Adult autism diagnosis procedure

[jessdobson]

A couple of days ago I went to my local GP to discuss my concerns for thinking I may be on the Autistic Spectrum. As a result of listing reasons why etc, my doctor then phoned to say I had been sent off for referral to have a proper assessment.

My question is, now stage 1 of seeing a GP is completed, what next? I understand the assessment can happen in over a years time, but does anything happen beforehand?

Are there any other appointments/questionnaires needing to be completed? Or is it a case of just waiting for an assessment and that's it? If someone could confirm what the next steps for a diagnosis are, that would be great.

Many Thanks

[franwilde13]

Hi

I am currently on a waiting list for my assessment. I have not been offered any support. I have been told that I will have to wait for the assessment before I can get support. It might be a good idea to try and speak to the people who do the assessment as they will though and give you advice on what you can do while you wait for your appointment. What part of the uk are you.

Fran Wilde

[caringmum11 in reply to franwilde13]

My 28 year old has been through the process in the last Year - you will be unlikely to receive support unless a diagnosis is in place . My son also has lifelong mental health issues of social phobia anxiety and chronic depression. Therefore he had a support worker from the mental health team . Through them he was fast tracked to a commissioned service who offered diagnosis for adults in our area (Kent). The support offered will depend on the severity of the issues A person experiences - in my sons case 15 hours per week - be aware this is not free unless a financial assessment finds the client Unable to pay. My son due to his mental health issues is resisting this support which would be a support worker teaching him life skills and getting Him out. I hope this in some way helps you both - for more information please get back to me .

[Sooz68]

You’ll be lucky to receive any support even with a diagnosis. I have a diagnosis of Asperger’s and Dyspraxia which drive severe anxiety and depression. Support is a postcode lottery, the NHS offer none here and the assessments by social services I’ve had have given a list of unmet needs, none of which they’re prepared to meet. I’m housebound and frequently have meltdowns, I can’t even visit my own GP now but I don’t need help? Go figure. I also have Fibromyalgia which I’m told by my GP during our consultations over the phone has probably been caused and is definitely being worsened by the ASD and dyspraxia (I was surprised at how debilitating dyspraxia can be, I’d always been clumsy but there’s so much more to it than that, and it’s linked to autism).

As for will you hear anything? Probably not, the assessment process for me took 2 sessions of approximately 2 hours each, one was talking and the other was task based. You can’t fail these tasks so it’s not something to worry about, they’re just assessing how your brain functions - I, for instance have no imagination at all, this was noted by the assessor.

I hope you do have some support in your area, if you have any worries about you mental health before you’re assessed ask for a referral to CMHS, with the caveat that they’re not usually very good with autism. They can offer help with anxiety etc but when the root cause is an ASD the options can be limited.