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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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  • NAS18906 said:

    Social Anxiety and OCD are not always the product of ASD. There are people with SAD who do not have ASD and similarly with OCD. Have you tried the free online test aspergerstest.net/.../ which is quite good at differentiating ASD from other causes. I strongly suspect that you will score highly but please don't try and skew the test - this won't help anyone!

    Getting a second opinion does not mean that you have to challenge, disprove or undermine the original diagnosis. It is a fresh look at you case with a fresh pair of eyes. Start by looking at www.nhs.uk/.../910.aspx and then also have a look at the search results that I posted earlier in this thread. A second opinion is not like an appeal under a judicial system, it is a fresh opinion from a different expert.

    A diagnosis of ASD implies that one qualifies for protection under the equality act. This is equivalent to saying that you are disabled and this is a category that I do not 'enjoy' being in. The reality is that you have the issues that you have and you may benefit from this categorisation but almost nobody sees it as an advantage. There are firms that take part in the two ticks positive action scheme but I have not found this to be a significant help in my search for work in IT.

    You may not need a diagnosis of full blown ASD to get the right support from your GP. The CBT that they prescribe may be tailored for someone with ASD but I get the impression that a good therapist will help someone with ASD regardless of their diagnosis status but there are lots of therapists who struggle to get through to anyone. It is a bit of a lottery and I think you have to approach it positively with an open mind if you are to get the benefit. CBT has been discussed on the forum before and there are people who have massively benefited and those that don't see the point.

    I scored 32 on the aspergers test - which is on the cusp of borderline ASD and strong indication of ASD.... this is after being as conservative as possible i.e. downplaying a lot of my aspergers symptoms ! I remember doing a similar mutliple choice test (similar questions but not the same ones and i scored highly on them as well). 

    But what you are describing is for someone who hasn't had an ASD diagnosis yet and 'may' be on the ASD spectrum. They aren' going to give me the ASD specific treatment as the psychologist has said I don't have ASD although he did seem confused himself regardig my awkwardness and conversational skills when he was explaining the results to me -  he ended up asking me if I thought it was social anxiety or ASD ..... I mean what the hell ??!!!I do not want to take treatment for things that are not relevant as sub consciously I will not be too engaged during the sessions. 

    I do think having a ASD diagnosis is benefitial - you see a lot of people who get help from employers - there were some documentaries about this and awareness regarding autism is rising through events and national autistisc day etc. By law you are not required to disclose it if you don't want to - which at least gives the option of working at the company and seeing what the people are like and then disclosing later on. Also, surely that information would be confidential between you and your boss - so noone else would know about it. Why would he or she need to tell anyone else if it just involves alteration of duties - so you wouldn't necessarily have a 'disabled' tag ?

Reply

  • NAS18906 said:

    Social Anxiety and OCD are not always the product of ASD. There are people with SAD who do not have ASD and similarly with OCD. Have you tried the free online test aspergerstest.net/.../ which is quite good at differentiating ASD from other causes. I strongly suspect that you will score highly but please don't try and skew the test - this won't help anyone!

    Getting a second opinion does not mean that you have to challenge, disprove or undermine the original diagnosis. It is a fresh look at you case with a fresh pair of eyes. Start by looking at www.nhs.uk/.../910.aspx and then also have a look at the search results that I posted earlier in this thread. A second opinion is not like an appeal under a judicial system, it is a fresh opinion from a different expert.

    A diagnosis of ASD implies that one qualifies for protection under the equality act. This is equivalent to saying that you are disabled and this is a category that I do not 'enjoy' being in. The reality is that you have the issues that you have and you may benefit from this categorisation but almost nobody sees it as an advantage. There are firms that take part in the two ticks positive action scheme but I have not found this to be a significant help in my search for work in IT.

    You may not need a diagnosis of full blown ASD to get the right support from your GP. The CBT that they prescribe may be tailored for someone with ASD but I get the impression that a good therapist will help someone with ASD regardless of their diagnosis status but there are lots of therapists who struggle to get through to anyone. It is a bit of a lottery and I think you have to approach it positively with an open mind if you are to get the benefit. CBT has been discussed on the forum before and there are people who have massively benefited and those that don't see the point.

    I scored 32 on the aspergers test - which is on the cusp of borderline ASD and strong indication of ASD.... this is after being as conservative as possible i.e. downplaying a lot of my aspergers symptoms ! I remember doing a similar mutliple choice test (similar questions but not the same ones and i scored highly on them as well). 

    But what you are describing is for someone who hasn't had an ASD diagnosis yet and 'may' be on the ASD spectrum. They aren' going to give me the ASD specific treatment as the psychologist has said I don't have ASD although he did seem confused himself regardig my awkwardness and conversational skills when he was explaining the results to me -  he ended up asking me if I thought it was social anxiety or ASD ..... I mean what the hell ??!!!I do not want to take treatment for things that are not relevant as sub consciously I will not be too engaged during the sessions. 

    I do think having a ASD diagnosis is benefitial - you see a lot of people who get help from employers - there were some documentaries about this and awareness regarding autism is rising through events and national autistisc day etc. By law you are not required to disclose it if you don't want to - which at least gives the option of working at the company and seeing what the people are like and then disclosing later on. Also, surely that information would be confidential between you and your boss - so noone else would know about it. Why would he or she need to tell anyone else if it just involves alteration of duties - so you wouldn't necessarily have a 'disabled' tag ?

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