another person asking for help about diagnosis etc

[bayleypar]

Hi,

 

I dont know if anyone out there can help but it is worth a try.

I am yet another adult who after years of feeing odd, wierd, antisocial et al decided to finally go and find out if it was "just me" or asperger/autism related - should point out i have a son who was diagnosd with aspergers 5 yrs ago and ever since everything i've read has sounded more like me than him.

 

My doctor referred me to mental health team. they were under impression i was depressed. I'm not but i was in a state when i saw GP as they sent someone else in in front of me so my appointment was late and i got anxious and upset.

 

They agreed after two meetings that i wasnt depressed. they prescribed anti-depressants because i get anxious when things dont go to plan etc. They said they couldnt do anything about looking into autism etc as they have no-one in the county NHS who diagnoses adults.

 

I got upset at this point and walked out because i wasn't expecting them to just be like that.

 

Can anyone tell me what i can do now? I did contact a private centre via email but they havent responded. i dont think i am emotionally able to phone and ask because i get all emotional and "wobbly" when i think about it and talk about it! gah!

 

I feel let down and no-one cares; at least no-one cares who has the authority to actually tell me one way or the other.

 

Any help gratefully received. Oh and I apologise for being yet another query like this, seems to be alot of us out there. Wish i knew how to find other people like me! My local NAS group seems to only be for kids and their parents.

 

ta and bye

[dm2010]

Well I was diagnosed age 26. AS adults are not unusual on here.

 

I'm not sure that these focus groups are a great deal of help. Personally I've found that it's best to live with AS and work with it rather than try and fight against it. After all there are advantages especially in the type of work I do.

 

But I'm not a socialite and will never be. I avoid that and things work just fine.

[skater_kat]

"They said they couldnt do anything about looking into autism etc as they have no-one in the county NHS who diagnoses adults."

 

this bit isn't okay; it is a statutory duty now under the autism act 2009.

 

i'm afriad that this may mark the start of a long road for you, as if there is a lack of local understanding/services then you will need to do 'self-advocacy'.

 

you might want to start with a letter to the people you saw summarising what happened at your appointment and what they said. you should aks for a referral to the nearest NHS place which DOES offer a diagnostic service. you can google 'autism act 2009' and quote sections of that. you should also send a copy of your letter to your GP and to the local primary care trust.

 

if you feel that a formal diagnosis is what you definately want, it sounds like it will be a fight to get it. you need to prepare yourself for using a lot of energy and effort to get there. contact the N.A.S for advice on this also. is there a local charity who could help you? such as a DIAL or other disbility charity?

 

your last resort would be to seek legal advice from someone specialist in NHS care - if you are on a low income this could be free. but your first port of call shoudl be the disablitiy law centre (find on google)

 

 

it could be a long journey. in my area they have a specialist DX team etc and even with that in place it takes 2 years from start to finish to get a DX.

 

 

good luck !!

[LesleyPsych]

Hi

 

have you had any luck in getting an assessment yet? Regards