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Has anyone received any NHS support for autism?

Tamarinda

I just got my autism diagnosis and am trying to get some post-diagnosis support. I sent an e-consult to my GP surgery requesting that they refer to me to a national autism service run by a London NHS trust.

They responded saying that I can't get referred to that service because I have to be referred to services within my own NHS trust, but as far as I can see there are no autism post-diagnostic services within my trust. The only thing they have is autism assessment or a service for people who are at risk of admitted to a mental health unit (which I am not).

The surgery has booked me an appointment with a mental health nurse to discuss but I feel anxious about this as I expect she will want to refer me to generic mental health services which are not targeted at autism.

I'm currently receiving counselling through NHS Talking Therapies but it is not specific for autism. It is useful just to talk about my general anxiety and worries but the therapist doesn't really understand the specific issues related to autism.

Curious to know if anyone has received any post-diagnostic support through NHS? If not, what sort of support have you found helpful?

  • I had a private diagnosis and the clinic was excellent in providing post diagnostic support through counselling and signposting to organisations specific to my needs. It also referred me to the NHS Adult Autism Clinic at the hospital. I had one NHS appointment with an autism professional who happened to be a speech therapist and I was signposted to courses, literature and voluntary agencies. 

    My GP later referred me for counselling (Talking Therapies) but the therapist used inappropriate language when referring to autism related issues, e.g. “I was suffering with autism”. “Suffering” is a term I dislike intensely, even when referring to physical illnesses and conditions. 

    The suggested reading literature and the post diagnostic counselling from the private clinic helped me most.

    The NHS literature had a lot of material that wasn’t relevant to my needs. They signposted me to their course for autistic adults but I haven’t yet signed up. They also gave me a “to whom it may concern” type letter which outlines how ASD generally impacts people (according to diagnosis criteria) should I wish to claim benefits.

  • Tamarinda said:
    I'm currently receiving counselling through NHS Talking Therapies but it is not specific for autism. It is useful just to talk about my general anxiety and worries but the therapist doesn't really understand the specific issues related to autism.

    I also had counselling through NHS Talking Therapies. It focused on helping me to process how my experiences and diagnosis of autism have impacted me, including in the context of my anxiety and depression.

    With the benefit of having first read the book linked below, I'd specifically requested - and was grateful to be allocated to - someone with a good understanding of autism, and experience in helping neurodivergent clients. In fact, she was also neurodivergent, and we turned out to have quite a lot in common, struggle-wise, as I opened up over time. 

    The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy 

    I found the course very helpful. Paraphrasing some of the things that were noted in her follow-up letter, benefits had included helping me to feel understood, develop self compassion, and think creatively about managing life in ways that are tailored to what works for me, rather than to the expectations of others. 

    My course of sessions was extended several times and, towards the end, we discussed a plan for me to look into longer-term, private counselling.

    Perhaps you could ask, via the admin team, whether there's any possibility of switching to a different counsellor? 

  • I was diagnosed by the NHS and saw them for one follow up to discuss diagnosis. After this I was contacted by a sensory OT specialist in the NHS because I had scored 2 and over in category and that meant I would get about 12 sessions with a sensory specialist for sensory. I found that helpful. About a 8-12 months later they put my borough some support groups advice for anyone who had a recent diagnosis. This covered broad topics such as burn out how to cope and others.

  • No, I've not and there are no services for adults with autism in Anglesey or Gwynedd.