NHS adult diagnosis - options?

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Hi

Wasn't sure where to put this, so apologies if it's in the wrong forum.

Been lurking here for a little while and would like some advice.

I recently spoke to my GP about being referred for adult diagnosis as I feel that the symptoms fit with my experiences and so on and he said he'd get back to me after a little research. Received a letter from him today which said there was nothing available in the NHS in this area and there was nothing he could do about it.

Is going private my only option (really couldn't afford it but I'm getting desperate)? Or can you be referred to a different area? I will of course talk to my GP but I am interested in other people's experiences (and felt the need to moan a bit to people who might understand my frustration!).

Thanks

No I don't think going private is your only option. Can you let me know your area or if you know it the name of your PCT, I can find out what there is for you.

Sorry forgot to say PM me if you don't want to put it on the net.

Thanks Womble, have PMed you.

I recently got diagonsed in the South Gloucestershire area. I first had to find a place to be diagnosed which at the time was in Wales but they now have one in Bristol so a lot closer. Wrote a letter why I should get funding for a diagnosis which at the time was due to depression and my son was diagnosed a few months before so made my case more likely. It was about a year and a half of waiting until I got it but I don't mind. I finally got it last week and the offical report next week. I can't see why your area won't fund it though if you put in a strong enough case

The National Autistic Society can tell you where your nearest diagnostic centre is, but some of them require a consultant referral, which means you have to get your GP to refer you to a consultant (e.g. a psychiatrist), then persuade them to refer you on to the diagnostic centre. Then there is the small matter of persuading them to fund it in the current climate of budget cuts. Also some of them require you to have someone who has known you since early childhood who is willing to go along with you and be interviewed as part of the diagnostic process.

Personally, I have given up all hope of getting a formal diagnosis as I can't complete either step 1, getting an appointment with a consultant or step 3, providing someone who has known me since childhood. I could always save up and go private elsewhere I suppose, but I don't like the idea of going somewhere other than the specialist centre as if I were going to get a diagnosis I would want the "gold standard" that I could be fully confident in.

I hope you have more luck.

Thank you LittleBlackCat and angel_amy...looks like there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if it takes a while!

Also...LittleBlackCat - would your GP not refer you to a consultant or do you not want them to (for whatever reason)? Surely if you need help they would refer you (I realise that sounds like a joke considering the trouble people have getting referred)?

I've seen psychiatrists for depression several times in the past and I don't think I really had to push for it (though maybe they had more funding then!).

Good luck to you too

Last year, I went privately to the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, which is pretty much the gold standard in the UK. It cost me £800 but I don't know what they are charging this year.

i dont know y i can follow this feed. (like i have commented b4 on it) ~(i follow what i wrote if u know what i mean)
anyway i am the same there is sweet f a around here, i got a referral to go to sheffield aftre years of trying to get help, i was crying out for it, my mum was adament that this time we go all the way, we did, i got diagnosed. and the follow up is crap, i have been left in the dark and all i get is, 'thats a good question, im sorry there is no funding'... same old same old, when u r younger than 16 this country gives a f*k, after that its a slow grind to a holt, im sorry if this is different to ur experiance but for me this is killin/f*g me up.

2000namesl8r - I am just finding that out myself (not personally, just from what I've been reading/researching). I can't believe that adults with ASDs get so little support - surely there are thousands of people without access to treatment. I've just had a look on the website LittleBlackCat suggested (sorry can't do links yet!) and there seem to be lots of charity organisations specialising in ASDs, maybe you could contact one of them? You can search by postcode/area etc (sorry if I'm telling you something you already know).

DreamSofa - that's still a massive amount of money but it is far less than I expected. Does that cover everything? And was it just one session?

Thanks

I believe the autism act states that they MUST provide a pathway to diagnosis - it doesn't mean your local authority have to provide you with diagnosis, but they do have to help you find a way to diagnosis, so your GP cannot simply say there's nothing and then leave it at that. I would contact NAS and ask them for advice on this, they'll be able to tell you what is available in your area and what to do next.

Who did you write a letter to and how did you get to that point?

It seems to be the case for a lot of people that they get stuck playing ping pong with their GP.

Regardless of what the Autism Act 2009 says, GP's appear to be completely unable to do anything while their computer informs them that there is no NHS pathway for adult diagnosis.

Thanks Bloodheart, I will try the NAS...just need to work out my speech!

DC, this is exactly what I am hoping to avoid. It's hard when you feel like you've finally found the answer to your problems, so to speak, and no one wants to listen

if u clik and hold, drag along the web address, it should be highlighted, then u can right clik the mouse and go 'copy' then go on here or werever and right clik again then paste, i dont mind hearing things again, i learn more everytime, iv always been told things over and over and most of the time it goes over my head. i do try but eventually it hurts my head so i forget about it. when i was a child i enjoyed learning because i knew so little, and over my 25 years iv slowly come to realise happiness is hard to come by, im just spiralling in2 depression, its best to stay possitive but its more easy to say than do. it doesnt help that the loved 1's around me have had enuff and i do feel so alone atm, i would ring samaritans but they just dont understand, they r happy in the nolage that im not topping myself lol. lifes a b***h and then u marry 1 sorry try to marry 1... (i am gonna stop posting on here i feel im depressing every1 who reads it)