{"id":47,"date":"2019-11-06T14:28:08","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T14:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2021-12-31T12:07:24","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T12:07:24","slug":"the-journey-to-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/the-journey-to-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Journey to Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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popocatepetl Mexico df volcano from sky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Autistic Phoenix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

FAQ: The Journey to Diagnosis<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This page is a collection of Frequently Asked Questions that I\u2019ve seen, and asked myself, on the journey that starts, roughly speaking, when you decide that you\u2019d value a professional opinion on whether you\u2019re autistic or not \u2013 typically starting with a visit to your GP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Can I really be Autistic? I\u2019m just me \u2013 aren\u2019t I?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A: Yes, you can<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Living with undiagnosed autism for as long as you have, has probably meant that you\u2019ve simply become used to the way that it affects you, and of course, this is \u201cnormal for you\u201d. It can be quite a revelation that your version of normal is actually quite different from the \u201cnormal\u201d that most people experience, and this can take some adjusting to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Am I just making this up?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A: Probably not<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s quite common, again because you\u2019ve lived with and coped with the way you are for so long, to think that you\u2019ve suddenly become hypochondriac and invented your autism. But think about it like this: if you were making it up, why did you choose to make up a story about autism? Why not ADHD? Why not schizophrenia? Why not bipolar? Something about autism made you identify with the symptoms. It is of course possible that you have several personality traits that are common with the symptoms of autism, but that\u2019s what a formal diagnosis will help you to understand, and why it\u2019s worth getting referred for one even if you expect that the outcome might be negative; either way, knowledge is power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What should I take to my GP?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A: Your reasons for thinking that you\u2019re autistic, and maybe an AQ10<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Take along a collection of your thoughts as to why you think you may be autistic. It helps to write it down so that you don\u2019t forget anything, and often GPs will be happy for (or ask) you to leave it with them to read through later. In the UK, GPs are encouraged to refer you on if you score above 6 out of 10 on the AQ10 (a ten question version of the AQ50) so it would do no harm to download a copy, fill it in, and take it along with you. You might well be asked to fill in the surgery\u2019s official printed version as this will have your NHS number on \u2013 but you could transfer your answers across in a few seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Why do I feel more Autistic now that I\u2019ve been referred for diagnosis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A: Because you\u2019ve relaxed and stopped masking so much<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is another common stage of the journey to diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you realise that autism provides an explanation for your behaviours and feelings, and that you\u2019ve been compensating for your differences by using intellectual and conscious brainpower to emulate the behaviours you see around you (i.e. masking), and that those efforts have been exhausting, you\u2019re likely to feel a) that you\u2019re justified in cutting yourself some slack and not carrying on with that enormous effort, and b) test yourself and, figuratively speaking, prod yourself whilst looking in a mirror to see your true autistic self more clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words you stop making huge efforts to mask, and allow your autistic self to be seen, perhaps for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What will getting a diagnosis give me?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A: It depends<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It depends on how your symptoms limit your everyday life, and on what you want out of the diagnosis. Some things follow from the diagnosis legally, for instance the right to a Care Needs Assessment and rights under the Equalities Act 2010 (though you can get these without a diagnosis). You also gain access to the resources of Access to Work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the main point of this question is usually \u201cWhat difference will it make to how I approach life?\u201d and the answer to that depends on so many things that it\u2019s hard to give a one-size-fits-all answer. But what it will do is eliminate or at least drastically reduce the uncertainty you might have about your inner make-up, and allow you to focus on the future. It should also stop you being quite so hard on yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Autistic Phoenix FAQ: The Journey to Diagnosis This page is a collection of Frequently Asked Questions that I\u2019ve seen, and asked myself, on the journey that starts, roughly speaking, when you decide that you\u2019d value a professional opinion on whether you\u2019re autistic or not \u2013 typically starting with a visit to your GP. Q: Can … <\/p>\n

Read more\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"pageWithContainer.php","meta":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Marie","author_link":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/author\/marie\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":null,"rttpg_excerpt":"By Autistic Phoenix FAQ: The Journey to Diagnosis This page is a collection of Frequently Asked Questions that I\u2019ve seen, and asked myself, on the journey that starts, roughly speaking, when you decide that you\u2019d value a professional opinion on whether you\u2019re autistic or not \u2013 typically starting with a visit to your GP. Q: Can…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440,"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndsa.uk\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}