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Support for adults with AS?

Dave V

At the time of writing this it's my 20th Birthday, I saw my GP recently about being referred to a psychiatrist for a diagnosis.

She agreed to refer me almost instantly, however she had no idea who to refer me to. Since a very young age I have suffered from anxiety which I feel impacted my childhood quite severely. Due to the social implications with AS I don't have a social life and don't have any friends. The few people I do talk to, on-line, often see me as arrogant/insulting but I think a few have come to realise I don't intend to come across in that manner.

I also suffer with fairly bad anger management which has affected my family at times. On top of this I suffer from mild depression and paranoia too. When in any environment outside of my own home I am extremely paranoid and find myself crossing the road to avoid people, walking extremely fast and often checking over my shoulders. I also refuse to use public transport due to the paranoia.

Anyhow, now that's out of the way, my real problem at the moment is that I am unemployed. I have spoken both with JobCentre and A4E, who are now working with me as well as the JobCentre, about AS. However, neither seemed to fully understand it or take it on-board. They pile a lot of pressure on me, sending me to classes 2 or 3 times a week for group sessions. Obviously this is a fairly stressful experience for someone in my position. 

I guess what I'm looking for is some kind of support in getting my diagnosis and then trying to work through my issues afterwards. However, I have been told getting a diagnosis can be a lengthy process as an adult and this concerns me due to the current pressure I am under and the stress it's causing.

Obviously the long-term goal is employment. In my current position though, I don't feel I am fully prepared for employment and need support with my condition first before I can find something that suits me. 

Reading this back, I'm not entirely sure of my purpose for posting, but I guess it just helps to get it out there and talk with other people in a similar situation.

- Dave.

  • Ah, sounds like something similar to the process I'm having to go through to get to see a councellor - it's not something that's normally funded, so my GP has had to write to the PCT to get special funding for it - the PCT's response thus far has been one of "That's not something we normally fund"! :rolleyes:

  • I may have spelt it wrong....they said it to my mum when she tried to chase it up, breaking it down it's Elect-roll. Apparently it's like a list of patients they see once you've been referred but i wasn't even registered with them so to speak.

  • Some people have waited for diagnosis for a decade or more so i guess scorpion is right it was pretty quick. Like you i am waiting for social worker. Been waiting 6months so far just to be put on electrol.

  • Compared to the length of time it's still taking to get support from social services or a councellor that specialises in treating people on the spectrum (of which we know there is one in the local area, and whom we know takes NHS referals), getting the actual diagnosis was pretty quick.

  • My diagnosis wasn't quick. I have seen psychiatrists off and on with being in psych hosp since i was 17. I'm now 23 and only got diagnosed last september. My mum had been asking for about 2 years for me to be assessed for AS. But i agree it's a relief almost to say you have something and feel right saying it.

    Good luck.

    Anne.

  • Thanks for the positive comments. 

    I think you hit the nail on the head, Hope, with needing that signpost to help me with some sort of direction for support and just life in general. I feel being able to have an actual diagnosis it will help me explain to peopleand they may understand more. It's easier to just say "I have AS" rather than having to try and explain all the various problems I am faced with.

    Scorpion, I'm not sure if your first line was a joke? I wouldn't call having to see 3 seperate psychiatrists and then finally seeing a psychologist 'pretty quick' though, but maybe that's just me.

  • I got diagnosed pretty quickly.

    I told my doctor I wanted to be refered to a psychologist.

    He refered me to a psychiatrist.

    So I went to see the psychiatrist, and simply answered no to all his questions and stated that I know I don't have psychiatric disorder, and wished to see a psychologist.

    Anyway, iirc, by the time I'd seen the 3rd psychiatrist, I'd heard a programme on Radio 4 in which adults with Asperger's discussed what it was like, so I was pretty sure I knew I had AS.

    Fortunately the 3rd psychiatrist did refer me to a psychologist, and when I saw her I pretty much walked in and said "I believe I have Asperger's Syndrome", she then asked me, and my Mum, a whole bunch of questions, and pretty much confirmed the diagnosis at the end of the session (though not for definite, she wanted to check with Professor Baron-Cohen first).

  • Hi, it does take a while to get diagnosed, but if you keep on pushing it will happen eventually. Also, do you have parents or family who can help you and provide evidence to the professionals? Whatever you have, and it could well be AS, you obviously have some disabling issues, and you really need a label to act as a signpost to get the support you need. Finding out you have AS can be a great help in itself as it serves to anchor your problems and helps you move forward

  • Hi Dave,

     

    Well done you for putting that out there, I wish my daughter could express herself like that, she too gets accused of being aggressive & insulting, Faye is 17 with a 6 month old baby! That brings a whole new lot of stuff as you can imagine.

    I hope you feel better just by writing it all down on here,

     

    All the best

     

    SarahSmile