Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
i waited 2 years to be assessed on the NHS. I wanted to know how I might process / differ from others, as I was tired of always having issues with work. I got diagnosed as high functioning autistic and that was it. I just have a label. It now means that if I disclose, people say “how can we help?” and I have nothin to tell them. What an utter waste of time a diagnosis was. Is this normal? I mean, I had an expectation of something like: “yes, you have autism and here is how you differ from neurotypical people” so I had some understanding of why I’d been struggling and a way forward.
did I just get a terrible service, or is this normal? Just slapped with a label and that’s it?
any guidance, gratefully received.
There is a very serious deficit of support for Autistics at level 1 (I prefer the term Aspergers to be honest). A fundamental issue with all Autistics is communication and socialization problems. It also seems to make perception very different. So getting a diagnosis then being told to research and sort yourself out is a huge problem. It is hard enough going through the diagnosis process, never mind being thrown out with no 1 to 1 support. The whole world around us is anti-Autistic! It is too much to deal with alone. To me the diagnosis can isolated you even more. Peer support groups are very often poorly trained and can cause alot of trouble. I just wish there was a well educated, trained, and affordable service from actual Autistics...that is not Gov led, but totally independent.
Nigel said:being thrown out with no 1 to 1 support. The whole world around us is anti-Autistic! It is too much to deal with alone
This relates to how I'm starting to feel, I was diagnosed as a child but I haven't come to terms with/recognised my diagnosis until recently. I had regular 1:1 at school/college level and then it stopped suddenly once I hit adulthood. I feel like I need some level of 1:1 to just sort out some basic and important things to help me get on a path and since discovering myself recently I almost feel worse because of it as now I have an answer to *why* I'm struggling but in that process I'm quickly learning there's basically nothing to help me move forward with that struggle. It feels like too much to deal with alone but being slapped with having to do it alone anyway.
What adds to it, from my experience, is even after a diagnosis, approaching mental health services hoping you can finally get some proper help still makes no difference. Services are stretched, there's still huge lack of awareness and the difference in communication is still there.