Diagnosis and informant report request from Psychiatry-UK

That sounds to me like they are looking for excuses to kick you.

I think they have changed policy.

I was told many many months ago that I didn't need an informant report. Then when it came to booking an appointment I was told "there is no informant report" and denied.

I don't know if different doctors have different policies. I regret choosing the doctor I did because it was obvious that nothing at all was read and they were completely uncontactable.

They told me it is impossible to be diagnosed without an informant report and they would remove me as a patient if I didn't provide one within 2 weeks.

I just got my diagnosis from Skylight Psychiatry. I’m 59 so no parents available. I completed a lengthy questionnaire about my childhood. My “quirky” traits are part of family lore so together with my excellent long term memory, that was plenty to go on. I doubt my school reports from the 60s and 70s would’ve been any use. 

Apologies for my grammar, I don't seem to be able to write (or should I say type) properly anymore. 

I was diagnosed by Psychiatry-uk too in December and I got my husband to fill out the forms from his perspective. I was able to remember a lot of my early childhood and didn't provide school reports. I also had some evidence from Lanc UK but I was referred from them due to issues so I started the process and had written information from Lanc UK too which may have helped. For me although parents are both alive for me, I was brought up under a guardianship and the people who raised me both passed away too, so I really had no information to give to them. It was never an issue though, I had two separate virtual sessions two weeks apart as I went into a lot of detail around the questions, the doctor I had was lovely, very understanding and thankful of the information I did provide. But the doctor did say that because I met the criteria to indicate I had these same traits I experience as an adult in childhood then it was enough for them to diagnose me. And the traits I do have now I vividly remember and have examples from child to teenager to young adult etc. My husband was in a similar situation to me regarding his ADHD diagnosis a few years back and I filled in forms for him, he got his diagnosis too. I think if even if you have someone in your life who knows you well enough to fill them in they don't necessarily have to be from childhood. Yes that would help but sometimes you just can't provide that information because its just not possible. As I say there was no issues for me, but I hope this answer as helped a little bit for you.

I was diagnosed by Psychiatry UK at 59, both my parents were, sadly, deceased. My wife filled out the report. They want two things, firstly an indication that your traits date back to reasonably early childhood, this is a requirement for diagnosis, and some corroboration of your traits. The first should be covered by your school reports (which is why they asked for them), for the second they just want someone who knows you to comment about your traits. I suspect that anyone who knows you and is willing to fill some of the form would do. I do not think that they require someone to fill the entire form in huge detail, just some of the sections that cover how they have interacted with you.

I recieved my diagnosis through psychiatry uk and they were very helpful and understanding, they also recognised that autism in women is different in comparison to autism in men.

There are plenty of others whose parents are no longer alive or available so it is not uncommon for older applicants to be unable to source these resources.

I would simply notify the company that your parents are no longer available.

I didn't even have school reports or info going back more than a few years to work with (I was in my 50s when I was diagnosed) and they had to rely on my recall of events. It did not affect the diagnosis, in fact they had to work harder with current information on me to work out how prevelant my autistic traits were.

Being very open and honest (even when it may be uncomfortable) is the key to getting a accurate diagnosis in these situations and they are trained to be able to do it, so don't let them fob you off.