Can I get in trouble for doing this

[Dopeydoris44]

I'm mid 40s . For a long time I have been trying to find out why I went to a school for children with learning difficulties. I know i have learning difficulties but I don't really know what they are.

So I heard I may be able to find out via my medical records we are talking 35+ years ago though. Anyway I went on to the Web site thing for my gp surgery. It said to access my medical history I would need to send photo ID it gave the common ones for driving licence. Passport ID card. Then it had the option of other so I pressed on that abd it gave me other options. I did not understand what it was really.

So here's what I done I recently sent for photo ID on the government site that will allow me to vote. It has a photo of myself and other personal details. So I took a photo of that and sent that to the gp as my photo ID. It wasn't even on the list as an option.

Can i get into any sort of trouble for using it?

I feel a bit worried if I just say it they may just say no. Then I won't know what to say/ do.

I think if I could do it in writing maybe email. They would have to give me a reasonable reply.

Try not to worry no you have not done anything wrong and you won’t get into trouble.

If the voter ID is not accepted that’s OK.

I think you may be best off booking an appointment with your doctor.

And when you see them in person , write your list down first as I would do as I get anxiety, ask them to help to explain to you what your learning difficulties are or would be called in this era.

And if they can assist you with organising the ID you do need, things like signing things a doctor can do for you, I have had a dentist do mine in the past.

Also ask if they can help you contact social worker or schools etc to find out more about your assessment and education.

I am sure your doctor would be really pleased to help you with this.

Also I meant to say your school must have issued school reports and things like that so there might be more details in there.

OP - you mentioned that you are in contact with one of your siblings - are they older or younger ? I was thinking an older sibling may actually know some of your history if they were a few years older - or either way they may be able to help you with your search ?

Hello Op,

I agree, can you go in person and explain. Do you have someone who can go with you if you feel you need some support.
Sorry you are in this situation I cant imagine what it must feel like to not know details about yourself.

I am guessing you are unable to ask a family member to help or explain?

Best of luck

Quite possibly yes. There's also 'specific learning difficulties' as well.

Autism I think is under diagnosed in girls, but awareness much better now than it was. When I was younger (00's) I was given a speech and language disorder 'diagnosis' (It doesn't exist - I've read the DM4 & 5, ICD 10 + 11). Had I been a boy it might have been different. I'm now diagnosed with autism, dyslexia, and dyspraxia having been assessed for all as an adult.

Hi OP. If your children are adults, would they be able to help you at all?

It is possible there are no notes anywhere about you. My brother has all kinds of difficulties, he went to a special school after failing in mainstream, many, many years ago.
It was only after my mother's death 4 years ago, we discovered he had no diagnosis of anything, his GP didn't even have the fact he had learning difficulties on his records. He was assigned a social worker, only then, he had never had one before.
He can't read or write, he is virtually deaf, is unable to function in life without support.
It seems that diagnoses weren't always required.

I've been thinking about this. It may be that it won't be possible for you to find out about your childhood history if records haven't been kept but it isn't too late to go down the diagnosis path again. Obviously you still have difficulties that impact your life. You could make an appointment with your GP, explain what has happened and what the current impact on you is and ask to be referred. Waiting lists are long but even being on a waiting list will make you feel like progress is being made. I'm not suggesting you post it on her but you could write a list of things you find difficult to hand to the GP.

Thank you . Thing is with GP I find it hard . When I have spoken to go about my kids. It's like they can't wait to get rid of you. I know they are very busy. But that means I can't really talk to them. Also I just don't know how. I'm not sure what comes undertow normal bracket and what does not because I don't know Any different.

Can you write down what tasks you have difficulty with and emotions you experience day to day. Perhaps approach gp from pov that you are aware you have differences and difficulties going back to childhood ie attended a special school but do not understand why or what support you could access. You feel understanding your background would help you move forward.

Written records, if available, may be very brief, factual and dispassionate, so you would need someone to interpret the narrative from those. That is not a specific reflection on you but medical notes are rarely self explanatory including use of abbreviations and jargon,

What's pov?

I don't mind if notes are brief etc as long as there are some key words. Because I can them explore them. Look in to them. That's even if there are any.

Pov = Point of view. But what I am saying is that the notes may be very brief and use terms unfamiliar to a non clinician, almost like shorthand or code. Unless there are copies of correspondence which expand on them , such as a referral letter or report, it may need someone with a medical background to explain the main points.

If you made a gp appointment to explain what you want now, you can then refer to your background and the lack of information you have at the moment. Ask what may be available. It may take a while and even several appointments to get to where you hope.

I’m not in the UK but do feel very empathetic to your situation. I do understand that some people do not have the bits of life so many others take for granted.

As I understand your comments, even if you see your records, you may still need assistance to decipher what is written.

So, you need to find someone. A charity is possibly your best bet. You need an organisation that supports adults to live their life, I think. I don’t know if you can make an appointment with your local MP and ask if they have suggestions. Try social workers at council. Church organisations may be of help. In Australia, I would start with St Vincent de Paul but the Salvation Army would also be on my list.

Local organisations may be of help - even the W I because what you are asking for isn’t difficult, just taking a little time filling in forms and such. But you will have to approach them.

I think you are very much doing the right thing and hope that you don’t have a difficult time.

I wonder whether your local Adult Services (council ) would be able to signpost you to an advocacy service who may be able to help you access your records and help you to understand them .

I'm going to send emails to the school and gp first. See what I get back. Then I will contact some type of advocacy. I Just want to start the ball rolling first

@Mindblownawaybyfog you're being a bit rude to OP here.

Chances are the GP website was created BEFORE the government voter ID was around.
OP is entitled to try (given lack of driving licence or passport, it's a logical thing to offer since the photo is official government endorsed) I can't see why the GP surgery wouldn't accept it as it's official on a par with DL and passport.