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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?

Parents

  • 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.

Reply

  • 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.

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