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Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

DD with ASD being referred to complex needs team for personality disorders?!

2 replies

Joanie78 · 29/10/2020 00:38

Hello I am very new to this so please be gentle! DD now 18, was diagnosed with ASD at age 17 and a half. Late diagnosis because she is very good at masking, plus various cock-ups by CAMHS. She endured 7 years of absolute hell at school, really severe bullying and had terrible anxiety and depression. She has unfortunately suffered a bereavement recently and her MH has got worse; she has started self-harming; her poor arms are covered in cuts. She spoke to the GP today who was quite good but he told her to refer herself to the complex needs service. We looked this up and it is the psychiatric service for people who have personality disorders, very specialised and all the blurb was about how they support patients with PD, they have group therapy and a therapeutic community. Has anyone else been in this situation? I don't see how this can help DD who doesn't have a PD but is autistic. I understand that girls with ASD are often diagnosed with BPD due to a lack of knowledge so maybe there will be others there who have ASD but I am just worried that not only will she not be getting tailored support, it will in fact be tailored specifically for a condition/s which she doesn't have. There will probably be a massive wait for treatment now anyway, but any input would be really appreciated. Thank you. (Obviously it is her decision as she is 18 but at this moment we are both a bit confused and unsure.)

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BackforGood · 01/11/2020 00:22

Teams are different in different parts of the country, so I can't comment on this particular team, but I would take a referral to ANYWHERE at 18. When if they accept the referral, then you / she can have a longer phone conversation with the clinicians running the community and get a clearer idea of what they can offer and if some of it is applicable to your dd. It may well be - as you have said she is self harming, or has self harmed. The GP him / herself won't know or unerstand the level of detail, but the people running the group will be able to give you and your dd a better idea. If it doesn't sound right for her, then she doesn't need to attend. However, with the sparcity of any sort of provision for mental health support, I wouldn't dismiss it just because of it's name - it may well have a wider remit than you think.

Joanie78 · 01/11/2020 15:51

Thank you very much for replying! Hadn't even considered that they might not accept referral but I suppose that is a possibility Confused I think that we will go ahead and complete the referral then see how it goes... Is there even less support for post-18 than you get with CAMHS? That is a terrifying prospect! Sad

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