Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi I am 37 and recently had my asd assessment. I'm waiting to hear back but was told it might come back inconclusive (despite them saying I showed obvious communication and social problems) because I don't have anyone from my childhood that they can interview. I do not have contact with my family (I went no contact a few years ago) and everyone else I know has known me from 16 onwards.
I have been trying to find any school reports/doctor reports with no luck.
Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? I know I will be devastated if I can't get the diagnosis.
My husband was interviewed as he has known me since I was 16 and known my family for nearly 20 years. He has had chats with family members who have spoke about my childhood traits that highly indicate autism. Would this be enough to tell the assessors?
Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you
Like Debbie, my parents were deceased and I have a good recollection of my childhood.
After a full assessment, I was diagnosed at age 67.
Ben
This part isn't compulsory - if you think about it, if your parents were dead then you would not be able to get the info anyway, so the assessment has to allow for this.
You should work on your best recallection of events - this will enough for them to work with although the info will be flagged as unreliable. It is unlikely to change the result though.
Focus on the adult issues would be my recommendations. Look at the list of adult autistic traits and see which of these relate to you:
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism
The key thing is not to mask during the interview - be open, honest and focus on the identified autistic traits you have and you will be fine.
As an ex-pat young man immigrant to the UK I too had your same problem. I was fortunate to receive some flexibility with the Owl Centre and their diagnostic assessment. This may have possibly been because of my pre-engagement with county assigned "consultants" who was a total waste of time.
NAS64600 said:I'm waiting to hear back but was told it might come back inconclusive (despite them saying I showed obvious communication and social problems) because I don't have anyone from my childhood that they can interview.
I'm surprised + perturbed by this.
My parents are both deceased and so there was only my own testament to rely on for my diagnosis at 60.
I do also remember my childhood quite well though.
Good luck!
I didn't have any useful input from my family and I still got diagnosed, though to be fair I do have quite a good memory regarding my childhood. But yes, evidence from someone who knew you as a teenager should be enough, especially with those comments from others to back it up.