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My 22 year old son was diagnosed in February- at last follow up appointment today - what to expect?

NAS62665

My 22 year old son was diagnosed with autism in February and it has taken this long to get a follow up appointment. Now I’m wondering what to expect. Is it a waste of time as I suspect? I hope not. Has anyone had recent experience of this? My son is an unemployed graduate with ongoing problems with anxiety and has trouble sleeping at night. He is not interested in mixing with other people with autism so will not use the support that is available. I hope that this appointment is productive and helps him in some way,

  • Hi NAS62665,

    You might want to have a look at our After Diagnosis page for adults here on the NAS site - https://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis/adults/after.aspx - to get an idea of some of the things you might expect to hear about in terms of post-diagnostic support - to do with general information on ASD, health, employment, social support, and so on. Or if you want to talk to someone directly you could contact the NAS helpline here - https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/contact.aspx.

    Best wishes,

    Ross - mod

  • Hi there,

    I have an adult son with autism, aged 26 - the anxiety & stress can be very debilitating. Might be useful to your son to prepare for the appointment by thinking about what kind of support he would like, if any, and any other concerns he has. 

    Some people with autism find that appropriate medication takes the edge off the anxiety, making life easier. Not everyone wants to be on daily meds, but it's an option. There might be non-chemical ways of alleviating anxiety that could be explored with your health professional hopefully.

    Not knowing what to expect at an appointment can be very stressful, but preparing your side of things gives you a bit of input.

    Best wishes to you & your son, hope things improve soon.