Autism assessments for ASD and depression association

Hi, Autistic individuals may actually be more likely to experience depression, though if your daughter is autistic, it may not be depression but could also be autistic burnout which can present similarly. It is actually very common for autistic people to be diagnosed with other mental health conditions before someone recognises they are autistic (it happened to me- I was told I had depression, anxiety etc before being diagnosed at 25).

I am sorry you are experiencing difficulties in finding someone to assess your daughter. Are you considering going privately? I was diagnosed via Sara Heath and had a good experience:https://shropshireautonomy.co.uk/pre-diagnostic-support/  This is one of the more affordable routes towards a private diagnosis. Sara cannot diagnose anyone herself but she conducts an in depth pre-diagnostic assessment and writes a detailed report- if she believes you may be autistic you can then arrange an appointment with a consultant psychiatrist she works with who will conduct his own assessment and can give a formal diagnosis, which is recognised by the NHS (The psychiatrist has experience diagnosing for NHS). I was moving countries a lot at the time and really struggled and I needed answers but was unlikely to ever make it to the end of a waiting list before moving again- this route to diagnosis was ideal for me as it could all be done online. If this is a route you might consider, I would suggest you email or phone Sara for some more information- she is very approachable and nice- it was actually a very good experience for me to talk to her as I felt understood for the first time in a long time. I don’t know if this helps, but this was just my personal experience. 

Post diagnostic support in the UK for adults isn’t great (in fact depending on area there isn’t any) but at least for me getting a diagnosis still made a huge difference as I could understand myself better. Since your daughter is still at school, it could also help get her more support and it will also help her later on if she wants to go to university or if she needs any adjustments in the work place. In terms of support you could also then consider looking for a counsellor that has experience working with autistic individuals- my university funded some sessions for me with someone who is autistic himself and it has been much more helpful than other types of counselling.  

You also mention that your daughter is not in a good place at the moment- do you know what might be contributing to that? 

I hope your daughter feels better soon and that you can get some answers- having that information really helps even if it takes time to figure it out. 

Hi, Autistic individuals may actually be more likely to experience depression, though if your daughter is autistic, it may not be depression but could also be autistic burnout which can present similarly. It is actually very common for autistic people to be diagnosed with other mental health conditions before someone recognises they are autistic (it happened to me- I was told I had depression, anxiety etc before being diagnosed at 25).

I am sorry you are experiencing difficulties in finding someone to assess your daughter. Are you considering going privately? I was diagnosed via Sara Heath and had a good experience:https://shropshireautonomy.co.uk/pre-diagnostic-support/  This is one of the more affordable routes towards a private diagnosis. Sara cannot diagnose anyone herself but she conducts an in depth pre-diagnostic assessment and writes a detailed report- if she believes you may be autistic you can then arrange an appointment with a consultant psychiatrist she works with who will conduct his own assessment and can give a formal diagnosis, which is recognised by the NHS (The psychiatrist has experience diagnosing for NHS). I was moving countries a lot at the time and really struggled and I needed answers but was unlikely to ever make it to the end of a waiting list before moving again- this route to diagnosis was ideal for me as it could all be done online. If this is a route you might consider, I would suggest you email or phone Sara for some more information- she is very approachable and nice- it was actually a very good experience for me to talk to her as I felt understood for the first time in a long time. I don’t know if this helps, but this was just my personal experience. 

Post diagnostic support in the UK for adults isn’t great (in fact depending on area there isn’t any) but at least for me getting a diagnosis still made a huge difference as I could understand myself better. Since your daughter is still at school, it could also help get her more support and it will also help her later on if she wants to go to university or if she needs any adjustments in the work place. In terms of support you could also then consider looking for a counsellor that has experience working with autistic individuals- my university funded some sessions for me with someone who is autistic himself and it has been much more helpful than other types of counselling.  

You also mention that your daughter is not in a good place at the moment- do you know what might be contributing to that? 

I hope your daughter feels better soon and that you can get some answers- having that information really helps even if it takes time to figure it out.