Treatments and therapies without a diagnosis

MarinaTs,

I believe am echoing the previous two comments. I am concerned that you wish to 'treat' your sister when she does not have a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Condition/Asperger's. 

It is possible that at the time of the previous assessment she may have had Autism Spectrum Condition, but was coping well enough not to be given a diagnosis.
Or that the psychologist (hopefully a specialist in Autism/Aspergers) got the sense from your sister that she was not ready for a diagnosis. By that I mean;  it is important that a person who suspects they have ASC/Asperger's, goes for assessment because they personally want to be there and are ready to accept it.

I am puzzled by your saying she has co-morbid conditions. As she does not have an ASC diagnosis... how can she have conditions co-morbid to ASC. Do you mean that she is showing outward signs of having ASC/Aspertger's?
The outward signs and behaviours of ASC can worsen if environmental factors are causing increased sensory problems or anxiety... and anxiety goes hand-in-glove with Asperger's. Is this the co-morbidity you are talking about?
A reduction in the anxiety inducing factors can alleviate the problem, but you need to know what the problem is first.

Each individual with ASC/Asperger's will have a different set of problems and advantages. A diagnosis highlights these and gives an idea of what needs to be done to help the person deal with the unpleasent parts and make the most of the advantages. But it is all up the person who has the condition and what they want for themselves, and what they feel they would like to target through treatment.

You say your sister has 'fallen through the net'. Unfortunately falling through the net happens to a lot of us, and many reach diagnosis after being treated for years for conditions that they do not have... GP's asking the 10 questions of the quick-version AQ Test would give them an indication of the real problem, and avoid mis-diagnosis... but I think few GP's do this.
Without correctly establishing the real cause of the problem, they often treat the patient for a mental health condition rather than Autism Spectrum Condition, which is a developmental difference.

You say that you "would just love to get her started on something" and I appreciate that you want to help her. But what does your sister want for herself?

One of the reasons I was asking about the sister's attitudes was that some treatments (e.g. cbt or mindfulness) may not work unless the subject is interested in trying to change their ideas. You can't impose treatment like this on an unwilling subject. On the other hand, if the subject is willing then I am not sure what harm might arise from trying a course of CBT. Of course, if the subject needs a different intervention because the underlying problem is a condition that requires something different then a course of, for example CBT, may just delay the right treatment.

As I understand it though, mental health treatment is often a trial and error process where different diagnoses and treatements are tried until something is found that improves the subjects state of mind.

A little caution needed with this idea about services and treatments with or without a diagnosis of autism. There are certain things that can be done to help people with autism alleviate life's difficulties, but it is not curable, or in the sense of therapies, an illness or a disease.

Perhaps if you could clarify the comorbid conditions and how you think she manifests autism, more suggestions could be offered.

Some people get misdiagnosed and treated for years for other conditions that overlap or seem similar to autism, and that is a tragedy of the system. If she has quite serious difficulties and autism could be a contributary factor you really need to get expert advice.

If she was managing in life but has lately got into difficulties that might indicate a break down of acquired autism coping strategies, and again would need the right advice.

If the autism indications are slight, and the comorbid conditions not really any clearer indication of why things have gone wrong for her, it is not really a context for services and therapies, which would apply to more marked autism difficulties.

The usual problem for people with an autism diagnosis is getting any help at all.

Maybe a bit more information on what's involved would help people comment.

Hi,

Does your sister believe that she is on the spectrum and/or does she think that she has a problem that needs to be solved?