Need a little help please?
Posted by
Leanne
on 1st April 2010
at 04:45
Hi
I have only gone down the route for my children but it definately started with an appointment to the GP and a referral. Hopefully some of the others will be able to offer you more constructive advice when they see your post :)
I think I can speak for everyone when I say there really is no need to apologise, everyone on here knows how important support and advice is .
Leanne - Community Champion
Posted by
damo73
on 1st April 2010
at 08:06
Hello Adrian,
I was diagnosed last year + it took quite a lot of time and effort. My first GP told me that I 'obviously had an IQ above 70 and wouldn't qualify as having a learning disability'! I went to a different GP, but only after getting a local paediatrician who had met me to phone them up + I got an informal assessment from the Kent Autistic Trust and they sent a letter to my GP as well. My GP finally made a referral to the Maudesley hospital in London (which had a six month waiting list).
ASD diagnosis is part of the 'tertiary' sector of health care and thus you need to be referred to it by a GP (who often have little knowledge of it). The first stop is your GP, yet if you hit a brick wall, you may need help from charities etc. - the government has claimed that they are going to improve the situation on adult diagnosis, yet I think it will take time!
When I was diagnosed, they also tested for ADHD, OCD, etc. - I doubt that it would make much difference if you hit the criteria for ASD - although local GP's may not realise that people can have co-morbidity etc. - I have heard of people who were diagnosed as one thing and then were refused a diagnosis of anything else.
Good luck with it all!
Damian
Posted by
Leanne
on 8th September 2010
at 17:18
Hi,
Well done for doing that, I am not sure how I feel about the doctors response - shouldn't he have been more proactive in diagnosing you :)
Hope you don't have much longer to wait to hear what the next step will be , please keep us posted.
Leanne - Community Champion
Posted by
Elena - former Community Manager
on 8th September 2010
at 17:25
Yes, please do keep us posted!
And good for you, I'm glad you are being referred. : )
Posted by
asteroids
on 9th September 2010
at 08:43
Well done, Adrian.
Asking my GP for a diagnosis was very difficult. I wish he'd responded in the same way as yours instead of laughing. Will be interesting to find out more about the diagnostic process here in the West Country :)
Asteroids Sara - Community Champion
Posted by
Elena - former Community Manager
on 9th September 2010
at 09:44
It's a shame he wasn't more attentive earlier on, but well done on this letter and catching his attention!
Posted by
asteroids
on 9th September 2010
at 12:51
It can be difficult for GPs. To be fair, a lot of people have undiagnosed autism and cope very well. He might have thought you were managing and that a diagnosis would only hinder things. My dad was a GP and never mentioned autism until I told him I had Asperger Syndrome (just a few years ago). He then asked me if I thought he had it too and we had a long conversation about Kanner, Asperger, Lorna Wing etc. He certainly knew his stuff and I still wonder if he knew I had AS but chose to ignore it.
Adrian, I'll be interested to know what help/support is offered. When I did my talk, I think I explained about the social skills group I was offered (lol).
Asteroids Sara - Community Champion
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Posted by
adrianmoore
on 31st March 2010
at 23:23
Hi
Me again ( sorry ) im being very high maintence atm
Had a MAJOR melt down on Tuesday just gone, and it scared me silly.
Ive come to the decision that i think that maybe it is worth getting myself properly diagnosed , But ive not a clue how to do it.
My wife is brilliant , but has enough to deal with me and the kids :p let alone anything more, so im going to try and do this myself, with the help of you guys if possible?
So, how do i start the ball running, is it just phoning the Doc and saying hey i think ..... , btw, i am already on their books as OCD anyway if thats a starting point?
Anyway, thanks for letting me bend your ears :p
Adrian x