Referral help

That link is really useful Matt. It should be made into a 'sticky'post at the top, in my opinion.

I got referred via my GP earlier this year, the method I used was to read through the NICE guidelines for assessment referrals (see below) and typed up a document featuring the guidelines and some examples of how each of the criteria affects me personally. I would personally recommend this approach or something similar as, in my experience, it helped me to keep on track when I was talking to the doctor and made sure that what i was saying was relevant.

www.nice.org.uk/cg142/chapter/guidance#identification-and-assessment

Hope this can be of some use to you.

Good luck.

-Matt-

Autumn75 said:

I've been under mental health services for years and asked my psychiatrist if I could be assessed for Asperger's and she jumped down my throat with the loudest 'no!' My GP was must more understanding.

That sounds terrible, very unprofessional and worse than useless help-wise. Worthy of a formal complaint, I'd have thoght?

I've been under mental health services for years and asked my psychiatrist if I could be assessed for Asperger's and she jumped down my throat with the loudest 'no!' My GP was must more understanding.

I think it's fair to say that people's experience of diagnosis is very mixed. The others on this thread have found it straightforward. I didn't have any problems either. Others, though, have really struggled to make their case to their GP. Sometimes, the autism can be disguised behind coping mechanisms or obscured behind more obvious issues like depression. I would prepare and rehearse your reasons for thinking why you think this is the cause of your problems. 

I asked my GP for a referral and he did the 10 multiple choice question assessment straight away. If you score 7 or above you get referred. I was seen by my local adult autism assessment service about 18 months later which was last year. I was assessed by a clinical psychologist and a speech and language therapist over two 2-2.5 hour sessions and received my diagnosis at the end of the second session. The process is now meant to be standardised and easier to access.

Asparagus makes some good points - CBT can be useful and you may be lucky, like Asparagus, and they may recognise the root cause of your problems.

It can be a good idea to write down a list of things you want to tell the doctor. People with ASD are not good at communicating and it can help to write it out on one sheet of paper and hand this to the GP as you start explaining what your problems are.

It is useful to separate out two separate lists of points

a) what makes you think you have ASD. Why did you think that this might be the problem?

b) what the consequences of having ASD have been - have you had failed relationships, work conflict, anxiety, depression?

Hello

Just ask for a Referal for Asperger's. How to go about it.

I had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for a year before and then went back to the GP and ask to be referred again for CBT. I was referred to the Psychologist who then sent me to another Psychologist in another department, who did a detailed assessment over a period of a couple of month and used my previous CBT information as they had access to all of that and told me then they think it could be Asperger's. Her area was Aspeger's- I guess that was why I was sent to see her.  She sent the request in the GP for the referall to the Assessments. 

Dont be suprised if the GP wont send you to the Psychiatrist strait away.

The GP might want you to do other things first like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and if you are given that option then take it because it can all lead you to being assessed.  Or other things that you may not want to happen. But accept them and go with them beacuse it can all help the process and help you to find out what it is you need.