Published on 12, July, 2020
I don't know who will see this, but if anybody has any tips on how to have the conversation with my (dismissive) doctors about having my assessment put forward, I would be very very appreciative! 4 days left till the appointment and I still dont have a clue how to have the conversation
I keep thinking and writing lists on what I need to get dine but find myself wasting hours and having nothing to show from it because I have awful environmental anxiety based around doctors and clinical settings! I've had almost 2 months to get everything planned and sorted but the overwhelm has ended up taking over and it's now that the appointment is 4 days away I can feel the anxiety creeping in.
If I can't get a plan of conversation organised I know for a fact the appointment will go to poop.
I've reached a point of being dismissed and invalidated by my local doctors surgery that I feel " Do Not Listen To Her" is written in bold letters above my name. It sucks because all I want is to improve my quality of life which I deserve as much as anybody else deserves.
If anybody has a sort of script or sources I could read to better prepare myself that really would be helpful and a massive thank you in advance.
My plan has been to head to the library and print out (an official pre- assessment not just any random one) and other sources i have found where I write notes along side the information to make points for how it relates to me, as I know I just can't rely on my speak and words to come out properly, I figured having printed information may be able to help me get my points across. However, my anxiety has grabbed a hold of this and is telling me they'll take me less seriously if I have printed information I am going by.
My head hurts!
I have a specialist appointment coming up. I looked up the diagnostic criteria from the DSM 5 (the manual) and then made notes alongside each criterion as to how I believe I may meet those criteria. I think it'll be helpful, I've met with this psychologist before for something else and I know he's a nice, understanding guy. So I think this approach will work with him.
I was lucky with my GP. I've been under her care for a few years now and she is familiar with my mental health journey: depression, etc. Here in New Zealand, its practically impossible to be referred for a free autism assessment as an adult unless you have another mental health issue that you think is being caused by the potential autism, or is related. She referred me because of my ongoing struggles with depression. So, if you have any other mental health issues, it will definitely help to mention them. I also took printouts of a couple of online autism assessments I had done, which she also considered.
I reckon just be very straight up honest, say you're worried you might forget to mention something due to being nervous, so you wrote some information down. I think that's perfectly reasonable.
It's funny you say that because my journey over the last 2 years surrounding my mental health, is what lead me to this path. It was my last appointment November/February time that I was getting so frustrated with myself for not being able to explain HOW I felt and all I could highlight and converse about was my depression, this was because I relapsed into a depressive state and I'm used to those feelings so can actually articulate them. However, what I finally realised was that depression is a symptom of a bigger picture. How there's more going on and that I just don't know. I took a big step back and I can't even remember what pointed me in the direction of being nuerodeverse, but the shoe fit perfectly. Even down to how now I have this awareness, I haven't had a single depressive episode. I've felt sad, I've felt my traumas and troubles, but it hasn't turned into a complete whirlwind of unwanted feelings and thoughts causing a reckoning in my life, I've learnt about autism meltdowns and whereas I've always struggled to "get a grib" with my anger, since learning different approaches and coping methods based on ND individuals, I've been able to handle it better.
Are these the types of things that would be helpful to speak about?
I think I'm glad to read others have printed out information, it does make it much easier to grasp the particular points needed to be spoken about, and there's no shame in that, sorry if I only half make sense, I didn't sleep well last night