Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone. I want my daughter who is 19 years old to be tested for autism. It is something that she also wants as she wants answers to why she is the way she is. I’m presuming it is a long process with the NHS. I just wondered if anyone could share their experience with the diagnosis process and how you got it. NHS or private? Thank you for your time
I was told the NHS waiting list was 2-3 years+ (Glasgow) so I decided to go private.
I spoke to two providers listed on the NAS website before choosing.
Within approx 3 weeks I had an initial 2 hour face to face consultation where we talked about my life history, what I experience etc. I was also given numerous forms to fill in.
A week or so later I had two more face to face sessions totalling about 3.5 hours. They were for an IQ test and the ADOS test.
Separately they also interviewed two people who know me. I wasn’t present for that.
About a month later I went back in for a feedback session, my diagnosis result and my report.
The whole process felt a bit like being reborn. I learned a huge amount about myself and felt seen and understood for the first time in my life.
Hi, due you mind if I ask did you have any issue with your GP and GG&Clyde NHS accepting a private diagnosis. I'm just starting the process and GP has put in referal but its to Community Mental Health Team as he said even if I went private I'd still need to complete the NHS assessment.
My experience is that there is zero in the way of resources available for any autistic adult who can mostly function in society, The best that can be hoped for are accommodations that have virtually no monetary cost attached.
The practitioners who diagnosed me also work for the NHS and went to great pains to demonstrate that they were adhering to the “gold standard” approach to diagnosis. The lead clinical psychologist had a long and impressive list of qualifications and a specialism in autism.
The diagnosis process was much longer and comprehensive than some of the accounts I’ve heard from others on here.
So I am confident that they knew what they were doing and that their diagnosis has weight.
But would I put it past Greater Glasgow & Clyde to deny people access to other resources without an official NHS stamp? Not really.
That is flatly against the NICE guidelines, if those operate north of the border or have a local equivalent. The only measure of the validity of a diagnosis for ASD or any medical condition is the relevant qualifications and membership of medical bodies of the clinician or clinicians making the diagnosis. Where the money came from to pay for the assessment is of no relevance whatsoever. Some health authorities and other bodies just make things up, often erroneously. This sort of thing needs to be challenged. Besides through the NHS 'Right to Choose Scheme' (possibly not in Scotland) NHS patients are referred to private providers for autism assessments. It is insane!
Can you imagine someone who had been privately diagnosed with diabetes or cancer being denied treatment on the NHS because their diagnosis had been privately paid for? It is a scandal that autists have to either wait years for NHS assessment or get denied recognition if they go private.
I haven’t even spoken to my GP since my diagnosis, although they were sent a copy.