Gp refused to refer?

Well firstly, your GP saying they can't refer aduitais a downright lie.  Everyone is entitled, the normal process is you complete the AQ 10 for the gp and if you score high enough, it's automatic referral.  I've got my NHS assessment tomorrow, all I can say is keep calling - find out from the GP where your referral has been sent to, then contact them directly often to find out what's going on, and ask for cancellations, that's how I got.mine.  my GP hadn't sent the funding forms, and if I hadn't been on the phone every day, it would still be sitting in their office.

It will be £550 if I go private.

That's for a 3hr session and results at the end of the meeting.

just out of curiosity how much did it cost to go private if you don't mind me asking

If only I could easily afford to go private.

Norfolk appears to be in a right mess then. It's upsetting. It's not easy to just go out of area either with kids at school, husband's work and not having any childcare to be able to travel far from local area.

I live in norfolkand went to my gp in May 2017. After a couple of weeks he phoned me to say the referral had been delayed because he hadnt been sure where to refer me originally but now knew it should be ‘Asperger Servic Norfolk’ They sent me Aq, EQ, and RQ questionnaires within a fortnight. I completed and returned straight away. I then got a letter in July stating that my results show it is ‘highly likely’ I have asd and have been put on a waiting list for a formal assessment. It then went on to say I could be waiting ‘up to 18 months’ before I hear anything else. I tried chasing it up in March but their emails bounce back and their phones are rarely manned. It actually took a couple of weeks to get through to someone who told me that due to further cuts in funding she now cannot give me any idea at all of when I might get seen. So Trogluddite (see comments) is probably accurate in their opinion that there is no adult autism service in Norfolk at present. I have since gone private and got a diagnosis within 6 weekas of making that decision

Beaky8401 said:

there is no adult autism service in Norfolk and there's no point getting a diagnosis as an adult anyway.

This is total nonsense for many reasons.

Firstly, if there is no provision for autistic adults in Norfolk, the local authority is breaking the law - the Autism Act of 2009 makes it incumbent on all local authorities to have a pathway from diagnosis to support for adults with autism. It is true that the provisions nowhere near meet the promises made by the legislation, but that is no excuse for an offhand refusal.

Secondly, whether or not there is a point to being diagnosed is not for a doctor or registrar to decide. There are many reasons why an adult might feel the need for a diagnosis.

• For our own peace of mind; which has implications for our mental health.
• To make our descriptions of our difficulties more believable to incredulous people around us; which again has implications for our mental health, and also for our social success.
• To make it easier to access reasonable adjustments in the workplace and when accessing services, as per disability discrimination legislation.
• To allow access to welfare benefits for daily income, travel, housing etc.
• So that we are counted in the statistics used when determining social and healthcare policies.

I approached GP to ask for a referal. I saw a registrar so she had to ask the senior GP's how to proceed. They responded with "there is no adult autism service in Norfolk and there's no point getting a diagnosis as an adult anyway.

I am not happy. I am taking it further and I WILL get the referal and assessment I feel I need and deserve.