Autism Assessment tomorrow!

[ToAutismOrNotToAutismThatIsTheQuestion]

I'm so anxious. This has been such a long road as I am sure it is for many of you. I had the weird ADOS assessment with the book a couple of months ago and she was lovely and fed back snippets but then explained about the second assessment.

And I've just gone blank. I did a ton of forms I sent off (Right to Choose - Dr J - detailed questions about everything it seems) but I've started getting jittery about hte questions tomorrow.

What if I get it wrong. What if they ask me to elaborate and I can't think of anything. What if the right example can't come to mind? I'm crap at job interviews as I freeze.

I'm just so worried all this will come to nothing and it will be my fault because I'm a middle aged women and I misunderstand his questions or can't remember anything.

And I don't know what he's going to ask and I've thought I'm autistic for so long now I don't obsessively have the lists I did initially I'm just me and I can't remember what the differences are and what I'm supposed to say.

I'm not wanting to fake anything at all I am just so worried I wont get it right.. Like after all this time it comes down to an hour and a half tomorrow.

(I have been diagnosed ADHD and started meds 6 weeks ago but it was the autism I was initially more sure of )

Anyone got stories what their second assessment was like or can calm me down?

How did it go today?

you can’t get it wrong, they are assessing you as a person so there’s no right or wrong.

Thankyou the psychiatrist was brilliant. I told him I was anxious and he was great.

I was so worried I'd clam up or not remember something I needed to so I'd squew it.

But he was so good and guided the conversation and even at the beginning explained he'd read the detailed pre-questionairres, and the ados as well as my adhd reports and titration report and I felt he was thorough.

At the end he explained about AuDHD presentation being different and that the autism need to be understood in the context of adhd and vice versa.

He also said the ados scores sometimes are low for women /adults/people who have learnt to mask but they can still build a profile... But in my case they were clearly in the autistic bracket.

He was lovely and kind too.

Thankyou 😊.

I’m so glad you had a good experience and got your diagnosis. My informant interview is tomorrow and I’m doing it myself because nobody remembers much at all about me as a child. I’m really anxious about it but your posts have made me feel better about it. It still feels like a test I’m going to fail 😩

Oh good luck.

And yes that's exactly how I felt and I thought I hadn't prepared enough (like an exam) and I'd forget everything I had to say.
But honestly it's answering questions about you. You know you. Specialist subject 😊. And if they don't get what they need they try another tack. They're the ones that know.

I got questions like "some people feel they have to cut labels off their clothes - has that been a problem for you?" similarly talking about friendships as a kid he was able to keep going it wasn't yes or no answers.

It was all based around the (very detailed) aswers I'd already sent in so looking back I think he'd got a good picture from the ados and the answers I'd given on my forms and was filling in the gaps to get an accurate report. He was so good.

Id really advise you not to worry (easier said than done and I suspect we worry because we're autistic..).

I didn't have an Informant interview my provider had them fill in a form and I got a colleague and my husband to do it. They missed lots out as didn't know me as a child so i was asked about childhood.

I was so impressed tbh.

Thank you, that’s very helpful. I never felt the need to cut labels out of clothes and I think my mum would have gone nuts if I’d done it. They just irritate me a lot. I sent them a huge long list of things that bother me, or issues I’d had with school or friendships and relationships with a big emphasis on sensory things. The assessor has said they will focus a lot on age 3-5 and I don’t remember a great deal and neither does anybody else. I was a seen and not heard child who was a good girl and shy. Don’t speak until you’ve spoken to kind of childhood. Very much socialised to behave and not cause a fuss over anything. I was ill a lot with nothing specific and think this was burnout. Have you found yourself totally reevaluating your childhood now you know you’re autistic?

Oh I was just using that as an example! It would be absolutely fine if you didn't and there would probably be other questions around different sensory issues to encourage you to open up. What I meant was that they know what to say to give you the best chance to talk. You don't need to remember a list. It's not a test it's a conversation.

I didn't talk to begin with much but his questions led me to ramble and then steered it where it needed to go.

I think I'd not realised how much of conversation it would be. And with a skilled professional.

It really isn't a test.

All the best with it.

(I remembered it as its something I do and wouldn't have thought to say it).

They really do do the questioning it will be okay.

I’ve just updated my own thread but it was ok and she said I’d be unlikely not to be diagnosed and had a lot of autistic traits. Thank you for the hand hold.

Well done! Hope you can take a breath now and do something kind for yourself. X