Does anyone know anything about second autism assessments?

So, I've been struggling with social and sensory issues for a while, so I contacted my university mental health advisor, who gave me an autism referral and asked me to talk to therapies through my GP in the meantime. I talked to therapies, who gave me a second referral for an autism diagnosis and said they weren't really able to help me, because my symptoms are indicative of autism, not anxiety or depression. When I got an assessment 4 months later, it was online and only 40 minutes, and I felt like I didn't get close to describing my problems adequately, but they said I didn't fulfill all the criteria. This was confusing because I wasn't able to cover much. When I talked to my GP, he said with my symptoms, the best next step they can take is a second autism assessment, because he also doesn't understand how I didn't fulfill criteria. Does anyone know how long a second autism assessment usually takes? Does it take shorter because they already have half the information, or does it take longer because they need to try to reverse the second one? Or is it just the typical wait time of 13 weeks? I couldn't find anything online about second assessments, so I would love if someone with a second assessment could provide their experiences.

Reply 1

deaf

Original post

by Anonymous

I have had a few different opinions and assessments to get diagnosed with autism. they started when i was about 3 i think and i finally got diagnosed when i was 13. from what i knew about my many assessments is that they were with different people and i think the wait was the same. i was also told that i had to wait some time in between assessments like a year or 2. i dont know why this was. i felt dismissed during some of my assessments and my parents definitely had to fight for my diagnosis but i feel like it is worth the fight. if you feel you are autistic then i would definitely push for a second assessment to ensure you are taken seriously. from what i remember i started the assessment again as it was with different assessors. i was asked to do slightly different tasks in different centres but they were overall the same.

hope this helps. i have tried to provide helpful info. sorry if my thoughts seem scattered. if you want to know anything else just ask.