Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All. A few years ago I was seeing a psychiatrist for depression, and one of the mental health nurses who assessed me before seeing the psychiatrist thought some of the things I was saying sounded like autistic traits. I was given two questionnaires to complete to assess the autistic traits; one came back positive and one negative. I found the questionnaires very difficult to complete as I find my thoughts and feelings very confusing and has to understand. As I was mostly seeing him for the depression it was sort of left there as a semi diagnosis of possibly a bit autistic. Fast forward to now, and my current counsellor has helped me to try to explore my thoughts/feelings and why I struggle to understand myself. We both feel that a better diagnosis and more robust understanding of what is going on would help. I also have a 6 month old daughter, and my partner wants to understand how she and my daughter in the future could best understand/support me.
Can I ask how a formal autistic assessment works? What can I expect, either in terms of waiting on the nhs or cost privately, and at the actual assessment? Do they need to observe me? How definitive can they be if I am not sure myself if my thoughts/feelings?
Sorry for the long post, and thanks for any advice you may have.
Hi NAS76647, We have an advice page here on the NAS site that covers all the various aspects of getting an autism diagnosis, which sounds like what you're looking for. This section covers pre-diagnosis, talking to your doctor about getting an assessment and so on - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/pre-diagnosis/adults - and this section covers the diagnosis itself and what to expect on the day - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/diagnostic-assessment/adults. There are links at the bottom of the page with more information if you would like to read more.
Hope this is of some help,
Ross - mod