New here and finding it difficult to deal with wait time for assessment

Hello i have done the three screening tests (AQ RAADSR and CATQ) and have had a phonecall with a gp who explained the right to choose pathway but the providers my doctors use have a 6 month wait list this seems to leave me in a difficult position as i feel i cant treat myself bassed off the screening tests results becasue of self doubt i guess. The gp did not offer any help on the phone as they have to agree with what the patient says i tried to talk to my parents at the weekend but it did not go down well and now i feel like i need to do something to get through the next six months i think i have imposter syndrome without having a formal diagnosis almost feels like im just trying put an answer to my problems. Any advise is appreciated 

  • Hello Bigzug, it is the first time I have ever been on social media and will apologise in advance if I seem unsympathetic with your plight but I do mean you Well. Reading your post from 3 days ago, I can understand your frustration, the system is slow. The thing is your wording of your post indicates to me anyway, what a rush you are in to get a diagnoses. If you have made it this far without loosing any teeth, then six months is not so long to wait. There is no magic bullet to cure your autism. You know there is something not quite right in your world or you would not have taken the self assessment tests. These tests would have helped you recognise your strengths and weakness, I suggest this is a good starting point to find out from this community ways of dealing with the things that cause you distress, anxiety and the social interaction issues, that your fellow autistic people encounter every day. I am high functioning autistic, I come across to people has neurotypical. My username reflects my journey  through my life. Maze:- means, my mind has been a maze of questions and answers, and Runner means the amount running is circles I have done to find all the answers to all the questions in my mind which change constantly each day. Very quickly I would not be able to keep up, I became totally consumed and needed help from the professionals. I grew up in the 1970's and being autistic was seen to be a naughty kid, and I was treated that way by my parents and teachers. I am assuming you around the 20 and 30 mark in your age. You are lucky to have all this support to help you, so do not feel like an imposter, if you present to other has neurotypical like myself and you feel like people do not wish to engage with you, then that person is not worthy of your company. Sorry, I digress from the point. When you get the official diagnosis, it will not give you a pass for people to change the way they treat you at the moment. The world will not change for you. What I have found when I divulge my autism to people, it is amazing how many people say "my grandson or daughter/son/nephew has autism." It feels like this is the standard response to your announcement they are just not surprised anymore, and not really interested. Neurotypicals people do not feel that they need to change the way they have to understand you.

    So before upcoming assessment you might want to look into some social training around small talk, and  techniques on helping with anxiety issues and that crippling social event you may be force into. Understanding the mysteries of social etiquette. It is like you have been let into the secret meeting everyone else has already attended in there teens. The social aspect needs a lot of work to make it convincing. The sensory issues can be combated also with the correct training. You can get all the information from the Autistic Society website, I could just ring the telephone number and they gave me details of courses in my area when I was diagnosed 11 years ago. Do not get me wrong I still have struggles every day but they are not has scary anymore, the world will not fall apart even if you do. Good luck with everything Bigguz and I hope this post was useful, and not to honest for you     

  • Thabj you for your advice. I think personally coming to terms with it is hard without the diagnosis due to self doubt and other things while understand that the wait will allow to me explore this myself it kind of feels wrong to do so without confirmation i guess this is also something i have to get to terms with 

  • For me the waiting also seemed long at the beginning. Now (it makes me worried) it lost any point. I don't know if it has any valuable to me anymore. I will just go there because I have it booked. Otherwise I'm deeply into space again and whenever I can, I do it and build houses with lego. Especially if I'm left sĹ‚one. Nothing more matter right now. I'm gonna do blood tests again and just wait. Here is my last lego house

    I feel like it's all way too much for me. 

  • Hi Bigzug, welcome! 

    Yeah waiting is hard, but it also gives you some time to find out more and come to terms with it a bit. You want to be gentle with yourself as it's a lot to process, though I know you want answers to help with this.

    There is lots of material out there, like the NAS pages Bunny shared which is a great start, also books, podcasts and even just chatting on here and finding more people who relate to, I found that really helps. The assessment is just one part, you'll be wanting to do all this anyway, so try see it at a chance to get a head start on what it all means for you.

    Wishing you well and good luck with it all!

  • Hi and welcome to the community!

    You might find the advice here helpful, including in respect of accessing support in the meantime:

    NAS - What can I do while waiting for an autism assessment?

  • Many of us get imposter syndrome even after diagnosis, its fairly common so don't worry about that.  I understand the issue with waiting , and some (I don't know how they managed) have waited years for the NHS.  If you are able to pay or have health insurance which may cover diagnosis , then you can shorten the wait to a few months.

    I think if you scores are not borderline and you're already seeking an assessment then I suspect you have a fair chance of being diagnosed.  That's why many self-discovered don't need external validation of a diagnosis (which I understand).  But for many other, diagnosis is the certainty they want, like I did.

    Can I ask what treatment are you expecting for autism ? as an adult discovering they are autistic is largely learning about yourself and being Neurodivergent, you don;t need diagnosis for that. Therapy may help some - but that is largely for MH conditions and coping stratgeies - the later you can do again as you learn more about yourself over time, without a Therapist