UK female Asperger's diagnosis recommendations, please!

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Hi all,

Am reaching out to all those who have put their neck on the block and are going through/have gone through the diagnostic process in the UK as a 'mature' female.

I was referred to an adult-specific Asperger's clinic in South West London earlier this year. After four appointments and another appointment when they've interviewed my mother, they've come to the conclusion that I'm 'depressed' and show no signs of Asperger's or autism with regards to the 'diagnostic criteria'. The clinical pyschologist did agree I was 'different' and I was within my rights to source a second opinion. There was mention of dyspraxia during these consultations, but I have too many sensory/other issues from childhood to this day to warrant this (in my own personal experiences).

This is where you help is required, please! Don't have the energy at the mo to go through exactly why I think I'm the spectrum (please look at my previous posts), but I've already had contact with both Pamela Yates and Maxine Ashton without much success or progress.

Shall I push for another diagnosis process with the Lorna Wing Centre or is there another organisation/individual who will hear my shouts for sanity and closure? Or should I just put up and shut up and go through the motions of face-to-face therapy and let my 'true self' show through?

Thanks so much in advance,

Vx

I'm going through diagnosis, female, and in the UK but I'm also only 18. But I've had a very different experience - all the mental health people I have seen all do think I'm autistic and if not then very close to the cutoff. But I'm not from london so I don't know, sorry.

Thanks for your acknowledgement, iliketrees,

Got a feeling it's not an easy process whatever stage you're at, especially when you're female.

The clinical psychologist I was saw said that only in the last three years that a larger number women were coming forward for diagnosis. Only a small percentage fit the Asperger criteria.

Part of me thinks that I've been too 'controlled' in the interviews I've had so far. Really think that if they had CCTV cameras following me around (when I'm 'unobserved') they might take notice.

Best of luck with your 'process'. Just remember that it's an explanation for your behaviour and who you might be, not an excuse.

Vx

The only problem with the process is how slow it is for me. Had loads of screening but waiting on assessment.

I do think there's a reason that more people are coming forward than fit the criteria - that their base for going forward either has little behind it or is based on a false intereptation. Like traits rather than symptoms.

I'm not sure why there's a difference in your thoughts and those of the psychologist.

Got a feeling that there might be a reason why diagnosis is such a long and drawn out progress.

Check out this link: http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/changes%2 ... 0dsm-5.pdf

Highlights the change from IV to V. If you can get your head round this, you're a better person than I.

I think the major issue is that those who feel/know that they're on the spectrum are able to use their fluid intelligence to make the connections and those who are trying to work out WTF is going on are incapable of making the correct connections.

Think we need to be asking questions of those who are questioning.

E.g., yes, I'm depressed. But can you (the therapist) explain why I'm depressed and what is causing it?

Don't know about you, but I feel like I'm shouting/bashing against a glass wall about what I'm feeling/expressing on a daily basis and no-one on the other side is listening. All they can see is some crazy gal mouthing off about some sh*t or other... and then I'm expected to be 'normal'.

Vx

You mean the changes to autism? Here's my understanding of it:

The DSM IV's "autistic disorder", "Asperger's syndrome", "PDD-NOS", and "CDD" have all changed to "autistic spectrum disorder" under the DSM V. You then get a level with it - 1 being high functioning, 3 being low functioning.

As to why they did it? Autistic disorder and PDD-NOS both had a variety of severity from case to case and the label alone wasn't enough to know the needs. That's when people started using "mild" and "severe" - while they aren't official labels they give a better indication than just "autism" alone as that could be anything from mild to severe.

And for me personally I don't understand my emotions. They'd have a better guess than me about what's going on. My mum doesn't think there's been much progress but I have learnt a lot... well, learnt about what I don't know, anyway. So they're gonna stop asking me about feelings (at last, had a hard time "escaping" (as I think of it) hospital because I couldn't tell them my feelings) and go onto thinking instead. But it did feel like they weren't listening when I told them I didn't know. They thought I was hiding feelings and suicidal and I really didn't know how to get out of this.

I was diagnosed out of Aberdeen.

I'm 42 - I do have repetitive behaviours but make eye contact etc so don't obviously present ...

I was diagnosed last week in 'londonish' area where I live. I have a lot of coping skills and was very bubbly most part of the assessment. Every time I had the thought they'd say I'm just too dramatic, looking for attention as I can't have Asperger if I'm so bubbly, I was talking even more.
The assessment was 3 hours and wasn't focused on my symptoms, but what I only realized later, on how I was relating to the two ladies who run it. You can't fake that I think.

It looks like not every diagnostic center follow the same scenarios. PM me if you want to know details.

I saw someone at SEQOL in Swindon who specialised in women on the spectrum. She was brilliant.

Before that I saw someone at CAMHS who didn't do an ASD assessment but didn't think I had ASD across my appointments (I went there over a year and a half) but was extremely useful in helping me with the severe mental health difficulties. Honestly, I don't think it would have been possible to reliably diagnose me at that time because of the degree of my mental health difficulties (severe anxiety, moderately severe depression, dissociation, attachment problems, labile mood, etc).

It was only once my mental health difficulties had been treated that I was able to say 'actually, I've dealt with those problems but I still have these problems'. The psychologist I was seeing at that point didn't think I did have autism, but admitted I had several difficulties associated with autism. I was referred to the local autism business who did my referral form and said I showed signs of ASD but they couldn't diagnose me.

I was described as a complex case and went along to my thorough assessment and ended up being diagnosed ASD. Any less rigorous and I think I would always have doubted regardless of whether they said I did or didn't have autism.

The recovery of some home videos of me before I was abused just before my diagnostic assessment was very useful in identifying traits I had before s**t went down.