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capers123

First time post here, so Hi

For quite some time I've had my suspicions that I'm higher up the Scale than the average person, to the point that I nearly booked a GP appointment last week do ask for a referral. 

Then on Saturday I found a link to the Channel 4 'How Autistic Are You?' Questionnaire - which gives a non-diagnostic idea of where you are on the spectrum.  It was designed by Prof Baron-Cohen & Dr David Greenberg, so I feel at least it will be quite a good pointer, if not 100% accurate.

A small group of us took the test. One of the group already has a diagnosis of High-Functioning Autism and scored 9 out of 10. The other 3 scored 1, 3 & 6, the latter (my partner) exhibiting some autistic traits.  I scored 10.  The questionnaire recommended considering a specialist diagnostic assesment if scoring over 6, so I have booked a GP appointment.  My partner did question what benefit getting a formal diagnosis would be, to which I replied that at least it would help explain some of the ways I react and see life and why I've often been regarded as a bit of an odd-ball.

I read on some of the information pages on this site that for adult diagnosis, one has to take an informant - someone who knew you as a child.  Aged 55, my parents are both dead, and I have no other relatives of their peer group, nor siblings.  I've started writing down all I can remember from childhood - most of which seem to be instances of perceived injustice or anger at logic not being followed.  Is that likely to be enough or will I not get a diagnosis?

I must say that our children both scored very low in the tests, thus proving that it's not necessarily a genetic trait. Phew.

Parents

  • My diagnosis didn't require anyone else to be there.  I had information my mother had given me plus a lot of childhood memories that helped the consultant get the picture.

    Before the diagnosis I was asked to write down a potted history of my life, the difficulties, etc that I had, the habits, social interaction, likes and dislikes.  I wrote about ten thousand words, so the consultant probably had lost the will to live by the time of the final assessment.

    I think in a lot of cases a well trained consultant in autism will be able to get a very good idea just by being with you for a couple of hours, your reactions to things, your 'behaviour' and gestures.  And then the answers to the questions (s)he asks and your past history will just fill in the gaps and confirm or otherwise.  Remember, they are well trained and would know if someone has some other condition during the process.  My final interview took about three hours.

    Remember, the AQ test is not a diagnosis but it picks out certain traits that give a very good idea.  And this coupled with the way you interractwith others and your environment should give you a very good idea.

    For me, the diagnosis was as if my eyes had been opened, such a lot of my previous life began to make sense and I felt I no longer had to make excuses for any social faux pas. 

    Although it was very late for me, I am getting much needed support now at work which stopped a lot of performance related problems at work (which are not really performance but being in an alien environment). 

Reply

  • My diagnosis didn't require anyone else to be there.  I had information my mother had given me plus a lot of childhood memories that helped the consultant get the picture.

    Before the diagnosis I was asked to write down a potted history of my life, the difficulties, etc that I had, the habits, social interaction, likes and dislikes.  I wrote about ten thousand words, so the consultant probably had lost the will to live by the time of the final assessment.

    I think in a lot of cases a well trained consultant in autism will be able to get a very good idea just by being with you for a couple of hours, your reactions to things, your 'behaviour' and gestures.  And then the answers to the questions (s)he asks and your past history will just fill in the gaps and confirm or otherwise.  Remember, they are well trained and would know if someone has some other condition during the process.  My final interview took about three hours.

    Remember, the AQ test is not a diagnosis but it picks out certain traits that give a very good idea.  And this coupled with the way you interractwith others and your environment should give you a very good idea.

    For me, the diagnosis was as if my eyes had been opened, such a lot of my previous life began to make sense and I felt I no longer had to make excuses for any social faux pas. 

    Although it was very late for me, I am getting much needed support now at work which stopped a lot of performance related problems at work (which are not really performance but being in an alien environment). 

Children
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