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ASD waiting list

Lonieke

Hi everyone,

I've been on a waiting list for ASD assessment since February 2024. I know it can take a reaaally long time, but this seems too long. My GP can't give me any updates. Anyway, two questions I guess. Anyone else experiencing waiting this long? I'm in NHS Highlands and Islands in Scotland. Second question relates to why I just want this waiting to be over with: I have an overwhelming fear that I'm not going to be taken seriously. I'm a women, in my thirties, and I feel like those facts are 'against me'. I keep reading the DSM-5 thinking: yeah, no, I don't fit these the way they are written down here. So how do you get take seriously, when it does finally come to the assessment?

Thank you and I'm sorry for such a long post!

Parents

  • Hi Lonieke,

    I've been on the NHS waiting list since September 2022. I chased up my GP surgery after about a year, they couldn't tell me much but they did confirm that my GP had sent the referral letter and gave me the date, so they had that on record. I'm waiting to be assessed by South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, and had to fill out a questionnaire (over a year ago) to avoid being booted off the waiting list. They said I just needed to write a couple of paragraphs to explain why I think I may have an Autism Spectrum Condition, but I ended up writing about 3 pages - hey, they're asking me about one of my specialist subjects, I'm going to want to go into detail! I've not had much else in way of contact from the NHS Trust, just a couple of unsolicited emails about their mental health Recovery College programmes. I think the waiting lists can sometimes be as long as five years for some trusts. I'm not very good at navigating my way through bureaucratic processes, so the desire to chase them up isn't very strong for me at all. I know the idea of such a long wait can cause some people a great deal of stress and anxiety, and I've found that swings in intensity from time-to-time.

    What I do find helpful is that when I've spoken to my family and the few friends I have, they have taken me seriously and listened to me.

Reply

  • Hi Lonieke,

    I've been on the NHS waiting list since September 2022. I chased up my GP surgery after about a year, they couldn't tell me much but they did confirm that my GP had sent the referral letter and gave me the date, so they had that on record. I'm waiting to be assessed by South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, and had to fill out a questionnaire (over a year ago) to avoid being booted off the waiting list. They said I just needed to write a couple of paragraphs to explain why I think I may have an Autism Spectrum Condition, but I ended up writing about 3 pages - hey, they're asking me about one of my specialist subjects, I'm going to want to go into detail! I've not had much else in way of contact from the NHS Trust, just a couple of unsolicited emails about their mental health Recovery College programmes. I think the waiting lists can sometimes be as long as five years for some trusts. I'm not very good at navigating my way through bureaucratic processes, so the desire to chase them up isn't very strong for me at all. I know the idea of such a long wait can cause some people a great deal of stress and anxiety, and I've found that swings in intensity from time-to-time.

    What I do find helpful is that when I've spoken to my family and the few friends I have, they have taken me seriously and listened to me.

Children
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