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I need advice on a diagnosis for my older brother

natashaheg

My brother is 22 years old and he's always behaved rather differently in comparison to people his own age group and it's something I've noticed ever since we were in primary school. Now I'm 20 and I've been studying psychological, I have noticed a large amount of similarities in autism and my brothers behaviour. He has no friends, the concept of socialising makes him anxious, he hates change. Change does not happen in our household, from the smallest things like a new member in the family whether it's a boyfriend, girlfriend, new born etc he does not warm to it. He finds it difficult to converse with people and it's impossible for him to talk to new people. He simply gets nervous and talks about unrelated topics. My brother is strict on routine, he walks all the time atleast 6 hours a day, he eats particular meals, washes his clothes on their own, changes his clothes several times a day because he has a weird obsession with smells. He really struggles to understand sarcasm and gets really emotional when someone uses sarcasm or jokes with him. He would be prone to outbursts of anger or crying and I have to word my sentences well as to not offend him. He could go weeks without talking to me because of something I said or did. He also likes to refer to dates alot, I dunno if this is related but he will state something that has happened and with provide the sate for example "remember when that happened it was like September 2011." I'm at that age now where I have brought it up to my mother but she doesn't know what to do. My brother is at a hard place, he's no job or future prospects and I'm petrified for him. I want to help him, but first and foremost I want a diagnosis or a way I could help him be diagnosed. Thank you 

  • hi i also struggled to understand why the gp needs to be involved, as they not a professional on the field and asked for a referral without a direct appointment, but was denied. I aslo dislike doctors intensly. But i did get an appointment with a lady doctor that came in as a guest or somehting, as i refused to go see my gp about it and said i dont wana talk about it to anyone im likely to see again for other health issues as id much rather not be viewed as "someone with a mental health issue" by professionals of other fields. That might help. Also, it might be possible(not giving any promises here) for you to get an appointment(rather him having to go for that one) to ask for the referral and do the talking cuz all the gp does is ask why you think you got asd and why you think you need a referral. which may cause a problem if he himself is not sure he wants a diagnosis in the first place.

  • Hi NatashaHeg,

    It would be good to get him to the GP and obtain a diagnosis that route if possible. This is definitely the preferred option. You can find out more information about diagnosis on our website here.

    Take care,

    Avi

  • Thank you so much that's helped alot, now to try and figure out how I'll get him to go for the diagnosis because he hates the doctor. Thank you 

  • Dear natashaheg,

    I'm sorry to hear about your concerns about your brother. In terms of referring him for a diagnosis, the first port of call would be your GP. They can then refer you to a diagnostician. You also could get him diagnosed privately, however, this would have to be paid for and costs could vary from £100-£1000. There is an online test called an AQ Test and this can be used to establish if an adult has autistic traits, it isn't a diagnosis but could be helpful to take to a doctor's appointment. The link is here: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html It may also be useful for you to use the services directory on our website which can help in terms of finding diagnostic services. I hope this helps you but if not please feel free to contact us.

    Thanks