Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all! My son very likely has autism. He is 16 and has severe mental health difficulties which includes suicide ideation and attempted suicide. Because of this and the limited support we have received, we decided to get him diagnosed privately rather than wait the 9 years on the waiting list so we can get support put in place as soon as possible. He still is on the NHS waiting list though currently.
He has had a very comprehensive report (ados assessment and observation etc) done by a private psychologist who specialises in autism. This includes observations from me and his teachers, pastoral support, senco etc. In summary, the report said that the ados assessment exceeded the threshold for an autism diagnosis and that it is her clinical opinion that his difficulties are explained by a diagnosis of autism. It included much more obviously but this was the breakdown really.
My question is what now? The school and GP surgery have a copy of the report. Do I now need to take it somewhere else to get an actual diagnosis or will this do? I want support put in place especially as he is revising for his GCSE's and just unsure of next steps.
I appreciate any advice you can offer, thank you.
I was recently diagnosed privately too. You CANNOT win with the NHS, if you ask them for help you are made to feel bad. If you get a private assessment they try to ignore it! The service is shocking. The disability assessment for benefits is shocking too. A nurse and not a neuroscientist or a psychiatrist assessed me over the phone and from that one phone call somehow assessed that I am fit for work! I have Asperger's, 8 different types of synaesthesia, anxiety and depression! This condition is horrible. No one cares about us, all this talk about embracing neurodiversity is bullshit! All anyone cares about is whether you work or not, in the sensory hell the NT's have created. I seriously think that we should take a leaf out of The Netherlands' book and just allow voluntary euthanasia for this condition, I really do, it would be a whole lot kinder, it really would.
The work capability assessments are rigged to be unfair. A very high number of their rejections are overturned on appeal, but they're okay with that because some vulnerable people can't deal with the stress and so won't be willing to fight all the way to a tribunal (or maybe they'll commit suicide and so won't be claiming at all). Thankfully I've only been denied once, and that was reversed when we pointed out that the assessment report listed the assessor for whether my anxiety is too extreme for work was a physiotherapist who knew nothing about mental health.