Hi - I'm a 49 year old male and last year I decided to find out who I was. I went to my GP and explained my problems and he reffered me to the Adult Mental Health services. In April 2016 I attended an intial Autism assessment screening and was told at the end of it that I would be put on the waiting list for an ADOS. After a long wait I was invited to a pre ADOS screening and given various questionaires to complete to take with me. When I went I was asked various questions about my mental health concerning any issues with anxiety or depression. I explained that although I could be anxious at times and sometimes had spells of depression that for the majority of the time I had no significant issues with anxiety or depression that caused any problems for me. I was then told that due to a change in NHS policy that I was no longer eligiable for the diagnositic process as the adult mental health service could only look at diagnosing autism as part of treating someone with severe mental health issues due to anxiety and depression. I was also told that if they were allowed to diagnose me that they would put me on the spectrum with a profile of Aspergers Syndrome. They have put me on a register in case the eligibility criteria change again as they would then be able to start the diagnosis process up again. Part of me accepts who I am but another part of me needs it spelling out in black and white as I keep doubting myself. I'm so confused and don't know what to do.
