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Letter of complaint

Hope

 

Today I sent off a letter of complaint to my local Community Mental Health Team, and it was a great relief to get it off my chest.

In the letter I wrote that, maybe I am naive, but I assumed that the Autism Act 2009 meant that I would gain access to therapy tailored to my needs; that anxiety, it seems, is given short shrift because it is not considered an 'illness' in the same way that depression is - I can get out of bed, no matter that I suffer chronically 24/7. This is the essence of what I wrote, and I requested therapy from  someone who is autism aware, and that the therapy should last longer than the standard 6 weeks.

The letter was addressed to the head of the mental health team.

  • Hi intense world

    I did do the test scoring 8 ish.

    I've decided to stick with the therapy for the while (which is proving useful) as i can then use it as a tool to go back to the doctor and say that I've done what you asked and actually there is still a case for referal to a specialist. As Longman says I may also be able to coach the psyco into highlighting the areas we have found that point to Aspergers being the underlying cause. Getting them to write something down may carry more cloat.

    The other thing is that I'm using the time to gather my thoughts and evidence. Being involved in the forum has shown me many more traits that I share with folks on the spectrum. I think now I would be much better at explaining my reasons. I'll probably give it another couple of months and then make another appointment.

    The other factor is that I'm also asking the doc for a referal on some obscure double vision problems and at the moment they are more of a priority, I'm not sure the NHS can cope with more than one condition at a time.

  • @dunk-in-biscuit: did you complete the AQ10 (see my stickied thread about assessment and diagnosis for adults)?  If you did, and got a score of 6 or more, your GP must refer you.  Even if you didn't complete it, if you have problems that are indicative of potential autism he still must refer you.

    http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13774/59685/59685.pdf

    Look under Identification and Assessment in the above link.  Insist you are referred if you meet the criteria and if you go for an appointment and the GP says no, say there and then that you want a colleague called in and cite the Autism Act 2009 to them and the NICE Guidelines.

    @Hope: look under the bit about Person Centre Care in the above link.

  • That might actually work to your advantage. When I sought a diagnosis nearly ten years ago my GP referred me to a pschologist (on the grounds - I was later shown the letter - that autism is a condition in children that they grow out of, so I must be delusional).

    I contacted the local diagnostic team who had previously directed me to go to my GP first, and they said it often happens like that. The therapist may well pick up there is more to it. In my case the diagnostic centre overruled the decision and I was seen by the diagnostician for autism.

    My GP refused to accept the outcome and would never discuss it. A year later, when I asked if he had received my diagnosis, he joked, I guess..."asperger's.....is that a new kind of vegetable" and changed the subject.

    Trouble is GPs haven't improved all that much since.

  • I currently find myself in the opposite position.

    I couldn't persaude my doctor to refer me for an aspergers assessment so have been sent off for 30+ weeks therapy on the anxiety and depression. It seems that although all the books say that the two problems often become interlinked our health service is incapable of dealing with them in a unified manner.

    Perhaps it is because the "assessment form" does not permit these trained individuals to tick more than one box at a time? That sounds stupid but I suspect that there is a fair degree of truth in it. 

    Dunk