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Who has had an official diagnosis (via GP) and what was it like?

Wildflower87

Hi,

I have been referred by my GP to go for an official diagnosis to confirm if I have autism or not. I paid for a private psychologist on Saturday who seemed to thnk I was but this is not official.

I wondered who else had gone through the process with thier GP?

How long did you wait after referral?

How long was the assessment?

What kind of thing happened inthe assessment?

How did you feel about the outcome?

For me, being diagnosed would be very positive. I wouldn't feel put in a box. It would give me a retrospective look on my childhood and explain a lot of things. It would help me fine friends on ASD social groups- at the moment I have no friends. It would help me at work because I could explain why I need thing written down. It would help with my career because I could seek help to move forward instead of always moving backwards.

Thanks

  • Hi

    I had a few GPs over the years, none of whom showed the slightest interest in getting to the bottom of my 'problems'. Years ago, one of them referred me to psych services who diagnosed me as Bipolar. The same chap, for strange reasons best known to himself, also stated that I regularly injected drugs, but neglected to say what drugs, or what into. Needless to say, this d******d put my cause back by, literaly decades. His assessment was total b******s.

    I've known my current GP for a little over 6 years. Last year I saw her whilst I was in the middle of a huge crisis. She said to me that she understood that I'd always rejected the 'Bipolar' diagnosis, and said that she agreed with me. Fresh air... So, she referred me back to psych services...

    ...who promptly failed to listen to me properly, decided I was a danger, and had me sectioned. I cannot describe to you the hatred I now hold towards these idiots, but if one died in front of me, it would make me smile. A lot.

    Anyway, I got out of there fairly quickly, thanks to outside help. However, one outcome was that they referred me to a specialist diagnostician as suspected ASD.They told me this, and I deliberately avoided researching the subject because I'm well aware of how often people make themselves fit the criteria. Clearly, it was important to go into the assessment as me, and not as an informed me.

    Now for the good bit. I had to wait for a year to see him, but he diagnosed me as 'severe Asperger'. The assessment was twofold. First they sent me some questionaires to fill in. Unfortunately, everyone who could describe my childhood is dead, so that resource wasn't available. However, I filled in and sent what I could.

    The assessment itself was pretty much a two-hour chat. I have no idea what happened, I just chatted away in answer to his questions. I assume that the interview was structured. At the end of the interview, he said he would write to my GP with his findings (as he subsequently did) but he told me straight away that I was clearly on the spectrum. This was in February 2015.

    I've had an interesting time since then. Finally, I know who I am, that what I go through is normal for me, that there are others like me. and it has put all of my past into perspective for the first time. My past was filled with cruelty, bullying, mistreatment, foul lies against me, and people taking advantage of my 'nature', which Homo Sapiens will. This is a normal Homo Aspie experience.

    It hasn't been very nice to see why my life was so horrible, and I dearly wish that my folks were here to see the truth at last (I'm sure my parents blamed themselves for having a 'mad' child) so they could take some comfort from an explanation. Still, tough s**t, they should have done their parental job and loved me as I am. It's their own fault that they died without knowing, and that makes me terribly sad. I'm always sad to see people hurting themselves, but everyone does!

    So yes, I've had a painful journey and a painful time since diagnosis, but I'm so glad to have it. As tough as things are, it's so much better than the drifting confusion that was my life before.

    I wish I could convey to you how painless the process was, yet how much I've benefited by it. I guess the real work started with the diagnosis, but you know what? Now, I've got a start point, I've got a handle on all the stuff that's ever happened to me and that I go through. OK, I'll never understand humans, but now I don't have to turn my head inside out any more just trying to!

    Relax. Your anxiety is perfectly normal, and totally wasted. You won't be 'tested', you'll be examined. And please stop trying to predict what the benefits will be for you, if you get the diagnosis, your perspective will shift by about a light year. Trust me on this.

    Remember, if you've been referred for an assessment, it's because others have seen the need for one. Go into it open, and open-minded, and it will work for you. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much difference it doesn't make, and I think you'll be surprised by the difference it does make. I can see that you have a lot staked on the outcome, but if you get the diagnosis, it won't be what you think it will be. It'll be much, much better than that.

    Good luck, stay with us and please let us know when it eventualy happens. We look forward to welcoming a new chum!