Private Autism Assessment - Preferably with experience of women

[SENMumoftwo]

Hi all

I am just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of an appropriate professional.

I'm looking (ideally) in the North West region.

I'd love to know what it entails and any of your experiences - good or bad!

For NW - Vicky Bliss in Preston. She is recommended on Tania Ann Marshall's website. I haven't been through assessment with her yet but she has been very helpful over email so far.

Hi all. I self referred to the Lorna Wing and got an appointment within a couple of months. I had my assessment last December with Dr Judith Gould and she diagnosed me in little over an hour. My eldest son also has Aspergers.
The dx has had a profound effect on me in a positive and negative way. I'm really struggling with understanding why I'm finding things so tough despite my dx if that makes sense.
They were absolutely wonderful at LW.

Disorganised - how much was Lorna Wing?

following with interest and some trepidation. my head is kind of spinning at the moment processing what this could mean in terms of understanding myself and my difficulties over the years.

usually this comes up and i think about it and then i push it away again - i think actually now i want to find out.

did anyone worry they were being a hyperchondriac (sp sorry) or just looking for excuses?

i've had a couple of misdiagnosis' with mental health where they've sort of just gone for the best fit as a working diagnosis but aware i don't really fit it. i see that this is actually quite common with women with autism and actually it makes a lot of sense as to why they diagnosed what they did (the similarities) and why it doesn't quite fit when you relook through the lens of autism itms.

sorry waffling on.

also a lot of what has been considered 'depression' and i've called it that has actually been more about exhaustion from social contact or certain jobs just being way way too much of a strain on my capacity to deal with people and be in a stressful environment meaning eventually i just cannot do it anymore and HAVE TO retreat and isolate and recover. also some of what i have called 'panic attacks' have actually been more like a total sensory overload - too much too much too much - spinning out.

does any of this sound familiar?

Mamaka,Lorna Wing assessment was £1900.. I was assessed by Dr Judith Gould who co founded the centre so I felt I was being seen by the best. It was well worth it.

feel a bit ridiculous for posting in the wrong place now. sorry if i quieted the thread with my me me me babble.

Sounds very familiar Honey. I doubt you quieted the thread
They do just ebb and flow. You maybe should go for a diagnosis. I too went to Lorna Wing and was diagnosed by Judith Gould. It was around £1800 I think then.

It seems to be a feature of autism, not feeling entitled to have it, just believing you are a unique f up. That's how I felt and still feel v occasionally. Very hard on ourselves.

thank you allofafumble. honestly i feel worried that the doctor will just laugh at me

i don't know either.

mine is predominantly the sensory stuff plus finding social stuff really tiring and needing a lot of time out when overwhelmed.

i was thinking though that actually a diagnosis could've been useful to me at points to explain why i needed to change the lighting in my office or couldn't work with that constant humming vibration from something or sometimes needed a five minute emergency break. as in i'm thinking i can see the usefulness of a diagnosis rather than just having to seem rude or awkward or a weirdo.

it would also give me 'words' to explain why i find relationships so hard and draining and have tended to find it easier to be single and why i like so much control over my time and environment and need to be able to retreat for extended periods when i'm overwhelmed.

lot to think about.

I'm in Shropshire, I'm seeing someone from a charity called Autonomy who do a pre diagnostic assessment for £250 and then refer to their psych for formal diagnosis for about £200. It's taken about 4 weeks from first contact to assessment.

The assessor specialises in women, and I'm being assessed next week.

What are they looking for in the ADOS? I'm slightly worried that I've learned how to do things through copying so well that I'll not actually demonstrate what they expect to see... :/