Neurodiversity thread - for all MNetters who are neurodiverse - ASD, ADHD, Dyspraxia and more.

[FaithAscending]

Welcome one and all to the new thread. A safe haven for MNetters who identify as neurodiverse, diagnosis or not, and those waiting for assessment. Links available in recent threads. Newbies welcome. We just ask that you introduce yourself

(I worry if I spend too much time here, I will end up being a rat convert...)

You know you want to, Rosalie

I had a blog, but DP found it and got narky about it, so I locked it, then deleted it. Some of the posts are still on my computer, though. Now I just write for myself.

Have PMd you Polt

I just found this and thought it might be infuriating...

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silicone-Teething-Biscuit-Teether-Chew-Toy-Mum-Baby-Necklace-Jewellery-/221990930156?var=&hash=item33afb0c6ec:m:mXOTliCHlsVP_xjFzo_yJNQ

Why did your DP get narky? Unless you were naming and shaming them (which I sincerely doubt) then it's got fuck all to do with them. Sometimes it's really helpful to just get stuff out (and i find writing so important given my verbal limitations)

(Sorry that was meant for autisitcrat)

Hello neurodiverse MNers! I have a question for you if you don't mind. I spoke to my consultant psychiatrist about my suspicion that I might have ASD and he agreed to refer me for assessment and said I would hopefully have an answer by the time of our next appointment in 3 months. That was 21st June. I then got a letter from the assessment place with a shortened version of the AQ questionnaire, which they said I should fill out and post back to them so they could decide whether or not to offer me an appointment. I was a bit annoyed about this as I know the AQ doesn't score me very highly because it's so skewed towards male presentation, and I thought that since I had been referred by a psychiatrist who's known me for years they could have taken his word for it, but anyway I filled out the questionnaire honestly and sent it back. I got a letter on 24th August to say my score had been high enough to "pass" the triage stage and that they will contact me with an appointment date for my assessment. The letter said the average waiting time for an appointment is 12 weeks.

I still haven't heard anything from them - on Monday it will be 14 weeks since that last letter. Should I phone up and make sure the letter hasn't got lost or something, or is it quite common to be waiting much longer than they predicted? It's obviously already been way longer than the psychiatrist thought it would be. I know there are only two practitioners qualified to assess adults for this entire NHS trust so they must be busy, but in the meantime my mental health is really not good and the whole point of seeking an assessment in the first place was because I wanted to know if ASD had anything to do with my MH problems before I commit to trying lithium, which is what my psychiatrist wants to try me on. If I get the diagnosis I will try some therapy specifically aimed at autistic adults and see if that helps instead of taking the lithium, as I'm quite worried about the potential side effects and don't want to use it unless I have to. If they tell me I definitely don't have ASD I will try the lithium. But all the time I'm stuck waiting for the assessment is time spent not having any treatment at all because I don't know which one to go for! So I'm getting increasingly impatient.

Sorry for such a long post!

You know what, I can't even remember. It was something totally trivial that he unaccountably got angry at.

I don't blame you; I was adamant that lithium would be a last resort for me (I use lamotrigine). I'd call them to check it hasn't got lost in the post (it hasn't, obviously, but IMO it's a reasonable pretext for an "Oi, when's my appointment going to be; it's been ages" call).

Is the lithium for bipolar disorder? Bipolar + autism is a tricky combination; it got me misdiagnosed with about twenty different conditions over the years, because each one makes the other look not really typical.

I decided about a year and a half before the doctors did that it was ASD and bipolar, but it took them longer to catch on. A mood stabiliser, 6 months of therapy with a psychologist with a special interest () in autism, and a few educational accommodations later, I'm happy and functioning reasonably well for what I would guess is probably the first time in my life. It's still not easy, and there's lots and lots that I still need to change, but I have real friends, success at college, and feel more at ease with myself. So if you do have ASD, I hope your diagnosis comes soon! :)

I'm not kidding when I say twenty, either. It must be damn close, at the very least. I posted a list a while back, I think

Hello starchild I waited a long time for my assessment (like 18 months). Interestingly the week after I chased by email I was offered an appointment (I was called on the Monday with a Friday appointment!). I think it's sensible to wait until you get assessed before starting meds, both because the lithium may not be appropriate and also because it could mask some of your ASD traits. I would definitely chase it.

I've been having counselling and am on antidepressants. Previously I've always had SSRIs and struggled with side effects. Now I'm on a tricyclic and aside from dizziness (which I can manage) I feel it suits me much better. My counsellor has a knowledge of ASD and my sessions are tailored to take that into account. It's really helped and I feel a lot better for it

Thanks, think I will brave the phone call on Monday. autisticrat no bipolar diagnosis - current dx is "major depression and anxiety in a background of emotionally unstable personality traits" (there's a mouthful!) - have tried various SSRI and SNRI antidepressants over the last 10 years, as well as propranolol and quetiapine for anxiety. I don't know why doc wants to put me on lithium without having tried a tri-cyclic first - he seems quite fixated on the idea that mood disorder = mood stabilisers. I don't have a great deal of faith in him tbh, I've been seeing him for 4 or 5 years now and have had a few moments with him (eg the time he told me that being able to make eye contact with certain people I feel comfortable with means there's no way I could be autistic, or the time he had the wrong file in front of him throughout a whole consult, dismissed me when I told him he was talking about a condition I don't have, tried to prescribe medication that could have killed me and then finally realised his mistake only after I'd left and he was writing up his notes!)

Be prepared for a possible additional diagnosis change if you are diagnosed with ASD…

Sounds like a shit doctor.

Can you change doctor? That's awful!

Mixing up notes like that is awful practice. I've mixed up notes at the start of a consultation with patients who have common names and don't speak any of the languages, but that's because I open up their notes before they come in to the office. Once they're in I always ask for their ID card to check.
(The worst/funniest mix up I've had was a woman who came in with her baby son, I saw both of them so had both sets of notes open on the computer at the same time. I did blood tests and got an amused call from the lab later asking if I meant to order a pregnancy test on the baby boy. Obviously not.)

I have looked into changing and have been told I can't, so now I just take what he says with a heavy dose of salt and double-check everything through my own research. I'm a veterinary nurse and have mixed files up myself (it's very disconcerting to call your next patient in from the waiting room and find out that the cat you were expecting is actually an iguana!) so I wasn't too bothered by the fact that it happened, but more by the fact that he was asking about anger issues and manic episodes and I was going "but I've never had any of those problems" and he still didn't realise! I told him my mood had been very low and he said perhaps an antidepressant would help and told me he would prescribe a low dose of citalopram to go alongside my current medication. "But the medication I'm already on is an antidepressant." "No, it's a mood stabiliser." "Are you sure? I've never been on any mood stabilisers... and I've tried citalopram 3 times before and it's never worked..." "Well let's give it a try alongside the mood stabiliser and see if it helps." It's like talking to a brick wall... Presumably there are safeguards and double-checks in place so that even if he hadn't eventually realised his mistake, someone would have noticed and stopped him from giving me citalopram with my 300mg venlafaxine and sending me off to death by serotonin syndrome ;)

It's easier emotionally for her to believe that her DIL is a bitch than that her DS doesn't want to visit her, I guess. What a horrible thing to say about your son's partner tho.

Rosalie sorry about your cat

star If you are on regular medication it's a good idea to stick to the same pharmacy- the pharmacists are pretty good at spotting drug contraindications, they have pointed things out to me before (usually something pretty minor like when I switched anti-Ds the GP didn't take the old off repeat, so the pharmacy checked I wasn't taking both at the same time)

I also read the information leaflets every time I am given a new medication whether that's over the counter or prescribed, just to make sure, with my fairly complex medical history even the professionals can miss things.

Though mixing the files up reminds me of the time I had a gastroenterology check up, and the doctor was very concerned that I had lost 10kg in such a short space of time. I asked what he was on about and it turns out I was recorded as weighing something like 75kg, I'm short and didn't even weigh that much the day before I gave birth! Thankfully the doctor believed me and had another look, at which point he realised I wasn't male or aged 50+ either....

polter try not to give your MIL too much head space!