Re: The Autism, Asperger's and ASD Thread
I was diagnosed with ASD four years ago.
A therapist I was seeing at the time initiated a discussion about Autism and suggested that I may be on the spectrum. Prior to that, I'd often thought that my issues were down to more than just depression and SAD because I've always felt disconnected from others. We decided that she would put me forward for an assessment and I couldn't believe it when I heard from them just one month later.
I had two assessments at my home and my mother was with me on both occasions. The first one lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes, and I was asked about my childhood, mental health issues and life in general. I'm glad my mum was there as she was able to give a different perspective on things, which is very important for the assessor because sometimes the people close to us (a parent especially) can offer another insight. We also both filled in a questionnaire and were told that some one else would be visiting within two weeks because he wasn't able to diagnose.
The final assessment lasted two hours and was similar to the first, but a lot more in depth and I felt exhausted afterwards because I remembered so many things from my past that I thought I'd forgotten. My assessor was lovely and easy to talk to - I wished she was my therapist instead of the one I was seeing! It was so refreshing to feel understood, finally. I was told that I had Aspergers but it was now called ASD and that I would be eligible to apply for PIP. I still haven't yet because I'm aware that it's very difficult to get and I'm already on ESA.
When I told my therapist that I was on the spectrum she just wished me luck and said that the NHS doesn't provide therapy for Autistic people and simply discharged me. We never developed a rapport and I wasn't making any progress so that made sense, but I still felt abandoned because it was so abrupt. At that time, I really needed someone to talk to about my diagnosis although it didn't have to be her.
Unfortunately, four years after my diagnosis, my life hasn't changed at all but at least I know myself a little better so that's something!
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