Anyone had a private diagnosis in London or rest of UK?

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I've had a really bad experience with the NHS and need to find someone who fully understands adult autism/aspergers and masking and won't dismiss me for being "too articulate" even though it's taken years to get to to this point. I find the NHS is too geared around children or the severe end of the spectrum and really need a good specialist who knows what they're talking about.

Can anyone recommend anybody? I've heard there's some places where you can get your diagnosis on the same day which sounds fantastic. The NHS is causing me more stress than it's worth. I live in London but don't mind travelling out potentially. Some of the places in London charge a fortune.

Thanks very much. I'm really struggling right now and any recommendations would really be appreciated.

I got my DX way back in 2009, but my method of finding somebody suitable probably still works, and the diagnostician I selected seems to be still active in the field.

I found my private diagnostician by asking the National Autistic Society in January 2009 for recommendations - they sent me a list of possible ones, and I looked each of the reasonably local ones up on the Web. The info there provided me with enough clues about their fitness for the job for me to construct a shortlist of about 4 possible diagnosticians. I then talked to each of those via email to work out who might be the most suitable one for me, and then hired that one, who as far as I can tell, did a reasonably good job. She treated me with courtesy and respect throughout the procedure and I felt that she knew what she was doing. I first emailed the one I eventually chose in May 2009 and had the main consultation in late June. It didn't take long after that before I received my diagnosis.

The one I chose is called Heather Moran, who was then practising from her then home in Narborough, Leicestershire. I presume the link below refers to the same person. Although that makes it look as if she is mostly interested in children, during my diagnosis I didn't get the impression that she was ignorant about adults with autism. Of course she might not be doing private autism diagnostic work for individuals any more, and for all I know the link might be about somebody who just happens to have the same name, but that seems unlikely and it could and should all be checked out if you were considering hiring her. Personally I'd recommend you try the NAS first and do what I did, to find somebody more local, as it took 2 or 3 visits before the diagnosis was made.

NAS helpline email address was:

autismhelpline at nas.org.uk

(you'll have to change the " at " to "@" to get the actual address, as Cloudflare wouldn't let me post it verbatim - I don't see what their problem is, but if you're nervous about using it then you could look for it on the NAS website instead)

Link to Heather Moran interview:
https://network.autism.org.uk/knowledge ... attachment

Hope this helps

I got mine privately this year from the following on recommendation

https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/

In London

The last part was done via video link - it was before lockdown but anxiety was rising re Covid so they were playing safe

Information from my family member was also discussed remotely

The Psychiatrist allocated to me who led the process works in the NHS and specialises in ASD - I did a bit of investigating on line and via health colleagues and found that she had a good reputation

She was excellent, and after confirming the diagnosis spent time telling me about sources of support if I needed them.

A full written report arrived within a week for approval following which a copy was sent to my GP for inclusion in my NHS health records

From making the initial self referral to getting a written diagnoses took 3 weeks

Happy to talk more via PM if you would prefer