Published on 12, July, 2020
I just found out I'm having my NHS autism assessment next week. Apparently they had a cancellation so I got in sooner than I expected. Is there anything I should do to prepare? It's in person. I already know how to get to the place.
My NHS assessment last year took a whole day with breaks. Most of it consisted of the guy working through a thick 'workbook' of questions. By the end of the day I'd also done some more practical tests. I can remember being asked to narrate my own story as I worked through a picture book with no words, to describe a very detailed picture and was also to do just what I wanted to do with a load of items put down in front of me. Some time later he spoke with my brother and sister about what I was like when I was younger. Six weeks later I met him again and he gave me the diagnosis with a long, detailed peer reviewed report and a one page report for my employer, etc.
The part with the picture book and the objects on the table is called the ADOS test, you can google it.
I found it quite strange (but not unpleasant). In retrospect my performance in this part of the assessment probably left them in no doubt I am autistic.