My doctor ordered me a pack of forms and questionnaires to request an assessment for adult autism. In amongst the medical histories and self assessments, this question stuck out;
it is important to know that not everyone who is referred to our service will have a diagnosis of autism confirmed. In the space below, tell us how you think having an autism diagnosis confirmed, or not, might impact on you and your life
What’s going on here? Do you get asked this for other conditions? We’re a community that typically struggles to read between the lines, so I could be way off, but this feels grudging to me. It’s a question that says - what’s the point of us even offering this service, and why are you so special that we should waste our time on you?
This might be a “hey if you think getting an actual diagnosis is going to cause problems let us know so we don’t do that”.
Ooh good thought. Like employment / legal / child custody type problems. That would make me a lot happier with the question (and mad that it’s necessary)
Could also have the other side of the problem. Some people can expect a diagnosis to completely solve everything in their lives. People may have unrealistic expectation towards their diagnosis. In that case it could also help the doctor calm down those expectation before giving the diagnosis in order to not hurt them too much.
It might be a question of priority, like do you need an official diagnosis to get accommodations at school/work or do you “just” want to know for sure.
Also, it’ll make you think about why you’re requesting the assessment and in what way it’ll change your life. Like, in my case having an official diagnosis wouldn’t change anything, therapy options are designed to make a person useful for the workforce, I am a housewife so it wouldn’t help me much. So I’d rather have them use their service for people who actually have a need for their service.
The way my doctor put it is basically, I most likely will never need to be under care for it. So, he was not going to put it on paper unless I wanted it. He said I am autistic and I am diagnosed, just not on paper. So, do you think you’ll ever need special care for it? If yes, then maybe consider getting it on paper.
Have you considered this might be part of the test?
If OP attaches a separate paper that had an introduction, numbered points, thorough explanations for each point with referenced sources, and a conclusion that summarizes it all up, they’ll skip the assessment and give a diagnosis on the spot. In fact, I’m almost certain they get those fairly often. 😆
Was I planning to post a question from an assessment questionnaire as a daily discussion topic? Definitely not! No sir, not me. I would never.
(Srsly tho, let me know if this is an awful idea, before I flood your sub with it)
It doesn’t seem like it violates the rules, so why not? Maybe some people will find it interesting.
I was told “at this point you’ve spent your life learning coping mechanisms and behaviors to get you this far, you’re doing pretty ok … what purpose does this label serve” and kinda went with it but have felt weird about it since.
But thinking about it …. The actual “formal” label / diagnosis might have hindered my life more than being able to describe it “accurately” would have helped.
Idk.
Ive been told something similar but thats not the be all end all.
I have ADHD. Recently diagnosed and was asked “Well what does that change?” The thing is, coping mechanisms aren’t typically healthy or optimal. Replacing them with healthier habits, or strategies to manage your condition or using therapy and or meds is typically much better for you overall.
Sure you can get by with coping mechanisms but it doesn’t mean you have to. You have a right to know and to feel in control of yourself and your life. Even just knowing for sure can be helpful.