Autism video assessment

you would have to go for a private assessment which would be a few hours, they will be trained professionals. 

Thank you. I did look for the website and found it unavailable, but have come across Shropshire Disability Network which looks to have the contact details on. 

For adults, their history of traits should take precedence over observation. Observation is vital for childhood diagnosis, but it is unfortunately often carried over into adult assessment where its utility and application is questionable. A three year old autistic child is very different from a 30 year old autistic adult with many years of perfecting masking techniques behind them.

No one talking to me would suspect that I was autistic - unless I was in a very rare meltdown and I bottle up meltdowns until I am alone virtually 100% of the time. However, I amassed pages and pages  of notes on my autistic traits and history. I made sure that my notes covered all the necessary criteria from the diagnostic manuals. This might sound a little cold-blooded, but I do not trust clinicians to ask the right questions all of the time.

You would have been paying for 2 hours of the clinician's time. This includes reading through the written submissions. It helps to look at the diagnostic criteria beforehand (available online) so that the written material covers all the necessary criteria. It sounds like the information provided missed out on some aspect of the criteria. The common stumbling blocks are 'evidence of traits from early childhood' and the 'impact that autistic traits have on everyday life'.

I was going to share the link to her website with you, but it looks like it is down at the moment. I can send you her email address later if you need it. Also, feel free to ask me any questions you may have, either publicly or privately.

Thank you for that information, I will look into that. He would definitely like a 2nd opinion.

When I had my private assessment with Shropshire Autonomy last year, the information gathering (pre-assessment) video call lasted between 5 and 6 hours. I then had a further 30-40 mins with an NHS psychiatrist for my formal medical assessment. Half an hour seems way too short in my opinion, especially for an adult. Shropshire Autonomy generally works out cheaper than some of the other private diagnosis routes, as most of the leg-work is done at the pre-assessment stage by Sara Heath, who is non-medical autism specialist. Additionally, she will only refer you the NHS psychiatrist if she is confident that there is sufficient evidence for you to actually gain a medical diagnosis. If you are wanting a second opinion and have to go private, I have no hesitation in recommending Sara at Shropshire Autonomy as a possible route for you. Good luck to you and your son, whatever you decide.  

Thank you for your reply. I think it would have suited my son to have a face to face assessment rather than by video. I know we filled out forms, but to meet someone and within 30 minutes have already made a decision seems not thorough enough to me. 

This sounds hugely inadequate.

I had a questionnaire, an hour discussion on the questionnaire, then another long wait. An hours discussion with my parent over the phone. And then an appointment with 1.5 hour interview and an hour where they got me to do tasks and observed me. 

I was given the impression that the observation component is an important aspect.

My assessment was with Harley Psychiatrists via the NHS.

Thank you for your reply. I will report back as it then may help others who find themselves in the same situation. 

That definitely seems inadequate. 

I think I had around 4 questionnaires plus the RAADS. 

All the best with this.

It would be good if you are able to report back if you make any headway. 

My son filled in a questionnaire, he is 25, and I did too. Just checked with him about the timings and he said they spent about 10 minutes explaining about the assessment, asked him questions for about 15 minutes, and took 5 minutes to make a decision, so 30 minutes total.

Were there any written materials to complete beforehand?

For example, questionnaires and the RAADS-R?

That is what I had for my online assessment along with two 45 minute to an hour interviews.

If the assessment was mainly done via the written work this could be why the conclusion was reached although half an hour is inadequate. 

Thank you for your reply, yes we feel that it was shoddy work. My son is waiting for their letter to see if there is a way to get a 2nd opinion.

Thank you for your reply. He doesn't feel that they spent long enough asking the right type of questions to be able to come to the right decision on a diagnosis or not. Maybe I should have mentioned that I'm autistic, I was at the Lorna Wing Centre for a day and my assessment took a few hours, then I was given my diagnosis. 

One session lasting less than 30 minutes is pretty shoddy work. It might not mean their conclusion is wrong, but that's not the standard. 

The nature of autism is that is has a range of traits, behaviours and sensitivities that are at varying levels for every autist, and the way the diagnosis works is you get scored on these depending on how bad they are for you.

There is a calculation performed (I assume each category gets a weighting depending on how much of an issue that behaviour etc is) and the level for it is multiplied by the weighting - then all the main categories are added up and a number reached.

If you reach the threshold for it to be disabling for you then you are given the diagnosis, but if it is not serious enough, you don't get that label as an autist - effectively it works out if it is bad enough for you to be considered disabled.

It sounds like your son doesn't qualifiy as badly effected enough to be given the diagnosis.

With the waiting lists of 3-4 years min most locations for NHS feferrals then I think you will have a long wait for a second opinion. I don't think they will approve of a second opinion from a private clinic however - they have done their duty and if you don't like the result then your only recourse is the slow procee I suspect.

Alternatively you can go privately yourself, but be prepared that they may come to the same conclusion so you will have waster thousands of pounds.