Do you know anyone who paid for an adult ADHD/ASD assessment and was told they don't have it?

[thatsnotacactus]

As above.

Asking because a) I have had a recent conversation with someone who believed that non-NHS assessments are not to be trusted as "they just diagnose anyone who pays" and b) I am considering going down this route myself, and wondering if paying £££ to be told "you were wrong about that being the issue" might make my MH worse. I know the best way would be to go via the NHS but I don't have it in me to fight for it.

You need to ask your gp to refer you to private assessment under right to refer. Look at psychiatry uk for template letter. This way your diagnosis ( or not) should be recorded and accepted by nhs.

As others say as an adult most ppl who for adult assessment have done enough research to be quite sure that have nd. If you felt ' normal' you wouldn't be looking into it. Also remember it's just a diagnosis and no follow up so don't have to high expectations of after support

I was diagnosed privately (paid for by the NHS under Right to Choose). I will say that it’s mostly just filling out questionnaires, so if you know what to say, you’ll get the diagnosis.

There were initial questionnaires my son had. Some questions were about his birth, early childhood etc so we supported him with those. He then had 30 minute consultation where they agreed that a full assessment was supported. He then had a further hour with 2 specialists (one pyschologist and the other in speech and language) there was then a further 30 minute feedback session where we (parents) were invited with son's permission.

We received a full written report and a simpler letter which simply confirmed diagnosis that he could use if he didn't want to share his full report.

I think the whole thing was around £1300.

It really wasn't a tick box exercise in the slightest. They really pinpointed the things that he struggled with and I think the diagnosis was a relief for him. It was money well spent.

I've just had a pre assessment last week and feel the same way - if I get told it's just my personality I think that could be devastating to me. But I have done a lot of research and spoken to my mum, got my school reports and I'm confident this has been a problem my entire life and I can evidence that. I don't think anyone would condsider spending that amount of money if they weren't very sure they had it? The specialist said at the end of the appointment there's a possibility as a result of the initial screening questionnaires and this appointment they may suggest something else, and she used an example of a previous patient she saw that had quite obvious clinical depression and it was recommended that be looked at first before adhd was considered. But I don't think they would just send you on your way.

I know two adults that went for private assessments and one was told he didn't have ADHD and the other was told he didn't meet the criteria for ADHD/autism but was generalized ND (so lots of traits for both but not enough for a diagnosis of either).

My son was diagnosed with both through the NHS.

If someone has problems with paying attention and being organised, they need support with paying attention and being organised in work and educational settings.

having or not having the label doesn't matter.

Without diagnosis you went get medication. Ritalin helped me loads as a kid and I'm trying to get back on it atm.

On the whole, if as an adult you get as far as an assessment, then you're highly likely to be diagnosed because anyone who doesn't have it will self filter out before they get that far. It's a tedious process and an expensive one if you go privately, and surely not many people would go that far unless they were convinced it was needed.

Psychs are paid (by NHS and privately) to assess not to diagnose - there's no extra money if they give a diagnosis or not.

But yes, I know some people who got an assessment and didn't meet the criteria for diagnosis, it does happen and is sort of the point of an assessment.

Sometimes the assessment points towards a different condition with crossover traits, sometimes it's that the symptoms are trauma based, sometimes it's none of the above.

Most of the time the person seeking assessment gets a diagnosis because they have correctly identified that the symptoms match what they have struggled with all their life. For me it felt like I'd finally found the missing memos or textbook pages for being a human properly that I'd always known I didn't have, but didn't know why.

It would be nice if the media stopped perpetuating the myth of "paying for a diagnosis".

Good luck with your journey OP.