Help and advise needed in West Sussex

hello everyone. I won't go into all the details now as there is just so much to say, but for various reasons and incidents I have begun to believe that my 22 year old daughter may be on the autistic spectrum. She currently lives independently with her almost three year old daughter, and works full time as an admin apprentice at a college but has recently hit rock bottom. I fear she is abusing alcohol and smoking canabis. She says she cannot socialise without alcohol and she only feels 'normal' when she's drunk. She says she has always felt different and never really fit in. She was a late talker, but is very intelligent but she struggles with certain things. She has been taking antidepressants for three weeks. I haven't broached her yet with my suspicicions. Obviously there are lots of issues to deal with but I feel that a diagnosis might be a positive step. She might be kinder to herself if she knew why she struggled. 

Does anyone know if there is any where that does adult assessments in our area? What does my daughter say to the GP? And how do I broach it with my daughter? 

huge thanks in advance 

Parents
  • Sarah Hendrickx has an interesting website, and I can relate to a lot of what she says. However I do take issue with the fact she refuses to do assessments on anyone who has previously been given a negative diagnosis by a "professional". 

    I'm on the waiting list for an NHS diagnosis, and when I read that, started wondering whether I ought to pay for her assessment first, just in case the NHS dismiss me as yet another neurotic neurotypical having a mid-life crisis, and I wanted a second opinion. I am rubbish at maths, but this looks like quite a good business strategy to me! 

    Re alcohol - this has been a "constant companion" from age 15, at varying levels. Went to AA years ago, and the thing that struck me most was that every speaker said they had always felt they were different from everyone else. AA did not suit me - in fact their philosophy that you have some genetic flaw that is going to make you crave alcohol for the rest of your life is probably the worst kind of brainwashing I can think of. But I'm sure there is a link!

Reply
  • Sarah Hendrickx has an interesting website, and I can relate to a lot of what she says. However I do take issue with the fact she refuses to do assessments on anyone who has previously been given a negative diagnosis by a "professional". 

    I'm on the waiting list for an NHS diagnosis, and when I read that, started wondering whether I ought to pay for her assessment first, just in case the NHS dismiss me as yet another neurotic neurotypical having a mid-life crisis, and I wanted a second opinion. I am rubbish at maths, but this looks like quite a good business strategy to me! 

    Re alcohol - this has been a "constant companion" from age 15, at varying levels. Went to AA years ago, and the thing that struck me most was that every speaker said they had always felt they were different from everyone else. AA did not suit me - in fact their philosophy that you have some genetic flaw that is going to make you crave alcohol for the rest of your life is probably the worst kind of brainwashing I can think of. But I'm sure there is a link!

Children
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