Published on 12, July, 2020
Phew it’s taken a long time to get here! Years of joking I’m autistic and finally contacted my GP as no longer think it’s just social anxiety and depression.
Realising all sorts of things like the fact I used to ‘drive round the school yard in an imaginary bubble car’ may not have been usual ten year old behaviour. My love of anyone neuro diverse, dedication to children with additional needs because I fit in, that forcing myself to socialise and be more social for my children is an enormous source of anxiety for me. That lots of things I do to fit in I have learned by reading about them.
I thought no one could picture book characters? That being fascinated with ww2 history was just being a nerd, architecture, that I can totally disappear down a rabbit hole and not remember to eat and have to force myself to stop so I can feed my kids.
I’ve got a GP appointment but not sure what happens next?
I went the NHS route. I made sure I was prepared before seeing my GP. I made a comprehensive list of the traits and how I fitted them, with examples of how they affected my day to day life, I also made notes of relatives on the spectrum. I downloaded and completed the AQ10 and the AQ50 and I took those, along with the notes, when I went to see my GP. I gave him copies of everything, which answered his question; "what makes you think you're on the spectrum?". He agreed to refer me and told me I'd have one of three responses from the assessment centre. They'd either ask for more information, accept the referral and put me on the waiting list, or refuse the referral. I was accepted. Eventually I had a face to face assessment which lasted about 2 hours and consisted of more questionnaires and a face to face consultation. A little while later I had a second appointment but this was done via video call due to the pandemic. At the end of that second appointment I was told that I was on the autistic spectrum, and my written report arrived about 7 weeks later. It took around 2.5 years from seeing my GP to receiving my report.
Life may very well change, not suddenly, not necessarily in huge ways but change, and be better because of that step, well done.
Yes, indeed. Welcome to the Neurodiverse Tribe. I have felt a huge sense of relief since my formal diagnosis, and as each day goes by, I am learning about the legitimate reasons for the challenges I've faced in my life, and instead of reacting to them with frustration or self-hatred, I am able to meet them with understanding and compassion.Good luck!
Welcome aboard.
I can identify with everything you said so many obvious markers but no-one put them together. I attract other aspies - all of my long term friends are either undiagnosed or diagnosed aspies too.
I went the private route for diagnosis (my company healthcare paid for it) so I can't tell you about the current NHS route- someone else will point the way for that.
I love history and architecture too (among many other nerd subjects).