Referral Appointment (Clueless???)

That must be very disheartening BuddhaFish.  To me, the doc sounds poorly informed. Not all people on the autism spectrum talk the same way, and if he really knew so much about it, he'd know different people present in different ways. The female presentation can be very different to the male, for starters. Anxiety can be a standalone condition but it can also be a symptom of other conditions.

You are entitled to another opinion. Personally, I'd choose a female GP for this, if at all possible, and ideally a younger one,  who will have studied medicine since aspergers has become more widely recognised.

That said, if you do see an anxiety specialist, you can maybe talk to them a little bit about ASD. They might well have some experience of helping people with ASD cope with anxiety, and might ask a little bit about where you think any anxiety you do have is coming from.

It takes me back to my attempts years ago to tell a GP I was suffering from depression. She was very old-fashioned, and told me it was just trendy for students to say they were depressed. So that was that. I believed I couldn't possibly have depression, and suffered it until I had a breakdown ten years later. These days, docs take it very seriously if you present with possible depression.

DavidGolf47,

We are afraid the tone of your posts is coming across very inappropriate, judgemental and confrontational. We've now observed this on a number of occasions and we'd like to remind you of our Community Rules.

We'll have to take action if people continue ignore these. We'd like to keep this forum a safe place where people can discuss autism issues in a positive and constructive way.

Take care,

Avi

No, the diagnosis would have stated ODD if it were true. It's a relief to know that I have Aspergers, because before my DX I thought there was something wrong with me. Now I am able to relax knowing my life's mistakes haven't been my fault.

I wasn't implying that you don't have Aspergers. I was implying that some of your behaviour looks like ODD. As I understand it, you can have ASD and also have ODD behaviour.

I don't know everything about Asperger's. I know some stuff, I don't know other stuff.

SO you won't explain your tests? and assessment?

I have Aspergers thankyou, diagnosed  at CLASS  in Cambridge, ever heard of that?

Clearly you lack knowledge of Aspergers.

David,

I don't know why you want to keep up the dispute about whether I have autism. This thread, and others you have contributed to, make me wonder about.

en.wikipedia.org/.../Oppositional_defiant_disorder

I anticipate outrage and disagreement from you but that'll just confirm my suspicions! I don't have anything personal against you - as I said before - I don't doubt your sincerity.

I probably have a touch of this myself. I know that I find it hard to walk away from an argument.

The usual tests? SO what tests dd you do?  was a family member not interviewed? school reports looked at? questionnaires beforehand to fill out? etc......

David,

I was referred by my NHS GP to a private psychiatrist who did the usual tests and had no hesitation in coming to a diagnosis. I consistently score over 40 on the AQ Test. Not sure why you would doubt why I am on the spectrum - we are all different, when you have met one person with autism then you have met one person with autism.

I don't doubt that you are on the spectrum and I don't doubt your sincerity. Given that we both have Aspergers then we must expect that we both express things badly sometimes and sometimes we are misunderstood.

The forum is a community and we do our best to protect each other and follow the rules. You have requested that others should be barred from the forum and yet you accuse me of being the Autism police! - I haven't asked for you to be barred, all I've done is point out that you appear to have broken the rules and that Buddhafish should be wary of any invitation to go off the board.

I do not beleive that you are in the Spectrum at all.  So how were you diagnosed then, who did u see to get a referral, what happened next?

I doubt you very much.

Who do you think you are? Some kind  of Autism police?  I helped her before you did, and now you try to act as if you are the Holy Saint and master of everything.

This clearly gives a kick, doesn't it.

Sad fool.

Buddhafish,

Your experience is, unfortunately very common. Try not to be upset by this, it isn't your fault. It is particularly unfortunate that this condition includes difficulties with communicating. This is a real catch-22 situation.

You may want to change your GP practice and find a doctor who you can trust and communicate with.

You can also demand a second opinion but I would probably get a different GP first.

Self referral is possible in some areas but not others.

I was lucky and my GP referred me straight away (although not to an nhs specialist due to an alleged 12 month waiting list) but it seems to be a complete lottery according to who your GP is and whether they have the appropriate experience and understanding.

It’s important for our Community to be a safe and welcoming place for everyone.

To help with this we have some rules you need to agree to when using the Community.

These rules are:

1. Don’t post messages that are offensive or insulting to other users.
 
... 

3. Do not include personal information or ask others for personal information in messages. This includes names, addresses, emails or phone numbers. This is to protect your privacy.

...

i.e. don't call people names.

Don't post skype details.

She is an adult..19, and not underage. How dare you say it's inappropriate.  You are a troublemaker!

i wish we were able to chat somewhere about this, i find this forum difficult. 

Why can't we chat privately?  At least that's what adults should be able to do!

recominantsocks..you  think you own this website and have an answer for everyone.

I am surprised at your behaviour or reporting people, do you get  a kick out of this or what?

You are a complete jerk!

I've raised this with the mods. Sharing personal details is against the actual rules of the forum.

@Buddhafish - I have no reason to doubt Davids integrity but I don't know why he would want to take this discussion off the forum.

@David - you should be aware that as an older man dealing with a much younger, and potentially vulnerable, female this approach appears to be inappropriate.

www.autism.org.uk/.../how-do-i-get-a-diagnosis.aspx

A good link..........sandwellandwestbhamccg.nhs.uk/.../742-the-adults-with-autism-guide

This was in London.... think I'm gonna complain about him as well

What region are you based in?