Advice on assessments

Dear alterpop,

Thank you for your message. We have a wealth of advice here on the NAS website. First may I signpost you to the diagnosis section which will hopefully explain the process to you. Please find the link here:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis

Please feel free to explore the Advice and Guidance pages should you wish to find out more. 

I hope everything goes well for you.

With best wishes,

Anna Mod

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me but I was rather hoping a human could just say how they experienced it. I hate links and things like that and I struggle with my ADHD reading things. I was just hoping someone could put a couple of paragraphs just on how they experienced things. To be honest I have LOADS of questions as I am just realising A LOT about myself and working through stuff. Is there any groups you can suggest or suggest ANYTHING as I feel like I don't know what to do now kind of thing?

Hi, bit late to the party replying to this but I had my assessment the other day so I'll share my experience while its fresh in my mind. Im assuming you are still waiting for your assessment.

My experience through the NHS went like this.

When the appointment is booked they will send you 2 questionnaires; one for you to complete and one for a family member or someone who knew you as a child. ( you can complete both if you don't want to involve anyone else- they do ask different questions so if you're not giving it to someone else I would suggest taking a look at both yourself. Thats what I did). They involve really thinking about your past and I found doing them a little at a time was best as they're fairly long. You send them back prior to your appointment.

During your appointment it's just a pile of questions similar to the questionnare you've filled to be honest. I was expecting tests in some way but it was just a chat, answering questions about different stagesand aspects of your life. It takes 2 hours. The assessor was really supportive and encouraged me to say if I needed a break at all. I went all in and just tried to get it all done in one but found i got fairly overwhelmed by discussing it all by the end of the 2 hours and had to stop briefly. I wish I had taken a break half way through. So maybe consider really checking in with yourself and asking for 5 mins to yourself half way through if you get overwhelmed by lots of information like I did. 

When I arrived the assessor said I'd provided a lot of information they needed in the questionnare so I got the vibe they felt they had a lot of what they needed already. So.. I'd suggest really taking time to include as much as possible in the initial pre appointment forms to help as i felt after the appointment there were thing I wish I'd said but I think I'd essentially covered in the questionnare. The assessor said not to stress about what you share and if it's the 'right things' as she will keep asking questions and adjusting untill that section is answered enough for her. They're not there to catch you out, they just want to get the best picture of you and your experiences. 

So essentially you just sit at a table and chat with someone and tell them your life experiences. My assessor was very kind, supportive and understanding. It was a very supportive experience for me and I hope it is for you. 

I hope that's helpful and I've kept it concise enough to not be overwhelming to read. happy to answer any questions as best I can if you want to ask anything. 

( I'm also nearly 42 but known I've felt something was off since I was 11 too )

Take care

No worries, i know you'd posted this a while ago so i wasn't sure you'd see it. Hope you have a positive experience that is helpful at your assessments. Take care

HI,

This got put in my spam so I missed it earlier so i'm really sorry about not replying when you went to the bother of putting such a detailed and helpful response. I DO have my assessments coming up for ADHD and autism at the end of this month and the beginning of the next. You've put my mind at rest a bit with the process and i've done the forms and questionnaire things and put loads of info in. I also managed to track down my old psychiatry notes from when I was a kid. I was constantly getting chucked out of school for not going and not behaving but I hated being told what to do and being stuck in a strict environment like that. My big thing has been abusing drink and drugs to cope over the years. I literally smoked cannabis from age 11 till about two weeks ago. I have had a lifetime of failed jobs, failed relationships, stressing about people and social stuff etc etc. I have basically adopted a safe lifestyle, just me my four cats and nipping to the shops occasionally. I just wish i'd done it years back and KNOW about what was going on. I've spent my whole life thinking i'm everything from a soicopath to a depressed druggie and everything inbetween. I was actually told I was ADHD by the same child psychiatrists and this was in the 90's and my Mum just wouldn't have it and yeah i've struggled after that. So thanks for putting my mind at rest a bit and i'll tell you later how they go maybe if I remember. Best of luck to you. 

A

HI,

This got put in my spam so I missed it earlier so i'm really sorry about not replying when you went to the bother of putting such a detailed and helpful response. I DO have my assessments coming up for ADHD and autism at the end of this month and the beginning of the next. You've put my mind at rest a bit with the process and i've done the forms and questionnaire things and put loads of info in. I also managed to track down my old psychiatry notes from when I was a kid. I was constantly getting chucked out of school for not going and not behaving but I hated being told what to do and being stuck in a strict environment like that. My big thing has been abusing drink and drugs to cope over the years. I literally smoked cannabis from age 11 till about two weeks ago. I have had a lifetime of failed jobs, failed relationships, stressing about people and social stuff etc etc. I have basically adopted a safe lifestyle, just me my four cats and nipping to the shops occasionally. I just wish i'd done it years back and KNOW about what was going on. I've spent my whole life thinking i'm everything from a soicopath to a depressed druggie and everything inbetween. I was actually told I was ADHD by the same child psychiatrists and this was in the 90's and my Mum just wouldn't have it and yeah i've struggled after that. So thanks for putting my mind at rest a bit and i'll tell you later how they go maybe if I remember. Best of luck to you. 

A

No worries, i know you'd posted this a while ago so i wasn't sure you'd see it. Hope you have a positive experience that is helpful at your assessments. Take care