Getting autism assessment by call. What questions do they ask?

I called my GP to get myself and autism assessment and its going to be over call. I think I'll do it alone, I'm 16. Has anybody had one before and know what the questions are like? I want to make sure i dont defensively be like "no, im fine. i have no problems" when 2 seconds of premeditation reveals i have many examples of what they ask about.

I think its likely I have aspergers and its only not been noticed because I've not done terribly at GCSE.

Reply 1

Kerzen

Original post by 's too dent

The initial phone call won't be the whole assessment, as you will need to be sent questionnaires to complete, before your case is discussed further.

Do you know what kind of person is going to be calling you?

Reply 2

's too dent

Original post by Kerzen

No. All I know is that they're a GP.

Reply 3

Kerzen

Original post by 's too dent

No. All I know is that they're a GP.

It sounds to me as though this is a normal GP appointment lasting around 10 minutes.

GPs don't carry out the assessments for autism themselves, they refer them on to the local diagnosis service.

If you type in where you live and autism diagnosis into Google, you should be able to see where the local team is.

Reply 4

's too dent

Original post by Kerzen

You're right. It seems the GP will decide whether to refer me to a proper test after the phonecall.

Reply 5

's too dent

Original post by 's too dent

You're right. It seems the GP will decide whether to refer me to a proper test after the phonecall.

My GP says he needs either my family to talk to him or my school. My mum has bad english and is useless. I never talk to my teachers. Am I ****ed? If theres even a chance im autistic then i kinda need this diagnosis bad. Every day......a new symptom aligns. Like hateful stars.

Reply 6

Jess_Lomas

Original post by 's too dent

First of all not doing well in your exams isn't a sign of autism BTW I'm autistic
Also if they need to speak to others it means there isn't enough evidence so it might be something else

Reply 7

Jess_Lomas

Original post by 's too dent

Also feel free to message me privately and I could give you more advice

Reply 8

PrittyVacant

Exams aren’t an indication of ASD, or not having it.

People can be high-functioning and learn to mask things well.

It can be things such as intense, even obsessive, interests in things - either collections or order. It can also be inability to ‘read the room’ and pick up on non-verbal cues, lack of understanding re consequences which may present itself in lack of remorse and not being empathetic to how other people might feel. It can be not able to maintain eye contact… lack of focus or intense focus..

So many variables. So further input will definitely be needed by family and education - not talking to your teachers won’t be a barrier. School is often the first port of call as they’re well versed in spotting signs due to the amount of time they spend with students.

If you mum’s English isn’t fluent, then it will be possible to request interpretation services to overcome this barrier (if you mean lack of English as in English is second language) or you could consider a family member or friend for translation too.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 9

Jess_Lomas

Have you heard anything back yet from them

Reply 10

's too dent

Its not just exams, I think I have alot of the symptoms. But at this point its too late to get a diagnosis before exams so theres no point. I'm just gonna be worse off. I might tell my gp to talk to my school now only cus in a year i wont have a children-esque school im going to and id be at uni instead which wouldnt be as.... useful? **** if i know what school knows so much about. I dont think school knows **** about me. Just another head in the classroom. Must be a real incredible phone call this gp plans on having with these teachers "Is this student autistic?" "dunno".

Reply 11

Jess_Lomas

Original post by 's too dent

Just so you know as part of the autistic community we don't like the word symptoms as symptoms are associated with a disease or illness that needs a cure but 98% of us don't want a cure for autism, we need extra help but we wouldn't want to not be autistic. One of my doctors said it was like having an xbox and PlayStation and they both do the same thing but if you put an xbox game into the PlayStation it won't work
It didn't make much sense to me but hope it helps