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The Autism Assessment

Homebird

Yesterday I was looking at a useful link to details about the DSM assessment. I am on the waiting list, however many years left to wait for an assessment probably. 

I have a question for anyone who has a diagnosis. Over a year ago I completed the forms and other information, including evidence from my memory of early experiences. I also had a meeting following this where I was asked lots of questions and following that I was told they had enough evidence to go on the waiting list. 

My question is regarding the formal assessment. When my son had his, we watched from another room and this assessment involved activities and conversation. That bit is fine, but as an adult they have to be convinced that this was apparent in childhood. I was wondering therefore if I would likely be asked again for examples at that time. If so I need to keep a note of them when I remember, as I am likely to forget when I am there.

  • in reply to Cinnabar_wing

    My therapist could also provide some insight. 

  • in reply to Alien0n3arth

    That sounds like quite a lot. You could be up front with whoever was going to assess you, and say this is your evidence for childhood (you could write down all your childhood memories to go with it), and they'll advice you on proceeding. If the first place you go to doesn't, try somewhere else. 

    It's like finding someone who understands what adult autism looks like. If you find a good assessor who knows their stuff on the different presentations, it makes it all easier.

  • in reply to Roy

    I'm wondering if an email from my father to me would be enough for the assessor? He described to me, how I was as a toddler. In another email my father sent his photo of him playing a guitar. 

    I also have school reports and they only say I was well behaved and thats it, also school notes show somehow my spikey profile, highest notes at some subjects and very low at other ones. I have sort of reports from Sommer camps that say i cried a lot. Then I have photos of my own works and projects related to my special interests. I also have some copies of my old pictures. And I have good memory.

    I'm wondering, if this would be enough as an evidence of me being me since ever.

  • Hi, school reports can help, I had some but they mainly just said I was quiet. I took a couple of photos into the assessment of me as a toddler, in the photos my mother was trying to hold me, I wasn’t having any of it. I was asked questions about how I played as a child, I didn’t play with toys, Meccano and Lego was more me, mostly activities I could do on my own. I didn’t play with other children. I did write some notes down beforehand, my wife also attended the second part with me, she helped with how I’m actually like to live with and some of the problems I’ve had. They asked about school life.

    The dreaded frog book did also make an appearance. My assessment was NHS, I felt quite at ease, it seemed more like an informal chat. One person mainly spoke to me while another observed me. I was still glad when it was over.

  • in reply to Homebird

    I did it privately, as I needed to know what was wrong quickly. I was in a mess, couldn't process the past and couldn't bury it anymore.

    The criteria are the same but the approach may vary.

    I addition to the screening questionaires was also a long one prompting you for all the things they might ask about background, traits, problems. You could writes what you wanted. Mine was 30 pages when completed. Some of that was lhe questions and formatting. But it meant I didn't need to remember it all.

    They asked for clarification on some items. They didn't need 10 examples of each thing, just enough to confirm i met the criteria and see the main issues. It is not therapy even though they are nice, it is a psychological evaluation.

    I found out at the end they had decided in the initial meeting before we even started the formal process, they were just checking there was enough evidence. I was so worried.

  • in reply to Stuart333

    Thank you for this reply. I did that for the initial assessment, so I can add any others I think of along the way. Did you get asked again when you went for the final assessment with all the tests?

  • I struggled with examples from childhood. I had a vague sense of some autistic traits that were present but couldn't really come up with any concrete examples. I think, although I might be wrong, that what they are checking for is that the traits you have did not just arrive later in life (maybe as a trauma response?) so as long as you aren't saying that you were absolutely fine as a kid - fit in everywhere, no difficulties etc etc you will be OK with being a bit vague, if that's all you can be.

  • Once I thought there was a realistic prospect that I am autistic, I started writing everything down as I thought of it.

    It helped to identify traits, it prompted memories of when I first started doing things. It also allowed me to order my thoughts and it reduced mental load because I didn't need to try to remember them.

    It meant I then had a list with the best examples and could back up any answers I gave to the questionaires. This made me more confident I would assessed fairly.

    Knowing your traits also allows you identify accommodations you can put in place now to make things easier.

    To more directly answer the question, yes, examples from childhood will be useful.