ADOS assesment (Adult)

hi GW,

Your story is sadly familiar. I've seen a number of people on the forum go through really difficult diagnosis processes. The system doesn't cope well with our inability to make a forceful and coherent case. They aren't deliberately making it hard but they tend to respond better to the NT people who can shout more loudly and clearly than us.

it sounds possible, from your last post, that the Autism team think you may have autism but that the most appropriate treatment to do at the moment is to treat your ADHD. i.e. You have ADHD in addition to the ASD. Have they said that you definitely haven't got ASD  or have they not really come out with a firm diagnosis either way?

Did you know that you have the right to see your medical records? Perhaps it would help if you could go through these, with the help of someone at your GP surgery so that you can get a clearer understanding of what has or hasn't been diagnosed. If you go to the surgery and make it clear you want help, rather than wanting to make trouble, then they should be able to help without any fuss. Perhaps they can give you a printout to take away? 

You could pro-actively go and seek out your CPN and ask to review where they think you are. If you say that you are struggling to understand what is going on then they should be helpful.

it sounds as though you can see that communication is a real problem for you. Have you considered using the advocacy service? As i understand it, this service exists to help people like us, who struggle to communicate, to deal with GPs and other service providers. 

hi GW,

Your story is sadly familiar. I've seen a number of people on the forum go through really difficult diagnosis processes. The system doesn't cope well with our inability to make a forceful and coherent case. They aren't deliberately making it hard but they tend to respond better to the NT people who can shout more loudly and clearly than us.

it sounds possible, from your last post, that the Autism team think you may have autism but that the most appropriate treatment to do at the moment is to treat your ADHD. i.e. You have ADHD in addition to the ASD. Have they said that you definitely haven't got ASD  or have they not really come out with a firm diagnosis either way?

Did you know that you have the right to see your medical records? Perhaps it would help if you could go through these, with the help of someone at your GP surgery so that you can get a clearer understanding of what has or hasn't been diagnosed. If you go to the surgery and make it clear you want help, rather than wanting to make trouble, then they should be able to help without any fuss. Perhaps they can give you a printout to take away? 

You could pro-actively go and seek out your CPN and ask to review where they think you are. If you say that you are struggling to understand what is going on then they should be helpful.

it sounds as though you can see that communication is a real problem for you. Have you considered using the advocacy service? As i understand it, this service exists to help people like us, who struggle to communicate, to deal with GPs and other service providers.