Autism

90 watchers

paulcook Dec 2021 11:47am, 20 Dec 2021 245 posts	0 paulcook From what I’ve seen in forums online it’s a bit of a postcode lottery depending on where you live. I don't have any experience of adult diagnoses, but I work in CAMHS. The waiting times for different parts of the area where I work can be different even though the assessments are being done by the same team. Don't ask me to explain how, but I'd suggest a postcode lottery is definitely correct. Personally speaking, if I had any doubts about wanting an assessment for ASD (and later you've mentioned ADHD), I'd be trying to get onto any waiting list as quickly as possible, especially in terms of children and academic impact. And you're probably very wise about looking at family diagnosis too.
Lost in Mud Dec 2021 11:57am, 20 Dec 2021 6 posts	0 Lost in Mud We've recently had our son diagnosed privately, we were warned that going through the NHS could take years, with many hurdles/obstacles put in our way. His school & GP were quite frank with us about this, they both supported us getting a diagnosis, but I could tell that they really didn't want to burden of writing the required reports and assessments needed to go through the NHS.
DingDocMerrily Dec 2021 11:59am, 20 Dec 2021 44,089 posts	0 DingDocMerrily Lost in Mud can i ask where and how you went about finding someone to do the diagnosis assessment?
jelly (limegreenjelly) Dec 2021 12:00pm, 20 Dec 2021 1,944 posts	0 jelly (limegreenjelly) Most of my research was online but I also borrowed lots of textbooks from the library! My (now almost 18 year old) had lots of difficulties transitioning to high school and ended up in a pupil referral unit and I knew there was more to it than behaviour.
Lost in Mud Dec 2021 1:33pm, 20 Dec 2021 7 posts	0 Lost in Mud Lost in Mud can i ask where and how you went about finding someone to do the diagnosis assessment? I started with google searching for ASD diagnosis. Found a few, but nothing inspiring. looking for an autism charity that offers a diagnosis service would be my recommendation. I sent you a PM.
Jingle J Dec 2021 2:30pm, 20 Dec 2021 115 posts	0 Jingle J @DingDocMerrily my initial suspicions about being autistic started about 15 years ago, and grew stronger with everything I read about it subsequently. I don't think there was any particular source that I used - it was mostly very sporadic research over the years, but I've followed a few Facebook 'personalities' over the last couple of years and hearing actually autistic people speak about their experiences was far more helpful to me than looking at a checklist of symptoms - a lot of what I experience I wouldn't necessarily have identified with a particular trait, but having seen someone else express a similar thing in slightly different terms, I was a bit like 'ohhhh, that's what that trait means, yeah, I do that!' Some of the Facebook ones I follow are below. As with most social media, you have to apply your own 'head filter' as to which posts you even read, which you believe and which you can just dismiss as nonsense, but these ones are generally quite good. - Spectrumy - Autistic Not Weird - No Nonsense Neurodivergent - Neurodivergent Rebel - Lived Experience Educator Even a brief look at any of these will provide many, many, many links to further information.
Pothunter Feb 2022 9:55pm, 21 Feb 2022 5,428 posts	0 Pothunter D1 had her assessment this morning and was given a formal ASD diagnosis. Relieved that the experts agree with what to us is pretty obvious.
jelly (limegreenjelly) Feb 2022 10:15pm, 21 Feb 2022 2,359 posts	0 jelly (limegreenjelly) That’s great news pothunter!
WA Feb 2022 10:20pm, 21 Feb 2022 9,525 posts	0 WA Great news!
Flatlander Feb 2022 7:00am, 22 Feb 2022 2,360 posts	0 Flatlander Good news Pothunter. I hope the diagnosis opens the way for her to receive any assistance and understanding she may need at school, as well as in later years in the workplace.