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?
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.
And it can be something used to discriminate against you. So, there is value in asking why you’re looking for an official diagnosis