Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello. I'm brand new here and I guess I'm looking for advice or other experiences from people and their diagnosis process.
I strongly believe that I have high functioning adult ASD. Having discussed this with my GP he has proposed a 6 week therapy course for anxiety problems, being that it is NHS funded and a distinct lack of ANYONE who deals with autism in my area (the closest being people who actually deal with ADHD but probably could help me). My GP is supportive but as a GP he is not able to diagnose me, after the 6 week course we will review and if I feel like I want to pursue a diagnosis then we will see about investigating one but also looking into personality disorders, which I do not believe I have, much looking into high functioning ASD and BPD and BPD absolutely does not ring true to me whereas ASD sounds exactly like me.
I'm wondering really about what other peoples process was like, and if there is anything I should be doing, asking etc. I feel like the anxiety counselling will be helpful but other than that I kind of feel like I'm not going to get much help because it just isn't there!
Thank you for listening.
Hi NAS 24727 and welcome,
You might be interested to look at the NAS page on adult diagnosis:
http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx
Also you might be interested that the Autism Act 2009 was the first ever disability specific law in England. The act led to the government producing the Autism Strategy. As part of this strategy, it was recommended that local areas appoint a lead professional to develop diagnostic and assessment services for adults with autism. One of the guidelines is that local authorities must have a clear pathway of diagnosis for adults. This means that wherever you live, you should be able to access a diagnostic assessment and your GP and/or local authority should be able to tell you how you can access this assessment: http://www.autism.org.uk/working-with/autism-strategy/diagnosis/find-your-local-diagnostic-leads.aspx
Hope everything goes well for you.
Kind regards,
Heather - Mod
I have just raised this issue with my own GP who told me there's no provision for adult diagnosis, it being an irrelevant waste of time and resources. This is very enlightening, thank you.
I have 2 and half sides of A4 paper with reasons why and any test I have taken says it's very likely. I've just had a call from my GP's office this morning asking me to go back as he wants to discuss it further. To be fair, I was going for a follow up appointment for panic anxiety so announcing that I wanted screening for autism probably threw him a bit!
I had to go to my GP twice, the first time I was fobbed off with half truths. I went back two weeks later and with a lot more research under my belt. I wrote two A4 sides af crappy notes that addressed the criteria for assesment at different stages in my life, like no friends no employment, complete social failure... have you done all the online tests? Taking those results and your own testament to your history should oblige them to refer you for assessment.
Therapy for anxiety without an awareness of ASD can do more harm than good from my experience, so be mindful. You have a right to be referred for diagnosis.