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Confused after diagnosis

lorodo

I just had my diagnosis call with Psychiatry UK who said I have autistic traits but not ASD. While I've been reading about autism over the last couple of years, I felt like I'd finally understood why I find life hard and find humans so confusing, and was really hopeful that finding I had ASD might give me the key to managing to sustain a relationship - but now that I don't have that diagnosis I feel absolutely lost, like there's no chance for me with relationships and I must just be bad at them. 

I don't understand it because I seem to have every symptom / characteristic they consider, but I guess not "enough". I feel like I failed the assessment. Like I'd finally found my people, but I haven't made the grade and now I can't join. I almost wish I'd stuck with self-identification. 

My sister was recently diagnosed with ASD and is now getting lots of support from friends and family, and people are taking her needs seriously, and I feel like now I can't voice my needs in the way that she is because I didn't get a diagnosis. 

If you only have autistic traits but not ASD, can you still get support from an autistic community? 

Parents

  • Remember that being diagnosed is not just traits, there has to be evidence of impairment in more than one domain.

    If you are mostly coping but just finding things hard it may not be enough. If they haven't said, you can maybe ask what the issue was.

  • in reply to Stuart333

    Thanks Stuart - this was exactly the core of the debate. The psychiatrist said she could see traits in all categories, but didn't feel it impaired my life day to day so wouldn't be classified as ASD. I pointed out she hadn't asked how those traits affect my life day to day, so how was she able to draw that conclusion. She sent me another form, and gave a revised diagnosis of ASD! Really shows how subjective the assessment process is, despite their best efforts. 

  • in reply to lorodo

    I agree. It's all subjective. One Psych will say someone meets the diagnostic criteria, someone else will say that person doesn't. According to my understanding, the DSM is written by committees of psychiatrists and researchers, and there are no objective biological markers (like a blood test or brain scan) that define autism in the DSM.

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  • in reply to lorodo

    I agree. It's all subjective. One Psych will say someone meets the diagnostic criteria, someone else will say that person doesn't. According to my understanding, the DSM is written by committees of psychiatrists and researchers, and there are no objective biological markers (like a blood test or brain scan) that define autism in the DSM.

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