Shock

[PerkyOchrePeer]

I had a job that was too stressful and my managers wanted me to get an assessment. I was assessed and given various tasks and I was told I had autism traits. It was assessed by a occupational therapist. I was shocked. They pointed out some things like do I lose things and I had to recite as many animals as I could in one minute and I had to do a maze puzzle in one minute and so on. I said im quite a social person and dont have issues meeting new people and can converse with anyone. Then I was asked if I like collecting information and I said yes. I like doing research.

Im upset about this. Im now in an easier more relaxed job.

I think the only people who can make a proper diagnosis is a psychiatrist. The occupational health person did say to ne take the results with a pinch of salt

Agree they've no right to diagnose you on this manner. Only a referral from a GP at your request would be acceptable in my opinion.

I'd be completly discounting that "diagnosis". They don't have the qualification to diagnose. They could maybe do a test like you can get online to see if it indicates traits, but they cannot diagnose you with autism.

Loads of people meet some of the criteria for Autism. It isn't as straightforward as many would like it to be. It isn't as if you can take a blood test for it. They haven't given you a diagnosis. They haven't even claimed to have given you a diagnosis.

Are you shocked because you think you might be autistic op or shocked because you think it should never have been said?

The occupational therapist said you had “autism traits” which might be right (or might not!) but didn’t give you any diagnosis.

Does what she said have a ring of truth at some level? It’s totally your choice whether you want to pursue assessment.

I dont think they are actually diagnosing woth autism. They did some tests which they indicated showing traits. I did query that a doctor is the only one who can formally diagnose and they agreed. I dont understand what they or my bones are getting out of this. They also suggested I might use a software package called dragon to help me see my computer better as I have an eyesight issue and need larger font, but I enlarge the font and can work very well. They also suggested I contact the national autism society for further assistance. I dont want or need that

I recognise your user name from your various threads about travels to Australia and issues with friends (and wassup). I think a diagnosis is worth pursuing.

I did say thai j am a very social person and love meeting people and can talk to strangers but so can the singer susa. Boyle. She can sing to an audience of thousands but she has aspergers. I was told autism affects people differently. One woman I know cannot face people or talk on the phone and has tics. I am like that at all.

Saying you have “autism traits” is not the same as diagnosing autism. An occupational therapist is not qualified to diagnose autism and nor are the tests you have done diagnostic of autism. This is not a diagnosis.

One of my children saw a therapist as a teenager. The therapist suggested to me that child may be autistic but was very clear that if we wanted a diagnosis, we’d have to see a doctor and get a referral to be diagnosed.

How is that going to help me? It is only going to make people feel sorry for me which quite frankly I would feel quite patronising

It might help you understand yourself and the people you interact with better and reduce the frictions you are experiencing in life. You don't need to tell anyone if you don't want to.

Having autism traits does not mean you have autism. How they impact you and the severity is also assessed during an actual assessments many NT people have autism traits to some degree, but not autism. You could have it but I wouldn’t go off what the OT said.

I was diagnosed with autism age 50
I can assure you , people do not give a shit
Having tried to mention it to relatives and friends,it fell on deaf ears , people are simply not interested
So no one will feel sorry for you
I had spent years not knowing what was wrong / the matter with me ,and I knew something was ,and I knew it was more than depression and anxiety.
So it was good to get a diagnosis,I've felt a lot better about myself since I found out .
But maybe you don't care if you have autism or not ,so a diagnosis won't help you

In the work yest I was asked did i enjoy school. I dodnt want to answer because I didn't see hiw ut was relevant and thought it was none if her business so I just said it was ok
She was there to find out why I couldn't cope in my job and the truth is that it was too hectic. In fact a friend of mine said about that hectic job that she couldn't cooe with a job like that a d soneone else I was working with changed jobs as it was too stressful. Life is short and you should methane to put up with stressful jobs ive changed to a more relaxed job now so they should gave cancelled the assessment because u dont face the same issues in my new jov

Also ,you only get a diagnosis if it significantly impacts your life in a negative way

I was also asked do i have issues travelling to work. Ffs

@PerkyOchrePeer lots of people with Autism enjoy meeting people. Autism isn't about not liking people. It's about having certain difficulties which impact your interactions with other people. Most people who struggle with work don't get referred to an OT. Why do you think you did? It sounds like your managers didn't think you were 'bad' at your job, but could see that you were having difficulties that impacted your working relationships.

If you do have ASD, there may be lots of things that can help you to find your work easier and help with interactions with colleagues.

Do you mean you were assessed by someone from Occupational Health, rather than an Occupational Therapist as these are very different things? I’m an OT and this doesn’t sound like anything I’d do.

"In the work yest I was asked did i enjoy school. I dodnt want to answer because I didn't see hiw ut was relevant and thought it was none if her business so I just said it was ok"

This is interesting. Why did you think it was irrelevant? Why couldn't you tell her? Did you enjoy school, or was it a struggle?

Yes occupational health and i try to be polite to colleagues but at the end of the day I keep work and social life separate.

It sounds like they were trying to help you with why you found the job stressful which could have led to help and support.
Having read some of your other threads I personally (not an expert in any way just a fellow human) would say you are very stubborn and rigid in your thinking.
Does that mean you are autistic? No idea.
But the fact you think them asking questions about whether you liked school and about your transport to work "irrelevant" is kind of odd.
In my personal opinion.

My mum was very rigid in her thinking and nobody could get her to change her mind. She was also a scheming manipulative woman who put up a front for anyone outside the family, and so everyone used to say your mum is lovely but behind closed doors she was not. My parents had no friends and my mum used to blame my dad abd say it was his fault, but when he died my mum still had no friends si she could not blame anyone else but herself. She used ti think she was superior to everyone. I had to put up with her for years with her jecke and Hyde personality. I hated her

@PerkyOchrePeer I'm sorry to her about that with your mum.
That will definitely have had an effect on how you are now.
But when people are trying to help you with a problem (ie why you were struggling at work) you are saying it's none of their business or not relevant.
Sometimes these questions are relevant because they can be the root of an issue.
The thing is you said you are in a different job now so does it matter whether your previous job thought you might be autistic?

I have to say nobody can force you to have an OH assessment. It’s something you consent to and if you have been struggling at work and not meeting deadlines / expectations and voice that you have trouble with certain aspects of your work it can be suggested as a way to show the employer is supporting you. Otherwise you could later on claim that you’ve been performance managed (out) and say you’ve not had adequate support which leaves them vulnerable to a tribunal case. I don’t see how the employer has done anything but support - it’s down to you what you do with this OH assessment and whether you do anything about it.

I did say to work that the OH was for my previous job and now I have moved to a less demanding role then the assessment would not apply. They insisted that it goes ahead despite the fact that this was based on my old job.

I think they were trying to help you as there were aspects of your job, by your own admission, you found very stressful.

But just forget about it. At best it was only relevant when you were working in that specific environment.

If you feel you would benefit from any medical advice or diagnosis then you can seek it as and when you wish.