Hi
I wonder if anyone has had a similar experience to me. I have an 8yr old daughter with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome. It was myself who did all the reading and research and realised this was what the issue was. 2 years later it was confirmed. Whilst doing all this reading, I not only realised this about my daughter, but also saw myself in so much of what I read. I hadn't even realised before that my social anxiety, issues with socks, inability to filter background noise... could all be accounted for by something which had a name. I just thought I was odd or broken.
I'd been dealing with anxiety and depression since my teenage years, but never sought any help until a few months ago. My GP advised me to make an appointment with a mental health nurse, at the counselling service. At my second appointment, the nurse decided to refer me for autism assessment.
A couple of weeks ago, I went for the assessment. It was a disaster. I never got across half of what I think I needed to, as I just answered the questions as they were presented. None of the questions delved deeper. E.g. When asked who I played on my bike with, I said it was the girl across the road. The psychiatrist took this as meaning I had a friend. She wasn't a real friend at all. But, the psychiatrist never asked about the relationship and I never elaborated, half expecting her to ask more at a later stage in the appointment. At the end of the assessment, she went outside with the student doctor who had been present throughout, came back a few minutes later and told me that I didn't have autism, as I could tell what my husband was thinking - we've been together for 25 years, speak a lot, so it's not surprising that I might be able to guess what he might think about certain topics. She told me she'd decided this within the first few minutes of the appointment. I can see now that the questions were posed in a way that she received answers that confirmed what she thought. I was also told that my sensory issues were a 'red herring'. Yet, she made a big deal of the fact that I can get round an ice rink, whilst ignoring the fact that I've been skating for 25 years and still skate like a beginner - I can't get her logic, one minute sensory issues don't matter, next minute balance is explored, then I'm told my balance is fine, when it's clearly not. I can hardly go a bike and told her this, but she was more interested to hear that I played with a girl, when out on my bike. The most shcoking part was that she started to ask about how I was with the housework, etc and wrote 'no problems' before I'd started to speak. What she wrote couldn't be further from the truth and I did speak about it a bit, but she didn't even seem interested by that point.
I came out with a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder. I do have anxiety, but I felt I needed to get to the cause of it, but was left with more questions than answers.
Is it usual for someone to be specifically assessed for autism and to come out with such a diagnosis?
Thanks
