Starting the process

[Ncforthispost23]

Hi,

For some time I’ve considered that I may have autism or ADHD. I’m 29 now but for most of my life, without making a huge list here, I can identify so many times I’ve really struggled and always felt as if I didn’t fit in.
Things that other people seemed to deal with fine, have always been incredibly problematic for me and I really cannot manage ‘big’ emotions. I just feel ‘wrong’ and as if my brain doesn’t work how other people’s does.
I also have horrendous impulse control and experience rejection awfully, to the point where I’m actively on hyper alert looking for it which is probably very difficult for my DH, to the point that I can’t see the long term consequences of many things and just live for how I feel in the moment or act on how my emotions are making me feel at the time.

I’m a parent of 2 now and whilst I love it, it can be very hard at times so I feel it would give me some clarity and help me not spend any longer of my life feeling how I feel.
From querying I was told the first step is to make a GP appointment.
Could anyone please share with me the process, what types of questions they might ask or want to know about etc?
Thank you

For the GP it’s a tick box exercise. They give you a questionnaire and if you score x amount they refer you. That’s the end of the GP’s involvement. Then you get an assessment from the mental health service where they ask you some questions and confirm that it seems sensible to put you forward for assessment. Then you get sent home for 2-4 years till you get to the top of the waiting list for assessment.

Then you get sent home for 2-4 years till you get to the top of the waiting list for assessment.

DS has had an ADHD assessment as an adult recently and it was much quicker. The thing that took the longest was getting him to actually sit down and fill in the assessment forms.

Depends where you live. Most areas are 2-4 years for autism assessments.