Hello all, my ASD assessment is coming up soon!! What to expect?

Hi Rich,

I felt the same whilst going through my diagnosis. Depressed, anxious, angry, and agitated. To be honest – I don’t feel much different now! A diagnosis can help you understand yourself/past experiences and allows you to explain yourself to others. Therefore, it is beneficial to have one. I needed to know for sure and have it in writing before I could move on with my life.

However, don’t expect much else to change. There’s no support post-report; you just have to get on with things. It does make me feel sad sometimes. I was a quiet/creative kid but completely changed when I was a teenager. I abused alcohol to get through social situations well into my thirties; suffered mental health issues/suicide attempts; had tons of terrible jobs and have now ended up isolated.

I sometimes wonder if things would have been different with an early diagnosis. No point wondering though I guess.
I’m now 41 and about to start my second degree. I’ve reverted to my quiet/creative five-year-old self!

Anyway, I did a similar thing to you – saw a psychologist first and discussed all my current issues. She agreed I may be autistic and told me I should have a full assessment. I then booked a private assessment with a clinical psychologist/autism expert. I also sent them a list of traits I’d had since childhood that were autism related. I did this as I was worried I would ‘freeze’ under assessment. There were also some forms for me and a family member to fill in.

Next, I had a 90-minute interview with a psychologist and discussed my entire life; there’s lots of focus on childhood. Next, a parent had a 90-minute interview with the psychologist to discuss my childhood/current traits etc. Finally, I had an observational assessment with two psychologists. This involved social tasks and improvising. I hated it, and found it embarrassing but guess that’s part of it! I then had a follow-up appointment to discuss the outcome. Anyway, the whole process took about three weeks.

I then received a 37-page report – stating that I am autistic. It felt good to get some clarification!

My advice is to write things down and bring them to your appointments. Tell them as much as you can.

Sorry for the life story by the way; it’s easy to get carried away when writing!

Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Andrew

Hi Rich,

I felt the same whilst going through my diagnosis. Depressed, anxious, angry, and agitated. To be honest – I don’t feel much different now! A diagnosis can help you understand yourself/past experiences and allows you to explain yourself to others. Therefore, it is beneficial to have one. I needed to know for sure and have it in writing before I could move on with my life.

However, don’t expect much else to change. There’s no support post-report; you just have to get on with things. It does make me feel sad sometimes. I was a quiet/creative kid but completely changed when I was a teenager. I abused alcohol to get through social situations well into my thirties; suffered mental health issues/suicide attempts; had tons of terrible jobs and have now ended up isolated.

I sometimes wonder if things would have been different with an early diagnosis. No point wondering though I guess.
I’m now 41 and about to start my second degree. I’ve reverted to my quiet/creative five-year-old self!

Anyway, I did a similar thing to you – saw a psychologist first and discussed all my current issues. She agreed I may be autistic and told me I should have a full assessment. I then booked a private assessment with a clinical psychologist/autism expert. I also sent them a list of traits I’d had since childhood that were autism related. I did this as I was worried I would ‘freeze’ under assessment. There were also some forms for me and a family member to fill in.

Next, I had a 90-minute interview with a psychologist and discussed my entire life; there’s lots of focus on childhood. Next, a parent had a 90-minute interview with the psychologist to discuss my childhood/current traits etc. Finally, I had an observational assessment with two psychologists. This involved social tasks and improvising. I hated it, and found it embarrassing but guess that’s part of it! I then had a follow-up appointment to discuss the outcome. Anyway, the whole process took about three weeks.

I then received a 37-page report – stating that I am autistic. It felt good to get some clarification!

My advice is to write things down and bring them to your appointments. Tell them as much as you can.

Sorry for the life story by the way; it’s easy to get carried away when writing!

Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Andrew

Thank you so very much Andrew for your comprehensive response, and do not apologise for the length as this is the sort of thing I and I’m sure many here would appreciate….as much information and detail as possible about people’s life stories as this has got us to where we are now and why we’re here on this forum. 

I particularly liked the reassurance you give about the embarrassment of the assessment and describing it as ‘being part of it’.  A little pain now will be for the long-term benefit. 

On your advice I will continue to write thoughts and experiences down, I have submitted 20 A4 pages already as part of the initial questionnaire but will come up with more situations and experiences to help with the assessment. 

I’ll let you know how I get on.