UK B'ham how long til get seen after referred?

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Hi. I went to my doctor after I'd had a few issues & had also had seen a programme on aspergers which I identified with.
She had no hesitation in referring me. But I just wanted to be out of there, it was such a hard thing to talk about having these experiences, so I didn't ask when I would hear.
Does anyone know how long you have to wait, and also what happens at the referral session?
Thanks.

I am in the same situation but not in Birmingham.

Following as I'd be interest to hear responses, or when you hear more yourself.

My GP said "I warn you, this won't be quick". I was so pleased just to hear that I'd be taken seriously, and also so aware that these things do take time, that I launched into "No, that's fine. I know it'll take a long time. I just really appreciate that things are happening, thank you."

Then, I left. It was just under a week later that I started to feel like it had been AGES already, and I regretted not asking for any kind of ballpark time frame. It's now been a little over a month and it's on my mind daily, and I hate having no idea at all.

I'll have been waiting four weeks on Friday, so we're fairly close to when we were referred. And I'm thinking about it every day!
Yes, I'll update you when I hear anything, & please can you post on this thread when you find out too.
Thanks

I had a look on the website (http://www.autism.org.uk/About/Diagnosis/Adults/process) just says it can vary which isn't helpful so probably depends on how busy your area is

Be interesting to see how long it takes though trying to decide if to go or not. I won't get a direct benefit from it but it might help me when I am older.

I was diagnosed (in Dorset) in May 2015 - I had waited five or six months. Hope that helps.

Wow that's a long time!

Please can you let me know a little of what happened, eg:
Was it just a single session?
Did you just chat, or take tests for example?
Did they insist on input from relatives?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

My niece in Wolverhampton has just started the assessment process and it took 7 months to get her seen.
A lot of this was due to the service that undertakes the assessments being grossly under-staffed (60% down) and only having male counsellors (she requested a female but they ignored that and wasted a month when she walked out having not been told it was a man seeing her).

It is however shorter than the estimated 18 months to see s psychologist!

Not sure how log between seeing my GP and getting a psych appointment was, but I know that the psych appointment was in December and I got my diagnosis in April. It will obviously vary massively by location but I would certainly prepare yourself for the process taking months rather than weeks.

For me, I waited for nearly a year. I thought it had just been forgotten or lost.
I had my meeting with them around one month ago.
I took a friend (who I had known for 30 years) with me instead of a family member.
There were two people who wanted to chat with me and my friend seperately, they swapped over after spending an hour talking to us.

For the first time in my life there was someone who wanted to know all about the mess that is me.
They did not judge me or try to explain away my history, they simply understood me.
They asked me questions about myself that other people are not interested in, and they did not laugh at me or scold me. I did cry.
Cathartic was the word I used to describe the whole event.
I am now waiting for the written report from them.
I was told on the day,
I suffer from Aspergers.
I am 47 years old.

I hope they shine a light for you too.

Some of your waiting times seem very reasonable compared to mine. After I went to the GP, it was about three or four weeks before I was called back to do the questionnaire. The NHS sent me a letter probably another two weeks later saying;

You have now been placed on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Team's waiting list. Unfortunately, this service currently operates a waiting list system and are unable to respond as quickly as they would wish. We will contact you when you reach the top of the list but please be advised this is currently taking approximately 30 months.

I'm hoping that's an absolute maximum of 30 months. I'm in Sheffield BTW.

30 months, wow. I'm not seeking assistance with AS but I am with depression & stress (and some of it is related) and I have no idea how long I'm going to have to wait.

Meanwhile I'm looking at private counsellors / therapists in my area (southeast) but AS does not seem to be mentioned often among the private options. And it's irrelevant anyway unless you can afford it.

There is a group I've heard of that meets in Worcester ( http://www.aspie.org.uk/ ) - depending on which side of B'ham you are it might be worth getting in touch with them.

Here goes; I went to a meeting (an adults Aspie and carers group) where the guy who later diagnosed me explained that we had to get our GP to refer us to him and his team.
I went to my GP who ignored what I explained and insisted I see a psychiatrist. (I said I was mildly depressed as well).
The psychiatrist insisted I see my GP and also referred me to a group called 'Steps to Wellbeing' (or similar) who said that I was depessed and that they could do nothing about autism - see your GP. I quit the CBT treatment.
A bit cheesed off by now I went back to my GP surgery, saw a different doctor who was a locum, just like the first, and explained it again. I told her there was a 'ten question diagnostic test'. She asked if I knew which one...we searched the internet on her computer, found several and chose one that had the NHS logo on it . She asked to take it home and bring it back...no way said I, it took two weeks to get this appointment. I answered the questions there and then (this takes one minute) and she was good enough to score it with me, just another minute or so.
I got 10/10! (This must be the only time I've got 100% in any test. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry). Then it turned out that the surgery had no idea who to refer me to, so I gave them a leaflet I got at the original Aspie and carers meeting. She promised to find there address (strangely this wasn't stated) in an internal NHS directory and refer me.
I think it took about six months after that, mainly because the Aspie diagnostic service in Dorset is comparatively new, very underfunded and is already getting more referrals than ever expected. I'd say that it really is worth getting all the facts about where you need to be referred to as apparently doctors in many areas send us on a wild goose-chase to psychiatric and CBT services.
With any luck it will all be much easier and quicker for you.
Once I got my referral I had, if I remember it correctly, four appointments. The first was a long questionnaire, like the Aspie tests most of us have done online, then on the second appt. I was tested for my ability to do various things like recognising facial expressions, interpreting a short story in cartoon form and others. I was interviewed about my life, relationships etc and on one occasion my wife came in as well. They do need to ask questions about your childhood, from other people as well as from yourself. This was very nearly a problem as I was 57, both parents are dead, neither of my two sisters are in touch with me...there was one uncle who I had hardly seen for 35 years. I asked him (had to track him down first) but he did it! Phew! Dr. Edwards, the man who diagnosed me, had to get 'supervision' in my case because of the lack of people who knew me a child, I mention this because this may have been a source of delay for me that wouldn't exist for you.
Best of luck, PM me when the time comes!

Gosh they really put you through it. Fingers crossed it goes a little more smoothly in Bham.
I'll struggle with info from parents, but I have a brother (2 years older). I hadn't really wanted to say anything to him about this though. Guess I will have to if they need his input.
Starting to feel a little overwhelmed with it all

I received a letter today with my appointment for assessment on 5th August.

So, that's roughly 5 weeks from my referral date, which honestly is a lot better than I expected even though it felt like a long wait!

I was diagnosed as an adult in the UK and it took 6 months in all before I began the assessment process. First my GP practice had to apply for funding in order to put me forward for assessment. That took the longest time. Then I was referred and I began the assessment process 8 weeks later. This was longer than usual because the adult autism diagnostic service was just being set up in our area.

Oh gosh! It seems it all took you guys so long to get diagnosed! Geez!
I'm in the US- I tried a couple of avenues now- most were an issue until I got insurance (I'm super poor ...) I had been informally diagnosed before, but I couldn't get that damned paper because basically I didn't have the money/resources- but they were kind enough to tell me over the phone that "it was quite obvious" that I was autistic, but couldn't officially diagnose me. I wanted to join this group for autistic people and get some help with things, but it's all for only diagnosed adults (duh) which is why I am still seeking an official diagnoses even though I already know I'm very autistic....
So dumb.
I got a referral from my insurance company, and went to my first session today they said I will have to meet for 3 more at 50mins a session so almost 3hrs to diagnose. But it should be quite cheap. However, from the time that I started the process (calling for a referral) and my second appointment a month will have gone by.

There's a ton of stuff for diagnosing kids- but adults? you would think you are looking for the holy grail of psychiatric help
But that just for my area of the USA