Wondering where to go from here?

I hope it goes really well for you, and please remember the diagnosis may be long but it is done with a lot of patience and care.

It is important that if you want that report you go for it, always remember that you are a unique and strong individual and you are the one in charge of this process.

Thanks Haythml.

I only went to my GP as a first step to getting a diagnosis. I'm currently awaiting an appointment with a psychologist for my assessment.

I know it’s just a letter but I would like to know, one way or the other.

Cheers 

Dont bother with your GP again.

Eventually I did post my GP a copy of my diagnosis letter and that was his only involvement. My advice is not to go to a psychiatrist for a chest infection either.

The majority of people I meet with "Aspergers" are self or undiagnosed,and there first conversations are about benefits and now personal budgets. There are several things that can present similar to Aspergers, so ring your local mental health or LD team and get a gateway assessment. At that assessment, or the later appointmenrequest an a refferal for diagnosis , can take up to 6 months to come through .

It makes little difference , as its just a letter. Care is about treating symptoms not a diagnosis.

Thanks for the good wishes and for clearing that up Scorpion

I forgot to mention, my GP insisted I fill in a PHQ-9 form (to assess how depressed I am basically). He was very insistent on this. Does anyone know if this is common?

Good luck, seppuku.

The funding thing sounds a little like what I've had to go through to get access to a counsellor - if it's not provided by the NHS, in your area, the GP has to apply to to the local Primary Care Trust for special funding.

Thanks LoCommotion. Was just drafting this up when I got the notification of your post

I went this morning, as you say “armed” with various bit of evidence, about why I’m convinced I have Aspergers. Amongst this were my four sheets of notes that I had jotted down as and when things came to mind since booking the GP appointment. There was also a single sheet, whittled down from the four by cherry picking the strongest pointers and arranging into social communication, social interaction and social imagination sections, as per the advice on the NAS website. My intention was to use the single sheet as a prompt initially and use the four pages as backup evidence if he needed more convincing. In the end I used the single sheet as planned and gave him the four sheets to read later at his request.

When I first mentioned Aspergers, he basically said that Aspergers is just a label and wanted to simply treat any symptoms that Aspergers causes. His reason was that around 18 months ago he had someone in similar circumstances come to him for a referral. He said that it had been impossible for him to be assessed as there was nobody in the local area that was willing to assess an adult for Aspergers. He said he doesn’t like the situation, but it is one he can do nothing about.

He did listen to me about how, what I believe to be Aspergers, has affected me. I told him that a positive diagnosis would help me to understand how Aspergers has shaped my life and where I am going from here. I also told him that I am not hoping to get an Aspergers confirmation, I am hoping to get a diagnosis, positive or negative. I just need to know one way or the other. He said he would try and refer me and would keep me informed of any news.

I came out of the appointment with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the GP listened to everything I had to say but on the other, it seemed I would be unable to obtain a diagnosis simply because of where I live.

About an hour later I got a phone call from my GP. He said that a psychologist, with particular interest in adult patients with signs of autism, Aspergers or ADHD had been recently appointed in a hospital fairly local to me. He said the only fly in the ointment is the funding. The hospital is in a different NHS trust so my local trust will have to pay for me to attend any appointments there so he will have to apply for permission or something? The call was very rushed and I was just about to go in to another appointment with my son so I didn’t really understand that part of it. I’m a bit hazy on whether this is definite arrangement or if it might be rejected. I'm waiting on a further call to explain more.

Good luck with your appointment also LoCommotion

Seppuku I hope your appointment with your GP went well.   I'm in a similar situation to you and will be visiting a GP within the next month to request a referral when I return to the UK.  I plan to "arm" myself with various pieces of evidence including on-line test results, old school report, articles about Asperger's in adults and coping strategies, etc... See how things go.

That’s excellent advice Jon, thank you  I’ve already started reading up on Aspergers and have been lurking on these forums for the past week or so, which I’ve found really useful. I’ve got an appointment with my GP on Thursday and have been making notes as and when I’ve remembered relevant points (especially about my childhood). That feeling of frustration after an appointment or meeting etc. is one I recognise all too well and which I can really relate to.

I definitely believe I’ve had to adapt over the years. I noticed when taking the test that on some of the questions things have changed with time. What I do now is not what I would have done twenty or so years ago, but I answered the questions as I am today.

Good luck with your re-referral

longman, what you say makes a lot of sense thank you.

Longman,  those wise words of yours should be sent to all GPs operating in the UK.

....... I have to say I agree with Longman...... if this was Facebook I would have just clicked 'like' instead.....

The bit about having coping strategies means you don't have aspergers just demonstrates how many professionals out there THINK they understand from reading a few text books.

Their evidence mainly hinges around identifying children on the spectrum.

People who went through childhood and into adulthood without a diagnosis HAD to develop coping strategies to survive.

Its back to the argument that if you appear to be coping you don't have it. Or aspergers is something you grow out of...

We really are denied adequate help by the level of ill-informed mumbo jumbo out there in the medical world. And people who profess to be experts who clearly have no shame about making such nonsensical claims.

Hi Seppuka,

If you are 37 and undiagnosed then you will certainly have developed certain coping strategies.......otherwise your difficulties would have been taken notice of. You may or may not be Asperger but the fact remains that when a doctor or other proffessional tells you you are OK it is you who are left to deal with it....

My advice is to read up on Aspergers as much as possible. Get to know all about it. try to remeber what you were like as a child (as it is a developmental condition) as there may be signs there. Dig up old phots and speak to your family (you don't have to tell them anything other than you are reminising). There is alot of info on the internet and in books.

Nobody is going to do this for you and as you have experienced people can be quite dismisive. If you think you might be then you need to investigate that, if only to eliminate it. I totally understand your need for an explanation for your troubles.

Even taking a diagnostic assesment can be flawed. If you are seen to be coping and not casuing anyone trouble then that may mean you do not reach the threshold for a clinical diagnosis.

....one more thing. Consider putting what you want to say to the GP in writing if you think that would be of help. That way you are giving yourself the best chance of getting across what you want to say.......I often feel frustrated that a conversation somehow did not go as I would have liked and afterwards feel like I have failed to get myself accross.

A bit about myself....I have been for an Asperger Diagnostic and was told that I was not.......sixth months on I have the same problems and I am waiting for a re-referal...... in the meantime I am  doing as much as I can to gain a fuller understanding of myself............

Good luck and go for it. Its YOUR life

Thanks for your replies caretwo and stranger. I've decided to go ahead with an appointment with my GP as I'd originally planned. Hopefully he'll let me state my case without interruption and will see why I've come to my conclusions.

He said you can't take internet tests seriously

But they can be an indicator. I was given the AQ test as part of the diagnostic process.