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Anthony01

Adult Diagnosis, what next?

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Hi, I could use a little advice.

AS runs in my family and I have been aware that I am very symptomatic for many years and my father who is AS has told me so, but I have never gone for a professional diagnosis, but recently I decided to get diagnosed as I am getting married next year and we are thinking of starting a family. I thought perhaps an official diagnosis would help my new in-laws understand me better and I thought it would be useful to have access to AS support groups, especially as I may become a parent. Perhaps more importantly, it has been praying on my mind recently that perhaps I should get an official diagnosis just for my own peace of mind.

 

A few weeks ago I approached my GP about seeking a professional diagnosis and she seemed to be very supportive by the idea and wrote a referral. Since then my GP has left to work at another surgery. I received a letter on Friday last week asking me to attend my local surgery to meet the new GP, so I made an appointment and went yesterday.

 

The new GP told me that the local Mental Health team had replied saying they would not see me because there is no treatment for Aspergers Syndrome. He went on to firmly suggest that I should not push this any further as it would undoubtedly affect me future employment prospects. When I mentioned reasonable adjustments he laughed and said that I would have to get an interview first and that would be unlikely with an AS diagnosis.

He told me that he believed I was just socially awkward and perhaps should consider seeing the surgeries Counsellor to help with that and to learn how to interpret facial expressions and body language better. He suggested that if I could go privately if I really wanted a diagnosis, but said that a private diagnosis doesn’t hold much sway with him, because if you pay someone £150, of course they will say you have what you want them to say and any future care would have to go through him.

 

I'm actually suprised at how upset I am over this confrontation with my GP. He felt he was incredibly dismissive about a condition that I have lived with all of my life. I really don’t know what to do or where to turn next.

 

Anthony

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Is it were me I would book to see a different GP at the surgery and also put in a complaint the PALS as all that sounds so dismissive to me!

 

My DP has decided not to pursue his dx as it has taken 8 months and 3 attempts at CBT type assessments to get nowhere and he is fed up of his GP not listening to him (or him getting in a muddle with what his GP has actually said) I would prefer him to keep on with getting the right assessment, but he is an adult and makes his own choices.

 

DP has not had trouble getting a new job, he changed last November and was very upfront about the likelihood of him having AS and his new employers thought nothing of it! Where I work they employ a whole factory of people with disabilities from limb loss to downs, ASD and all sorts too.

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Hi Anthony, I know how you feel unfortunately I also had a lot of this sort of treatment from doctors and am now too traumatised to see them. They put me into therapy for years when I have a communication disorder, and gave me SSRI which I had a bad reaction too, and left me worse off. They ruined my life and now I have severe social phobia too.

 

I think if you can you should complain about disability discrimination if you do not get anywhere with a new GP

 

I had to go privately too and I've been dx three times now once by a world class professor whose research created the asd criteria, but apparently the idots at the mental health team who have no knowledge or experience of understanding asd or what it is still do not accept dx.

 

You are entitled by law to a full proper assessment to a specialist in ASD, it is your human right to have that. The mental health team do not do proper professional assessments, you are entitled to be referred to a specialist who does this such as CLASS. I'm so fed up with hearing stories of GPs who are so arrogant and think they are beyond the law.

Edited by florrie

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Well said Florrie, we had to pester my doctor for 18months before i got diagnosed.

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