....to ask how you go about getting a diagnosis as an adult with Asperger?

[Ubertasha2]

That’s it, really.

Don’t want to go into it too much as I know this is who I am and I am more than happy about it tbh, but I actually do want a professional confirming this. I would be happy to have this label so I can bring it up if I want, or if something is challenging for me I can remember that I have this diagnosis.

I have obviously googled how to get a diagnosis but am none the wiser, really. Do I go to my GP first (if I can get an appointment this year)? Or should I pay to meet with a psychiatrist? Any idea on how they test me?
And if I tick some boxes (ie like to be alone, overwhelmed by other people, sensory issues etc), but not others (not lacking empathy etc), what happens then?

I am 99.99999% sure I am on the spectrum. I think you know when you are. I’ve known for decades (particularly when at school, uni, etc), and would be relieved with a diagnosis/professional opinion.

Oh, and you did get the diagnosis, did it change anything for you, apart from explaining a lot and giving you relief?

TIa.

The NAS has some good info about this. Go to your GP, be very clear about what you want. Assessment basically consists of answering a lot of questions, including about your early life. It can be helpful to take along a family member or a friend you've known since you were little.
You don't need to tick every box to get a diagnosis.

I don't have a diagnosis myself, but close friends and family do. I think it has been transformative for them. It answered questions they had been asking for decades. The impact on their careers has been tremendous also.

I wonder this too. I'm sure I have it but never thought of getting it confirmed by a professional.

It depends where you live, but usually you would have to go to your GP and ask for a referral to your local adult assessment service. You might also have an option to pay privately if you're in a position to, but most services still ask for a GP referral to start with, so you're definitely best doing that initially.

A couple of tips - best practice for diagnosis involves an assessment over several different appointments, and with a multidisciplinary team. I would be wary of any clinician who says they can offer you a diagnosis after an hour's appointment, and check that they are properly accredited.

Most diagnosis services will also need to speak to someone who has known you since you were very small, such as a parent or older sibling. This is because they need to ascertain if you have had autism traits since birth - if you only developed them in later life it's likely to be something else.

Finally, it's rare that you will find a diagnostic service that offers Aspergers as a diagnosis these days, or talks about high or low functioning autism. What you will get is a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. Good luck with it, and I hope you can access a decent service where you live.

Thanks all, particularly @GraceMarks!

Also, prepare yourself a waiting list. I imagine it varies from place to place, but one friend was waiting for about a year to be seen, then it was another 8 months or so before getting a conclusive diagnosis. Good luck.

You ask the GP, convince them that it’s a thing and show how it’s impacting you - work, personal life, mental and physical health. Ask (and wait for) psych assessment. Carry out assessment. Get results. Discuss treatment oprions.
Mine came back as Attention-deficit ADHD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder so be aware that you may not get the result you were expecting!
It was still very helpful as a process and I’m glad I did it. And it was actually quite weirdly fun to try Ritalin although I didn’t stay on it for long.

I asked my GP about it. Am 100% certain I have ASD, my son is diagnosed (his consultant unofficially said she thinks I have it too) and I have long-term anxiety, depression and CPTSD so not exactly a stranger to my GP. He said there was "no diagnostic pathway for adults" in this area - sorry but nope, no way. No diagnosis. And he made me feel like a fool for asking.

I hope you have a better experience than I did.

My GP wasn't really helpful to be honest so I paid for a private diagnosis. I'm not sure where you're based but I used Dr Bernard Horsford (midlands).

It's actually been really helpful for me to have a diagnosis and I feel much more at peace with myself now than pre diagnosis and immediately afterwards as I was initially upset I did indeed have autism.

My daughter is looking likely to also be ASD so I feel like my diagnosis will help if she is also autistic.

darkparadise1 can I ask how long the process took, and roughly how much it cost? No worries if you don't want to say.

It's just that I've lost so many friends and failed at so many things because of my appalling social skills, withdrawal tendencies and general weirdness. I think I'd feel a lot less bruised by it all and less ashamed of my life if I had the label. Pathetic, probably, but if we could afford it I'd consider it.

How quickly do you want it?

I got my diagnosis through fairly quickly but had to go private. There's a shortage of psychiatrists who specialise in autism. Can cause a big delay.

Took a couple of session visits. Cost £250.

.placemarking with interest

I would really have to think what it added to your life or how it would be changed by a diagnosis before bothering.

A lot of posters above think it’s helped them so it’s obviously been worthwhile for them. I have an adult child (young) with it, officially diagnosed many years ago. I also have a DH who would ramp it in should they seek a diagnosis. This opinion is shared by my child’s specialist who has seen DH at numerous appointments over the years with our child. However DH is oblivious to it. While he had a horrid time at school once he left he pursued a career in a technical field that is where his intense general interests lie. Most others in this field seem to be similar so they all get on. Also once out of school he naturally made friends who were involved with his interests and they are all still friends 40 years later. I suspect each one of them would also ramp it in with a diagnosis but none feel the need. The only issue it seems to have caused is with schooling when young (as everyone was expected to conform to the same box) and in our relationship. A diagnosis would not stop my eye rolling or frustration as I already treat him like someone who has been diagnosed.

Similarly, whilst I am glad we had our child diagnosed when younger, as it assisted with supports st school, I can’t see any value in it being diagnosed now if it hadn’t of been when they were a child and they agree. Just like DH they are entering a career aligned with intense interest and natural aptitude’s (although a different career to DH’s) and they have a great circle of friends they get on with brilliantly, each and every one also diagnosed when they were a child. I suspect my child will have issues when they want to pursue a relationship (unless the partner is like minded) and I honestly don’t think their diagnosis will be any help at all in that regard.

Weirdly my D'S who was diagnosed with Aspergers at 12 was recently asked for proof of his disability because he wanted reasonable adjustments on a course. He's in his 20s and I had to dig out his diagnosis letter and Staement. This is the first time this has happened but I can see how it might benefit some adults to have a diagnosis of they have a similar situation.

I paid for a private diagnosis, my local area didn't do NHS diagnosing for adults or it took years I can't remember which but it basically wsnst viable for me.

He's in his 20s and I had to dig out his diagnosis letter and Staement.

I think it’s great they accepted it. Mine had to have a ‘recent’ letter confirming diagnosis when they started uni. Like it’s something that just disappears ..... I forget the definition the uni used for recent but it was like something within the last 6 mths. I contacted their specialist they still see (who they have seen all along and are entitled to see until they finish uni) and they just wrote a letter comprising 1 paragraph confirming they had x, y and z as originally diagnosed in x year. That way they wrote Aspergers as opposed to ASD as their diagnosis was Aspergers before the new clusterfuckery came in. It’s a very good point that people may want this for such a purpose!

He was discharged at 16, so that could present a problem if he ever goes to University Hopping.😯

Just to warn you - there is no diagnosis of Asperger’s anymore. This definition has been defunct for several years now. If you have a diagnosis (from pre-change), then you can still use it.

It’s about the way Autism and related conditions are defined now, according to DSM 5 - in the U.K.

If you have a diagnosis (from pre-change), then you can still use it.

Correct, I dare anyone to tell my child or any of their friends that they have ASD/autism. Not pretty. None of them view it as any better or worse than Aspergers, just something that is completely different and I know a lot of psychs and dev paed who agree and can’t fathom the direction it all took in the DSM V. I think the kids (all young adults) see it as robbing them of or trying to remove their identity, that they have a claim on the term and they get to decide what happens to it.

greeny I have been reading posts from you for over a decade- you have made me laugh so many times, you're a wonderful funny lady. I'm sorry you feel this way about yourself

“It's just that I've lost so many friends and failed at so many things because of my appalling social skills, withdrawal tendencies and general weirdness”
Wow you are me!
I’m so fed up of going round in circles, history just keeps repeating itself, I’m just coming to the end of another cycle of
1.meet new people
2.try hard to be normal, make friends with them
3.think you’ve cracked it, yes I’m finally there I have friends
4.realise you read the situation wrong, your just acquaintances
5.cant keep up the front any longer they realise you are weird
6.feel excluded by new “friends”

1. Feel lonely and withdraw
2. Back to the start again

I’m currently around 6/7

I wish I had the confidence to go to the gp, I’ve known I was different since I was 8, I’m now 41,
I’m also currently in the grip of an obsession, a certain children’s toy, I’ve bought loads, keep searching for them online, researching them, it’s tiring
I wish I was normal I’m just so freaking weird :(

HoppingPavlova I think that getting a diagnosis of non-Aspergers autism could be really stigmatising for some people, though. In the circle that you know it may be the case that people don't see Aspergers as being "better" than other ASD diagnoses, but there is definitely a perception amongst people going through the diagnosis process that they want the Aspergers label and not the other, because Aspergers is the "clever" version of ASD. I'm not saying at all that it was right to change the classifications but I think it's interesting to look at it from the other side.

Just over a year ago I started the diagnosis process for DS; it was only when I was having to fill out zillions of forms with/for him that it dawned on me that I also ticked many of the boxes...

I typed up a couple of pages of bullet points on why I thought I might also be on the Spectrum and went to my GP and asked if I could get a diagnosis for myself - the GP couldn't have been more helpful, and used my notes to get me a referral. It took from March this year until August for me to get an Aspergers diagnosis - which was far faster than I'd anticipated (DS and I both got our diagnosis on the same day, although his took 10 months...)

Good luck with it!