialist should be able to see it for what it is.

I didn't even know I was masking and what masking was until I joined this site and gave some details about myself. That's when someone made a comment telling me that I was autistic masking. Then it suddenly all made sense to me. A random person on the internet was more inquisitive than any Dr or health professional that I've ever seen.

Thomas, I would fill out the uc50 form again giving real life situations when asked for evidence, if they deem you fit for work ask for the MR, if that fails go to tribunal

noone should be persecuted on their ‘looks’ 

I have but I failed the Work Capability Assessment. The assessor came to my home and told me to grab his wrist and squeeze and I was deemed fit to work. That was despite getting diagnosed with agoraphobia several years previous. My problem is that my looks are very deceiving. I look like a guy in his prime, fit and healthy, attractive even, has good fashion style. On top of that I also mask. No one can see through it, they only see what is on the surface. It's always worked against me when trying to get support.

im sorry to read of your dilemma Thomas, have you not applied for lcw ? I currently receive LCWRA and pip along with uc as I suffer with anxiety 

I remember a time when people over 45 with social difficulties were afforded sheltered housing, regardless if you were able-bodied. Now if you're able-bodied, it's difficult to get any support unless you have physical characteristics of your mental condition. It's left many of us in a hopeless situation. I've been sanctioned by the jobcentre for 15+ years for not applying for jobs, receiving 67 pounds a fortnight. I would be screwed without support from my remaining parent. I'm 40 and my parent won't be around forever, so I need to start seeking an ASD diagnoses before the waiting time increases further than the current 3 years.