How do you get a "support" worker to answer your questions?

I obviously didn't make myself clear - it's not the psychiatrist who's refusing to answer my question it's the woman who works in learning disabilities & was involved with giving me my diagnosis.  This despite the fact that she supposedly understands that I need a straight answer even if it's "I don't know" or "I'm sorry I don't know the answer".

Is there a way I might be able to speak to another worker in her department?  I feel she's given me no help, & no explaination of how my autism may be affecting me other than "you're bad with people & you have no sense of smell".

I'm sure that CBT does work for some ASV people. I have found it to cause more stress. I know the way that CBT deems I should think about a given situation but thats not what I do think so I beat myself up more because I can't think that way. CBT hasn't changed anythig for me, its just given me another expectation that I can't meet.

The advocacy route sounds a positive way to go. If that isn't possible then you may have to ask straight out if she is refusing to supply you with an unambiguous answer and assert that the lack of one is contributing to your depression. You could also say that you take on board her opinions about you seeing another psychologist but that will not  happen and you want to explore other options and hope she can support you with that.

I wish you luck with this, do let us know what happens.

I would support longman's suggestion about seeking out advocacy assistance. I think that it could be helpful to find someone who can translate between the very categorical black and white world of a person with ASD and non-autistic people who inhabit a world where greyness and ambiguity are accepted much more easily.

One of the problems with this situation is that you want a definite answer and the truth may be that noone is able to give you a definitive answer. Psychology and psychiatry is more of an art than a science in some ways. A diagnosis is normally just a doctor's opinion, in all good faith, of what they think is the best category to put you into for treatment. Doctors disagree with each other and it seems to be common for different doctors to put different labels on the same people. If you find a label that seems to fit and where the treatment according to the label seems to help then you can accept that the label is the right one. This is where I have got to in my own case. The doctor has given an opinion and I have found that I feel much better (less depressed, less stressed) because I think I understand what is going on in my mind better. Just having an explanation has been powerful in its own right. Having some techniques to actively treat myself has also helped.

There are very strong links between ASD and depression. People with ASD often go for "dichotomous" or black and white thinking. People with dichotomous thinking often get depressed.

I'm not sure that this is a particularly complex situation but it certainly helps if your psychologist (and you, yourself) understands how ASD affects your thinking. If this is understood then one way forward is to try to spot situations where your ASD tendencies are leading you into over reacting. If you spot yourself doing this and practice a think twice and speak (or act) once process then you might find that your depression lifts.

For example, if you have a fear of going to a cinema because you have got it into your mind that this could be dangerous because you have heard that a cinema was once bombed then you can consciously argue with yourself. Would the man on the clapham omnibus react in this way? Would any of your friends react in this way? Is it really reasonable to stop doing something that you might enjoy because there is a tiny possibility that you are going to get blown up. Most people will have heard the news report but reasonably decided that the possibility is so remote that it is not enough to stop them doing something they might enjoy.

This process of challenging yourself is at the heart of CBT and I think it helps if you understand that challenging yourself, to be more reasonable, is a very powerful technique.

You need to find yourself an advocate, someone with expertise who can come to meetings with you and ask questions on your behalf. Is there a NAS or independent parents' group in your area (try searching the pink and red map on the home and community pages of the NAS website for resources in your area)?

Although your particular need is different from their primary purpose, they often have reference books and sometimes a staff member with expertise. They may use an advocacy service they can pass you on to.

I have been trying unsuccessfully to chase up citizens advocacy groups - these function to help people with a learning difficulty or mental health problem by providing volunteer advocates to speak up for individuals struggling with the system. Unfortunately many of them are ignorant about autism. However they may be contactable via your local social services department.

It isn't right that you are being left to make sense of these "buck passing" professionals.

However it may be you are contacting the wrong people, and they are trying to be helpful when out of their depth. That's why a local NAS group or an advocacy group may be able to help.

The other option is a volunteer disability service, often they are linked to Shopmobility centres, but don't just act for wheelchair users. Again they aren't always good on autism, but they might have someone they know who could help. Also if you are near a university or teacher training college and they have a Special Needs Education Team, sometimes they are helpful.