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Failed ASD assessment - need a second opinion

rk1103

Hi, 

I had an ASD assessment 5 months ago where they decided I did not come under the "Aspergers" category even though I scored highly on most of the assessments.Some of their justifications was that I had worked before, have good qualifications, interested in sports (apparently that is not narrow or strange enough) and have done some public speaking. I find this laughable given that I have met so many people who have an aspergers diagnosis who have done all these things - in fact they are the some of the best public speakers I have seen. Its actually left my fuming for the past few months as I had to leave my job due to bullying and am currently looking to move into a new career. I have suffered from depression, OCD, social anxiety and had suicidal thoughts - the ASD assessment would have been a step in the right direction in my opinion as I know I have a lot of the traits although I am very good at masking it which makes it less obvious to people. I have been on medication and refuse to take psychological therapy as I have had years of it in the past and I think its a load of rubbish especially if one already knows what coping mechanisms to use. My depression is getting worse as a result of this failed assessment as It feels like I have robbed of something I should have been given and will have to suffer the consequences for the rest of my life - especially when finding work. 

I desperately need a diagnosis to help me with my future - I am looking to find work in the IT sector and a lot of companies do give assistance in interviews to people on the autistic spectrum. Is there any way I coud get a second assessment through the NHS or would I need to do this privately ? I am not sure my GP would refer my again given that they had received a report from the psychologists saying that I do not come under the category. Would anyone know/suggest any good private centers which have experienced psychologists specialising in ASD ?

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  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Hi rk1103,

    Welcome to the forum. You have come to a good place - I suspect that you may well benefit from a diagnosis. You may well have enough autistic traits to give you a significant problem that needs to be addressed.

    You have some strong views about a couple of things that may arise from the way your mind works. We suffer from "rigid" thinking and you need to be aware of this before sticking to a particular course that you have decided upon. We are not good listeners and I hope that you can listen to the thoughts i am going to challenge you with!

    You are on meds and are refusing psychological intervention. This is in direct opposition to the current thinking on how you deal with autism. Psychological interventions can often fail and you have not benefited from these. Psychological interventions that take account of autism, and that are undertaken by a willing and engaged patient, are much more likely to succeed. Please open yourself to the possibility that a psychological intervention might be a good way forward.

    You believe that a diagnosis will help you get a job. I wish this were true but I do not believe that this is the case. I have a diagnosis but have still got great difficulty in getting a new job. I have worked in IT for many years and have considerable experience of the problems that an autistic person can have in that career and also have experience of the almost total ignorance of autism in all of the firms I have worked in. I have tried declaring my autism to prospective employers (even ones that declare a positive benefit to disclosure) and have had no success with this. I have tried not-declaring and also have struggled. The key is to work out how to be good at interviews and to really understand what employers want. They do want people like us who can engage with the gritty detail of some jobs, they do want people who think differently, they do want people like us but we have to be able to sell the benfits without highlighting the difficulties. IT is a good career for people with autism but there are almost no employers who really understand autism and even fewer who are on the lookout for people like us.

    Finally, a scond opinion can be obtained - have a look at the threads returned by this search community.autism.org.uk/.../"second opinion" and you will find a lot of examples of what to do and how people have engaged with the system - try to engage with the system rather than fighting the system! The benefit of a diagnosis is to get the right intervention - I really don't thionk that the protection of the equality act is worth a great deal for many people with autism.

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  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Hi rk1103,

    Welcome to the forum. You have come to a good place - I suspect that you may well benefit from a diagnosis. You may well have enough autistic traits to give you a significant problem that needs to be addressed.

    You have some strong views about a couple of things that may arise from the way your mind works. We suffer from "rigid" thinking and you need to be aware of this before sticking to a particular course that you have decided upon. We are not good listeners and I hope that you can listen to the thoughts i am going to challenge you with!

    You are on meds and are refusing psychological intervention. This is in direct opposition to the current thinking on how you deal with autism. Psychological interventions can often fail and you have not benefited from these. Psychological interventions that take account of autism, and that are undertaken by a willing and engaged patient, are much more likely to succeed. Please open yourself to the possibility that a psychological intervention might be a good way forward.

    You believe that a diagnosis will help you get a job. I wish this were true but I do not believe that this is the case. I have a diagnosis but have still got great difficulty in getting a new job. I have worked in IT for many years and have considerable experience of the problems that an autistic person can have in that career and also have experience of the almost total ignorance of autism in all of the firms I have worked in. I have tried declaring my autism to prospective employers (even ones that declare a positive benefit to disclosure) and have had no success with this. I have tried not-declaring and also have struggled. The key is to work out how to be good at interviews and to really understand what employers want. They do want people like us who can engage with the gritty detail of some jobs, they do want people who think differently, they do want people like us but we have to be able to sell the benfits without highlighting the difficulties. IT is a good career for people with autism but there are almost no employers who really understand autism and even fewer who are on the lookout for people like us.

    Finally, a scond opinion can be obtained - have a look at the threads returned by this search community.autism.org.uk/.../"second opinion" and you will find a lot of examples of what to do and how people have engaged with the system - try to engage with the system rather than fighting the system! The benefit of a diagnosis is to get the right intervention - I really don't thionk that the protection of the equality act is worth a great deal for many people with autism.

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