Assessment in 2 hours

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I am so nervous. IBS is giving me grief.

Have an assessment at 3pm GMT (2 hours 10 minutes) for Aspergers/Autism Spectrum Disorder.

No idea what to expect, but my friend said it can take a week or 2 to hear from them about the results of the assessment.

I guess I'll write in the same thread when I come back home in the evening of what I had to do, so other people in the UK know what to expect of it, I suppose?

I hope it goes well for you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3npKFQfjyY[/youtube]

I got diagnosed as on the Autism Spectrum (Aspergers) as well as ADHD, which I was not expecting.

I went in the room, a speech therapist was there too. I told them about my childhood, concentration levels, all the things. They asked questions about how was home life and such, I told them it was rubbish, with an abusive dad, and school life was just as hard.

Some time into the assessment they asked me to leave the room so they could discuss between them, so they put me in another room. 5 minutes later, I was taken back into the room again to discuss, and they said you are definitely on the Autism Spectrum and you're right that females are less diagnosed and less obvious than males, and said that I also have ADHD and they'd like to refer me to a psychiatrist to put me on some medication.

I don't want medication

You have the right to make them explain exactly what the medication does, why they want to prescribe it, and whether there are other options. In fact, you have the right not to take medication, but I encourage you not to immediately discard the idea. I have ADHD+autism, as well, and I benefit from an extended-release stimulant for ADHD. It helps me stay better organized, and it makes it a little easier to switch tasks.

They should be prescribing the medication with the fewest side effects, at the lowest dose it can be while still being effective. Some autistic people do find that lower doses than usual are effective for them.

If you are going to try medication, ask them what improvements you should expect, and how long it will take to figure out whether the medication will help. If that time passes and you don't get improvements, or if you have side effects that are not worth the improvements, then you should go back to the doctor and talk about other options, either other meds, a lower dose, extended release, and/or adding various types of therapy. The first medication you try is not always the one that works for you; your brain is unique to you and works slightly differently from everyone else's, so doctors often have to do trial-and-error to figure out what works. It's annoying, but it's worth it once you do.

I'll just see what happens next when they send me a letter.