Does an official diagnosis help

It helps me in terms of validation. My diagnosis is ten years old before ADHD was seen as a possible co-occurring condition. Reading more about this, I actually think I have AuDHD but because I don't have the ADHD part of the diagnosis, there's no validation. So, yes, I feel an official diagnosis brings a form of validation you perhaps won't get without it, although I completely understand how difficult it is to get a diagnosis.

I always knew I was autistic and have literally gotten an official diagnosis today. Unfortunately they haven’t offered me any support or extra information or anything. On the plus side, it validates all of my experiences. It may be too early to tell, but so far the only difference I can see my diagnosis making is extra support at work and that feeling of validation. I hope this helps!

I went through the process last couple of years after knowing for years that I am autistic. I got my feedback last week and my diagnosis. I did right to choose and went with clinical partners as I heard better reviews from others with them than psychiatry uk. I’m really glad I went through the process, it was mentally draining at times but I think I would have struggled to keep going with a self diagnosis although everyone feels different about this. It’s quite obvious to others I’m autistic and I’ve been asked a number of times if I am so for me it made sense to get one so I could get workplace adjustments.

You can still put things in place for yourself without one though and I get that after going through the process if you don’t get one that wouldn’t be a nice feeling and I was terrified of that happening to me. There are other options though if you find you don’t get a diagnosis and I was also reassured by the fact that you can still be neurodiverse but you just might not meet the criteria for diagnosis. I would say just make sure you go in knowing that it is quite a long and difficult process, i didn’t have an informant which made it more difficult but if you check on clinical partners site the wait times are vastly reduced now to I think 5 and a half months. Mine was 18 months so it is better at the moment. If you have any questions about it though feel free to message me :) 

I think it has been helpful  - yes. The gp in my practice that I like said that I could always see her instead of having to see whichever doctor is available as she understood my need as an autistic person to have continuity. Not that I hardly ever go to the gp as I avoid medical things whenever possible! It helped with my dentist though as she understood that my being autistic meant I might find some things more challenging - and she responded very sensitively to that. 

Hi. I'm glad it's helped you. I do feel it's a shame only an official diagnosis is accepted to gain support. 

I have heard about that right to choose and I seems a much faster wait time.

Hi, I have spoken to family members are there are the least surprised to hear about it. 

Thanks for your reply. It's really helpful to hear from everyone.

Thank you. I am happy to see how accepted self diagnosed people are here.

Thank you for your reply. 

I am maybe looking for reasons to be kind to myself through diagnosis. I'm glad your mental health was improved this. I am wondering if it would also help me in that way too. I have made progress in managing my anxiety , however I still get frustrated when I can't explain or understand how or why I feel a certain way. 

Hi. I'm glad you're daughter has her diagnosis to access support. 

Thanks for your reply, I have worried that a self diagnosis would-be looked down upon, in a way. This is also a reason for wanting to know more about other people's experience. 

I was relieved when i got my diagnosis in March this year. It has helped me understand me better and some of the things i do. It also helped me understand things i did and didnt do growing up. I was self diagnosing before and mentioned some adjustments at work but was told there couldnt be met without a proper diagnosis.

So i went to my GP, had a discussion, filled in their AQ-10 form and was referred to Psychiatry UK via Right To Choose.

It took 5 months in total from going to the GP and having my assessment.

I was identified last May. The sense of relief was huge. I understand why I am like I am and that is massive. Coming to terms with it has taken some time though. I still haven’t told many people because I don’t think they need to know and funnily enough those I have said oh yes we knew or we are not surprised. Seems I was the last person to know. 

For me an offical diagnosis really helped. I went 19 years of my life wondering why I struggled so much and getting that offical diagnosis was so validating for me. It also gave me the confidence to ask for adjustments and made me feel less alone in my struggles 

Most people, yes. I decided not to pursue one as I don't need any support and would be unlikely to get it anyway, and I am comfortable how I am. It's a very personal decision, but all are welcome here.

Hello.

I'm new here but thought I would contribute to this.

I've been diagnosed 14 years, I was diagnosed with Aspergers. It helped me gain some answers as to why I was so different and that then led to me feeling less lonely when I realised there's thousands of others like we all across the world. I grew less frustrated with myself and have started being kinder to myself, it's improved my mental health all round really.

The way I saw it was I had nothing to lose seeking a diagnosis and a whole lot to gain. It's been more rewarding having my diagnosis than I ever imagined.

I hope whatever you decide on doing it brings you happiness :)

Me and my wife got an official diagnosis for my daughter (paid for service, not NHS) because we could see she was struggling in her life and she was about to start secondary school, so we wanted her to get the support she needed. It wasn't until after my daughter's diagnosis that I considered I could be autistic too, it just never occurred to me until the assessors explained how genetics could factor in, and then a lot of things felt like they clicked into place.

I ultimately decided not to get myself diagnosed. Aside from some potentially off-putting things like the wait time (or cost), I just realised that, for me, getting a diagnosis or not wouldn't really change the world around me. I'm probably very lucky in that I don't think I need many adjustments in my life/work to get by, though I do now understand what I find difficult and what I found difficult in my past. I understand though that some people do need additional support, and a diagnosis would give validation to that. I'm able to make this decision and move on knowing more about myself, but that is because of my own unique circumstances, everyone is unique and special in their own way.

I also know that "self diagnosis" is a bit of a loaded term these days, and some people will consider that in a derogatory way. So I also try to not make much of it, only the people who truly care about me know because I told them, which is my family and my 2 closest friends.

Those are both great reasons to pursue a diagnosis! One thing I did  before being assessed was, if I related strongly to a particular autistic experience, I started unmasking that part of me, and creating better systems in my life (though, I did this with help through work - it helped I already had an ADHD diagnosis and my work were supportive when I told them I was pursuing an autism diagnosis too). 

So, the GP wasn't supportive straight away. I ended up arguing with the first GP  I won't go into it but basically he thought I was trying to get undiagnosed with ADHD (i don't know where he got that from) and didn't listen when I tried to correct him. But, I complained and the second GP was fine. 

As for the assessment, it was one appointment that took approx 4 hours, and i broight my mum along for the develomental history part. I know some places break it up into more than one. Then, 3 weeks later I had the 'feedback session' where they told me the outcome. 

I'm still waiting on the full report that theyre posting out. Hope that is helpful information for you

Thank you. 

Yeah I have seen a lot of people saying the validation was so important for them. 

I do feel I having been looking for that in therapy and haven't fully found it. 

Thanks for replying. 

Oh thanks for the tip, I have heard about long wait times so I guess I would just have assumed that would be why an assessment was taking so long.