Paying Privately for Adult Aspergers Assessment?

I would keep on pursuing the NHS route, particularly if you will require support post diagnosis. The NHS does not usually accept private diagnosis, quite understandably, because private practice infringes upon the NHS ethos. The problem with private diagnoses is that the doctor may feel obliged to give you a diagnosis because you are paying them lots of money, so the patient/doctor relationship is distorted and subjectivity too often comes into the equation. NHS diagnoses are more objective, which might mean that there is a greater chance someone will not get diagnosed with whatever condition they think they have. But it does mean that your diagnosis is as accurate as it can be because the doctor is working for the public good more than their own private gain,  which means there is no direct financial pressure on providing information that the patient wants to here.

Personally I am sceptical, rightly or wrongly, when someone says they have been privately diagnosed. I always think, what if the doctor did not diagnose properly?. But if a person is diagnosed on the NHS I see them as a more genuine case. I don't wish to offend anyone who has been privately diagnosed, but there is a lot of OVER-diagnosis and quackery going on in private medicine.

I would keep on pursuing the NHS route, particularly if you will require support post diagnosis. The NHS does not usually accept private diagnosis, quite understandably, because private practice infringes upon the NHS ethos. The problem with private diagnoses is that the doctor may feel obliged to give you a diagnosis because you are paying them lots of money, so the patient/doctor relationship is distorted and subjectivity too often comes into the equation. NHS diagnoses are more objective, which might mean that there is a greater chance someone will not get diagnosed with whatever condition they think they have. But it does mean that your diagnosis is as accurate as it can be because the doctor is working for the public good more than their own private gain,  which means there is no direct financial pressure on providing information that the patient wants to here.

Personally I am sceptical, rightly or wrongly, when someone says they have been privately diagnosed. I always think, what if the doctor did not diagnose properly?. But if a person is diagnosed on the NHS I see them as a more genuine case. I don't wish to offend anyone who has been privately diagnosed, but there is a lot of OVER-diagnosis and quackery going on in private medicine.