How do you approach your GP for a diagnosis?

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Hiya

I am planning to go to my GP for a diagnosis of AS soon and am not sure how to start conversation other than 'I think I may have AS'.

Any ideas?

Thanks

I'd go to a specialist or someone trained to at least recognise AS... I went to my GP, he had no idea what it was and was really rude to me and was basically a waste of time.

Mention to your GP that you suspect you have an autistic spectrum disorder and see what he says. Most likely, he or she will question you, starting with asking why you think you have one.

Last edited by ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo on 18 Apr 2010, 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ask for a referral to an NHS psychiatrist. A GP cannot diagnose that.

Ask the GP to refer you to a psychiatrist or an ASD specialist. In Australia it ain't official until a psychiatrist diagnoses you. It may be different for others countries.

I doubt your GP would be able to diagnose you if he knows what Aspergers even is. Your going to have to see a specialist. Most hospitals have someone that can do it.

Basically just go and ask for a referral. I think the the most common grounds for refusal are:

1. They don't bellieve you might have got AS - so take the results of online tests with you so that you can show that you have good grounds for suspecting that you do have it.

2. They don't believe you've got it bad enough to be suffering - so think about this beforehand and be ready to explain how the AS traits have screwed up your life. Social problems with getting friends and partners, and work-related problems are the commonest areas to find that kind of evidence in.

3. They can't afford it. Not much you can do about that at the time, but maybe the NAS or your MP would be interested, as many areas do give referrals for AS, and if one area can afford it, how come another can't?

Try not to say that you've definitely got AS, as that's irrational - if you want a diagnosis, you must have some doubt or there'd be no doubt for the DX to clear up for you. Probably best not to mention disability benefits and job adjustments.

If you're the kind of person who has trouble getting health professionals and authorities to co-operate with you, try to get a friend to go with you. Preferably somebody who knows how to put pressure on them.

Make it quite plain that you want a referral.....otherwise they might pretend that you didn't really ask for one. A good way to start the interview would be to say "I've come to ask you for a referral to diagnose Aspergers' Syndrome." That way they know from the start what you want.

They might ask you how you first came to suspect that you had it. In my case it was my wife who said she thought I may have. The GP suggested that I might be just doing it because my wife had told me to....see how they try to knock holes in your case? I just replied that it wasn't the case and that I was doing it for myself.

They might also ask you why you want to be diagnosed. Self-knowledge is a reasonable answer - obviously if AS is giving you problems in your life, then if you find out that you have it, you'll be better equipped to solve those problems.

Experiences are mixed - some GPs just don't want to know, others are a lot more helpful. Mine made me feel like an idiot but she gave me what I wanted without too much fuss.

I suspect that if you stick to your guns they'll have to give you a referral, as long as your reasons for wanting it make sense. If a patient presents reasonable grounds for wanting a referral and refuses to back down, a GP would be on shaky grounds for blocking it - that could be construed as negligence and it can be reported. But you might still get nothing better than a referral "subject to funds" if money is tight, and then if you didn't get it, I don't know who you could report.

The GP might not say yes or no, but "I'll see what I can do" - if so, it would be wise to ask how long you should wait before contacting them again about it, otherwise you could just be left wondering, and they might be hoping that you'll give up in the meantime.

If the GP says no, tell them that you're not satisfied with that, and ask for their reasons. Write them down and ask the NAS to help you pursue your case.

great post toughdiamond!

I have found that approaching the medical provider with the diagnosis is usually unadvised. Rather asking for a psychological workup to assess what issues you might be facing might be the way to approach it. Let them tell you. (and remember to bring along a figurative teaspoon of salt when you hear the results It might be a bit more than you were expecting. )

Thanks....hope it helps anyway.

http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1045

this link might help you.

Thanks so much everyone, toughdiamond, that was an amazing post.

Glad you like it Last year I was heavily obsessed with the subject because I was being shoved into some very Aspie-unfriendly expectations at work...so it was pretty urgent, and the details stuck in my head.

I'm still umming and ahhing over whether I should get a Dx or not. But that was great, Tough Diamond. I'm saving it so I know what I'm doing if I do finally tip.

Thanks.......I should add that Sinsboldly has mentioned a salient point that I overlooked, that health professionals might not like it when a client appears to already have a clear idea what their condition is - I suspect they tend to see it as a threat to their expertise and that they like to contradict the client just to demonstrate that they know best. So I agree that there is some merit in presenting yourself as not really knowing what's wrong, and getting the GP to think that AS was their idea. But I wouldn't know how to do that, and I suppose the risk is that they might go for schizoid or something and start recommending pills.....of course you can always argue back if they did that. It's only my opinion, but if it were me I'd begin by revealing a strong suspicion of having AS, but I'd try not to come over as seeming too convinced - kind of "I don't know, but these screening test results and my own observations do seem to point pretty strongly towards AS, don't you think?"

Sometimes the professionals don't mind if you tell them upfront what you think you have.

I told them I had OCD (not think, had), and I had it. I told them I think I should get a tetanus needle after perforating my foot with a dirty rake, and they said yes, I need one. I told them I had bouts of a racing heart for no reason, this let them look in a certain area and it came up with AVNRT.

It can give them an idea, or a specific area to look.