Adult Diagnosis, NHS

Unfrotunately this seems to be the attitude these days.

i think certain areas will fund the diagnosis, but it is very much a lottery.  Services are now commissioned in many areas of the nhs, and this has a result that they may be commissioned by a department who has to make cuts.  And, unfortunately, they think, quite wrongly, that adults do not need help, they have been able to adapt and cope.

i also get the impression from some that the doctor himself (or herself) doesn't believe how the condition can affect someone who has reached more than a little into adulthood. 

i am 62, and was diagnosed at the end of last year.  Being honest, i knew that I was autistic.  Events took a turn that i felt i had to get a diagnosis to be able to explain to others, rather than appearing as some sort of hypochodriac.

i was told a similar thing to you.  The doctor added that 'even if the NHS did provide an assessment for you, there was a waiting list of at least two years'.

So i decided to go private.  It was money I could ill afford.  But it turned out to be money very well spent.  It has helped me at work in that i have got adjustments made  it has helped explain my life.  My one regret is not knowing earlier, as it could have made such a lot of difference to my life.  But we are all dealt a hand in life, we play it as best we can and sometimes we meet someone who may not be a good player but has got the better cards.

Look on this site and find a psychologist/psychiatrist in your area or somewhere you can get to, and make enquiries as to how much they will charge for an assessment and diagnosis.  i was told that unless there was a good chance of being diagnosd from how I got through the first part, the process would stop and therefore there would not be a charge for the second part.

The procedure will take you through your whole life, from before 2 years old to your age now, so ask your parents if they are still alive or your aunts, uncles, and older siblings to help you get the evidence you need.  Such things as social interaction, your sensitivity to stimuli, your misunderstandings can all help.  You will find more help on this site or by googling the signs of autism.  just because you have one indicator, such as always sitting on the same seat on the bus, does not in itself make you autistic.  You cannot be 'slightly' autistic, you are either autistic or you are not.

i hope this has been some use to you.  Before you go down the private root, it might be possible to have another opinion from your doctor or another one.  But my experience, despite my autistc tenacity, was that it was a battle i was not going to win.  Going private was the only way.

Unfrotunately this seems to be the attitude these days.

i think certain areas will fund the diagnosis, but it is very much a lottery.  Services are now commissioned in many areas of the nhs, and this has a result that they may be commissioned by a department who has to make cuts.  And, unfortunately, they think, quite wrongly, that adults do not need help, they have been able to adapt and cope.

i also get the impression from some that the doctor himself (or herself) doesn't believe how the condition can affect someone who has reached more than a little into adulthood. 

i am 62, and was diagnosed at the end of last year.  Being honest, i knew that I was autistic.  Events took a turn that i felt i had to get a diagnosis to be able to explain to others, rather than appearing as some sort of hypochodriac.

i was told a similar thing to you.  The doctor added that 'even if the NHS did provide an assessment for you, there was a waiting list of at least two years'.

So i decided to go private.  It was money I could ill afford.  But it turned out to be money very well spent.  It has helped me at work in that i have got adjustments made  it has helped explain my life.  My one regret is not knowing earlier, as it could have made such a lot of difference to my life.  But we are all dealt a hand in life, we play it as best we can and sometimes we meet someone who may not be a good player but has got the better cards.

Look on this site and find a psychologist/psychiatrist in your area or somewhere you can get to, and make enquiries as to how much they will charge for an assessment and diagnosis.  i was told that unless there was a good chance of being diagnosd from how I got through the first part, the process would stop and therefore there would not be a charge for the second part.

The procedure will take you through your whole life, from before 2 years old to your age now, so ask your parents if they are still alive or your aunts, uncles, and older siblings to help you get the evidence you need.  Such things as social interaction, your sensitivity to stimuli, your misunderstandings can all help.  You will find more help on this site or by googling the signs of autism.  just because you have one indicator, such as always sitting on the same seat on the bus, does not in itself make you autistic.  You cannot be 'slightly' autistic, you are either autistic or you are not.

i hope this has been some use to you.  Before you go down the private root, it might be possible to have another opinion from your doctor or another one.  But my experience, despite my autistc tenacity, was that it was a battle i was not going to win.  Going private was the only way.