Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I’m going to try and keep this short.
I recently had an assessment with Psychiatry UK where I was basically told I don’t struggle enough to have a diagnosis even though I do have autistic traits.
I have felt different my whole life and just cannot accept this as an answer. I am a woman in my early 20’s and I am aware of the fact that often women go undiagnosed because of outdated concepts as well as masking.
Has anyone else been in my situation before? And if so, how did you eventually get your diagnosis?
Thank you in advance, I’m feeling lost.
One of the prerequisites for a diagnosis of ASD/ASC is that it has to have a negative impact on your day to day life. This impact can be many things: not being able to make phone calls to make appointments, having to get off buses because someone's perfume is overwhelming, people misunderstanding you because of your facial expression or tone of voice, being unable to engage in conversations because of background noise, finding crowded places unbearable, being unable to easily switch between tasks at work, finding it difficult to initiate conversations with strangers, the list is potentially endless. I think that you may have not emphasised how and to what degree your autism impacts you. If you come across as not requiring any support or accommodation in daily life, the assessor will not diagnose you, I'm afraid. You cannot rely on an assessor asking the right questions, you have to be proactive and write these things down unambiguously on any forms and bring them up during an assessment.
I find myself in the points mentioned by you. But these issues still affect my life mildly. I don’t go out with anyone, avoid crowded places, shopping centres, anything that makes me feel uncomfortable. I cover my ears in the bus, I use sunglasses, I keep at least few meters distance if there is someone with strong perfume around me. Watching movies or tv is overwhelming to me, so I hardly ever watch anything, or even if - with breaks and the lowest possible brightness. I also can’t drive a car due to overwhelm and panic attacks. But there is a solution- public transport. So I don’t think I would be asessed with list of issues that don’t impact my life significantly. I even managed to find a job that minimises my anxiety. The only thing that I feel impacts me is struggle making friends and maintaining friendships. I tried but people always somehow ghost me and I don’t even know why.