Welcome FadetoBlack, I’m a Metallica fan too.
It’s hard to tell the context of the assessment from your post, or who’s idea it was, or your level of supports you need. So, I’ll just give a general idea of what to expect of an autism assessment for an adult.
Usually the professional doing the assessment will book a few hours face to face to do the actual assessment. This might be on one day or over multiple days. They will probably give you some forms to fill out and questionnaires to fill out beforehand. They will also likely ask to speak with someone who knew you as a kid, whether that’s a parent or sibling or other relations. It might seem weird to ask your mum when you are grown adult, but this is a standard process, even for an adult assessment. The assessor needs to get a good all-round sense of the history of your issues from different perspectives including the people who know you best.
The assessment itself will include an interview where you will be asked all sorts of questions including your educational and employment history, social relationships, hobbies and interests as well as questions specific to autism. Many of the questions won’t seem relevant to autism, but the assessor will want to understand your functioning in a wider perspective than just autism. Some questions might even seem a bit personal, eg about sexual orientation or personal hygiene.
Then the assessor may get you to do some tasks or activities, which might include doing a simple puzzle, reading a story book and acting out situations. Some of these activities may seem strange to ask an adult to do (like reading a children’s story book and playing with toys). However, because autism is a developmental condition, the tests used are designed to be used across the lifespan with different modules to accommodate different age groups and language capabilities whilst using common resources. Thus the children’s toys and books in an adult assessment.
Be prepared. It’s a good idea to create a checklist of all the things you want the assessor to know before attending the interview. Maybe ask others if you need help in keeping your list concise, and to make sure you list the most important things you want the assessor to know. A written checklist will also be useful if your mind blanks out or you are prone to lose your spoken language under stress. If your brain jams up, then you can just give the assessor a copy of the checklist. Its important to keep the checklist short, 3 pages tops. If it’s any longer that's TMI and the assessor probably won’t read it all if its too long.
A part of any comprehensive autism assessment for an adult should include questions about how you might “fake normal”. The newest (DSM-5) criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder acknowledges that autism symptoms may be “masked by learned strategies”. So if you are good at passing as NT the assessment isn't the time to use those skills. Not all assessors ask about masking and camouflaging, so it may be useful for you to tell the assessor how you try to blend in socially. This includes any strategies to modify your social behaviour to improve social connections with others. Eg, holding back your true thoughts and opinions, imitation or dressing and speaking like the group you are trying to blend in with, using a prepared script or social rules you use to guide you through conversations or simulating social expected eye contact.
That's most of it. Other members will probably have other things to add. I wish you well with your assessment, just be yourself and take your time and go with the flow (I know that's easier said than done!).
11 Apr 2020, 12:51 am
