Why do the professionals bother diagnosing us?

Presumably you chose to be assessed or could have said no? I think there should be more and better assessment for adults. It's on in getting a diagnosis that things will change, if not for ourselves but others to come. I value my diagnosis and fought to get it. I agree there is very little adult support. And as said before a postcode lottery. Some areas do have a range of adult services. Over time I hope that will be standard in every county, but some change is slow and we (me included) can't expect everything to be handed to us on a plate ( nice as that would be) I'm coming to realise we have to be more proactive. Not a single shop or business in my town is taking part in the autism hour. I could have put leaflets up or posted them in letter boxes but that's something I hate doing so didn't. So I didn't help promote this great idea. I have had anxiety and depression for more years than I care to remember, I live a very narrow life and want help to change that but I know I will have to face the fear if I want something different. I'm hoping to get support but don't know if I'll get it. Help is needed across all ages. I have gone through so much I am very selfishly saying it's my turn now. I will be very interested to know what others think. I'm sorry you are having a tough time at the moment Ladynicotine. 

Presumably you chose to be assessed or could have said no? I think there should be more and better assessment for adults. It's on in getting a diagnosis that things will change, if not for ourselves but others to come. I value my diagnosis and fought to get it. I agree there is very little adult support. And as said before a postcode lottery. Some areas do have a range of adult services. Over time I hope that will be standard in every county, but some change is slow and we (me included) can't expect everything to be handed to us on a plate ( nice as that would be) I'm coming to realise we have to be more proactive. Not a single shop or business in my town is taking part in the autism hour. I could have put leaflets up or posted them in letter boxes but that's something I hate doing so didn't. So I didn't help promote this great idea. I have had anxiety and depression for more years than I care to remember, I live a very narrow life and want help to change that but I know I will have to face the fear if I want something different. I'm hoping to get support but don't know if I'll get it. Help is needed across all ages. I have gone through so much I am very selfishly saying it's my turn now. I will be very interested to know what others think. I'm sorry you are having a tough time at the moment Ladynicotine. 

I suggested to my psychiatrist that I might be on the autistic spectrum & she more or less dismissed the idea out of hand.  About 18 months later I got a letter out of the blue saying "we've made an assessment appointment for you" that was about 3 weeks away.  I went because I thought it would result in some help, either directly from the "service providers", or because they could give me some pointers towards things I could work on to make my life easier.  What actually happened was that having been diagnosed the psychiatrist signed me off - I suspect that she knew she couldn't do anything more to help me at that time & "discharged to more appropriate care" looks better on the file than "discharged because we can't do anything".  I was then left with another label, and have found it impossible to get any real explanation from anyone as to what this actually means for me on a day to day level. 

Funny how they can ask you questions & use your answers to say you're ASD, but if you ask if such & such a thing is because you're ASD you get an answer along the lines of "well it could be, but it is a spectrum condition, and everyone copes better with some things than others"