Puzzling GP conversation…

Caelus said:

aye... one of my neighbours has a degree and education, he rents while i own... he is 4k overdrawn and has 7 maxed credit cards.

That's because he does not know how to manage his money. Lol there is no cure for idiocy

While I realize that doctors do not know everything which is why there are specialists, but I did realize that in regards to autism, their knowledge in general seems very limiting. The doctor who I saw to ask if I was on the spectrum who I am greatful for, so I don't want to criticize, but I realized that she didn't know what shutdowns were. 

Is not just doctors. School teachers do not have a clue as when I was first out on the assessment list we visited someone my Mum knows and his wife is a teacher in a secondary school with 2000 pupils.  When it was mentioned I was waiting to be assessed she said "You're not autistic. No way! You're not in a wheelchair!"  

 Now she was an intelligent woman who must have taught a large number of pupils and I was wondering how many pupils she must have taught who were on the spectrum and she didn't know, and at least half would not know themselves!

You don't sound autistic at all

aye... one of my neighbours has a degree and education, he rents while i own... he is 4k overdrawn and has 7 maxed credit cards.

MDs are often 'higher doctorates' in the UK, unlike in the US where an MD is the basic medical qualification required to practise medicine. In the UK the basic qualification is MBChB (or equivalent) i.e. Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery.

My Gp said that he was referring me because I hadn’t  made eye contact with him, I could have looked at his mouth quite easily, I just bought the game down to his level.

And herein lies the problem - autism is a difference in communication. Which can cause us problems before we have even begun.

Thanks so much for your kind reply. I wish I had said that despite holding down a job and a marriage, both are very difficult for me on a daily basis (hence being signed off!!) hindsight is a wonderful thing!

Thanks for your reply. I have opted to go private for an assessment as I’m not keen to wait for an NHS one and as I live in Scotland right to choose isn’t available. Helpfully another GP at the practice who was very kind wrote me a letter giving my health insurance the go ahead for the assessment.

Another GP stuck in the dark ages, she missed off that you don’t look autistic! 
I’m fifty six and worked my whole life, I’ve been married for 33 years and have two adult sons. I  don’t fit the stereotypical view of autism. What the outside world never saw was that everyday was a struggle, some still are. 
The not believing by others was what pushed me to get referred for an assessment. Sorry your GP is so blinkered, I hope your assessment brings you answers.

My job, among other things, has significantly contributed to burnout. I'm thankful to be in a relationship to get the support that I need in my day to day life. I would struggle immensely if I did not have that support. For physical medical problems it's often "ruling things out" to get the answer. The fact they think you can't be autistic doesn't mean one shouldn't be put forward for assessment. An assessment is to find out just that - to get an answer. If you are going down the private route, you will know for yourself, which is the most important thing.

hello both, I would really appreciate it if replies were constructive on my post.

LOL, American propaganda again. UK student loan is incredibly easy to pay, and if you get a good degree you will earn several times the salary of a person without. If you get a Mickey Mouse degree you will be in debt for life, but then you would just deserve it. I spoke with people with an History or Arts degree earning minimum wage lol.

ha, if you got a degree then you need help because your degree would have likely put you in a life of debt lol

i kinda expect that.

they should look for historic issues in it rather than a end product... as a older autistic person may have sorted their life out in the very long time it takes for these guys to see them...

me for example, i lived with my parents up to my 30s, no relationships, friends, jobs or anything... so id pass.... but i was never diagnosed, i was wanting to fix my life and do something about it in a spurt of motivation and thats when i asked to be helped or diagnosed and got on the list, but in the long wait time i found a way to help myself, i got myself big money from investments, and a job, and got my own place and moved out of my parents.... the asking for diagnosis was just the start of me changing my life and trying to get help, they failed to provide help on time and i managed to somehow luck myself into a life which now they would judge to not be autistic due to holding a job and having a home... although no relationships, that i cant figure out how to even start lol 

but yeah, if they ignored the current situation, and looked at the whole picture, they wouldnt discard your case for your current instance of having your life together because you may not have had it together for the majority of your life and you may well have been far behind everyone else for all they know. its a inability for them to see the larger picture of your life. or see historically.

Not at all. As soon as you have a diagnosis signed by a reputable psychiatrist with a MD degree, GPs and workplace assessors will just shut up. No one of them will openly challenge  another MD. This is why I waited to get my assessment from PsychiatryUK before asking for workplace adjustments.

Sad situation but not unexpected.

Reminds me of my PIP assessment saying that I don't need any help because I successfully completed a degree.

Absolutely, I understand that not all medical professionals can be 100% informed on every medical issue, still a bit of a disappointing statement to hear after a two minute conversation!

I had a hunch that there will be a lot of this should I get a diagnosis! 

Lol, there is a lot of misinformation around. I cannot blame GP for not being informed, they already have too much to study and keep up to date with.

However, the misinformation is a problem. Prepare yourself to hear "you do not look autistic" a lot. Some people will be perplexed because they will assume that you would be a drooling idiot. Some other will be perplexed because they will assume  that you will be Tony Stark. Be prepared.

Thank you for your reply. This is all very new for me and it seems that in one month I have learned more about autism than someone with a medical degree!