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Autism assessment waiting list

John878990



Hey everyone Wave

So today my psychiatrist said he suspects I might be autistic and recommended going for an assessment.

I agreed to the referral, but then he told me the current wait time is around 4 years and 8 months Flushed

Is that normal?! Has anyone else been through this recently and can share what your timeline looked like?

Just trying to figure out if this is typical or if something’s gone a bit mad with the system.

Would really appreciate hearing your experiences. To be honest, it all sounds pretty stressful—and I’m not keen on the idea of just being handed antidepressants as a quick fix to mask what might actually be a broader health condition.

Also I'm wondering if the psychiatrist might’ve regretted starting the referral, and maybe was subtly encouraged to stretch the process out so I’d eventually give up on it altogether.

Thanks all

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  • My experience since a referral was agreed last year was that I then had contact within 28 days and I had to complete questionnaires and go for a meeting of about 45 minutes where I was asked lots of questions about my experience, including childhood. All that went to a psychologist and after about 3 months I was told that I met enough of the criteria to be put on the waiting list for assessment, which is very long and will probably take over 4 years.

    I only asked for the referral after I had difficulties at work which resulted in time off due to burnout. Apart from that, I can say I have learnt a lot before that from others on this Forum which has helped.

  • in reply to Homebird
    Homebird said:
    I was told that I met enough of the criteria to be put on the waiting list for assessment, which is very long and will probably take over 4 years.

    If you live in England, then you can still request a re-referral via RTC, with a much shorter waiting time, as explained below in my earlier reply to John.

    I was on the NHS waiting list for two years before my psychiatrist recommended that I switch to the RTC pathway, which I'd been unaware of until that point. After switching, I was diagnosed just a few months later. I'd have been waiting for at least another year, and probably longer, if I'd stayed on the NHS list. 

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  • in reply to Homebird
    Homebird said:
    I was told that I met enough of the criteria to be put on the waiting list for assessment, which is very long and will probably take over 4 years.

    If you live in England, then you can still request a re-referral via RTC, with a much shorter waiting time, as explained below in my earlier reply to John.

    I was on the NHS waiting list for two years before my psychiatrist recommended that I switch to the RTC pathway, which I'd been unaware of until that point. After switching, I was diagnosed just a few months later. I'd have been waiting for at least another year, and probably longer, if I'd stayed on the NHS list. 

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