Published on 12, July, 2020
I am fairly recently diagnosed. I am finding it incredibly hard to get any sort of support, guidance, or counselling regarding my ASD.
There are no local groups near me and the NHS waiting list for autism support is two years.
Does anyone have any any advice?
Thanks.
It’s been very hard for me to access any support in my area through the NHS. Yes there are the general mental health services but these are not tailored to specifically meet needs of autistic people. I am back to university now for a PhD and they have offered support- this was the first support I’ve been offered since diagnosis. Private therapy is unfortunately expensive. I’m lucky that my university is now offering support and I’ve recently also had my diagnosis approved in my home country (Luxembourg) where I can now join in on online sessions and workshops, though I haven’t had time to attend and not sure how useful it would be. I’m sorry I also don’t have any advice. I had high hopes when I got diagnosed that there would finally be some adequate support and there wasn’t which was a huge disappointment-this forum has been one of best sources of support
I'd be very interested to hear anyone's experience of post diagnosis support that they have received privately.
As you say, private therapy is expensive, but my question would be is it any better? Do they have a different [more advanced] understanding and treatment that the NHS? Unfortunately I doubt it very much.
The only advantage that I can see when considering private therapy is that you don't have to wait for so long.
GPK26 said:As you say, private therapy is expensive, but my question would be is it any better? Do they have a different [more advanced] understanding and treatment that the NHS? Unfortunately I doubt it very much
With private therapists you can drop them if they are lacking in experience or skills to help you which will be much harder to do on the NHS.
You can also search out a therapist who claims expertise in not only autism but other areas you want help with - basically you have much better access to those with the skills and ability to actualy be of use.
From what others have mentioned on this site about the NHS service quality, it leaves a lot to be desired.
Hi- I am not sure as I’ve not had a private therapist. My dietitian (which is privately) has been giving me the best mental health support- I don’t think this has anything to do with it being privately though. I’ve also had quite good experiences with the counselling service from my university- but they probably have quite a lot of experience with autistic students as over 10% of students at my university have a diagnosis of autism.