My psychologist thinks I have autism, and she says that I need to be assessed as dealing with stress and anxiety that I have socially especially at work would need to be treated differently.
I have to look at the national autistic society website to see what’s what.
Anyone got any experience with this?
I am not sure what to think as I am 32 and I thought that this kind of thing had to be diagnosed when you’re a child…
Mr. Star has autism, and wasn’t diagnosed until adulthood. Same with @firemonkey. Some people have enough coping skills that it isn’t caught when they are kids. Or they have teachers/caregivers who aren’t well-versed in recognizing autism.
If I don’t have Schizophrenia but get psychosis or they change my diagnosis, am I still welcome here on this website?
Absolutely. We don’t discriminate against diagnoses. Everyone who experiences psychosis is welcome here.
That’s good to hear that I would not have to leave. I really do like coming here for support when I am not so good and supporting others when they need it if I am on a good spell.
This is all very confusing. I don’t know whether I need to be angry with myself rather than getting frustrated with other people. The psychologist said it’s unhealthy, but if I am the one with a deficiency I don’t know who else could be to blame.
Self-blame never helped anyone recover from a disability. Compassion, understanding, and strong coping methods help.
@Joker I hope this assessment can lead to better help and support for you .
I am of a generation that unless you were severely disabled a childhood dx wasn’t going to be given . It took moving to a new area , and being under a more enlightened mental health team to be taken seriously .
It’s not just me that has had difficulty with having a prior mental illness and getting health professionals to entertain the possibility that there is something additional going on .
There needs to better standards as to recognising and supporting those who have a combination of ASD and a severe mental illness .
In my case as explained above it wasn’t about having good coping skills. I do know though that a lot of people on the spectrum mask their symptoms .
A good plus point for you @Joker is that if you are on the spectrum you’re still of an age where being diagnosed , and getting appropriate help and support, can make a substantially positive difference .
Well I hope it can get resolved ASAP so that we can start working on this, as I need these tools to help in whatever way we can.
Thanks for your input @firemonkey I am sorry you were not diagnosed in good time.
I am not sure what to think really. It would explain a lot from my limited knowledge.
I am concerned that my mother has to get involved, as she has zero understanding of this
It’s preferred you have a parent ,or other older relative involved in the assessment process , but it’s not compulsory .
Its pretty normal to be a bit different if you have psychosis. So I would be apprehensive on the social aspects of it, the things you need to look out forw are things like melt downs and not being able to handle loud noise and things like that.
Some ASD tests
This is for anyone who thinks they may be on the spectrum . It should be taken as suggesting ,or not suggesting , you may be on the spectrum , rather than definitive proof .
It gives you an idea as to whether you are in the right ballpark or not .
I took that test and scored 31. It says you need to score 32, so close but not quite.
Kiefer was 4 or 5 when they tested him for autism spectrum, they said it really seemed liked he fit the requirements, but tests showed otherwise. Now, he did go into kindergarten what they called an “early 5” as his bday is June 29, school began Aug 18th or something, so he was technically the youngest 5 in the class. He did have to repeat, but they had an IEP made for him before school started even without the autism diagnosis. He had fine motor issues, like even now at 14 he has trouble writing, so since 3rd grade in this district he types all his assignments, plus he gets extra time on tests, etc. He’s now on a 504 plan, which is an IEP without special education classifications, and he’ll start high school next year. He’s gotten all A’s and B’s this year, which for him, is amazing. So he wasn’t on spectrum, but they knew he had other needs so that test showed us those.
But that’s from a parent with a kid, I don’t know if anything will change as an adult with a diagnosis. The others that have been mentioned are helping you, but wanted to throw my stuff in there for experience. And Kiefer is a rocker, he rocks in his seat all day still, just a comfort thing, he doesn’t realize he does it anymore. He just says to say it’s like his stuffy other kids have.
I am not doing It
Waiting times and information while you are waiting for assessment
Waiting times
The demand for our service is far greater than our current capacity. We are working closely with our commissioners to improve waiting times. We prioritise based on presenting risk so some people may be seen sooner.
Autism - 20 months
ADHD - 20 months
Autism - 24 months
ADHD - 12 months
20 months
This information was last updated 1 November 2019. Please note our waiting times may increase.
I had an assessment at age 26 and got diagnosed. I think it’s worth it if you want that certainty. I paid out of pocket for mine ($600) because I wanted to know that bad lol.
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