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?
Oh no, that was my perception in my words. If there was anything so explicitly hostile I would have taken a picture of that instead.
Some context for my reaction - it has a cover letter that mentioned the high demand on the service and 24+ month wait times. Health service provision here (the UK) is highly politicised (as it is everywhere), and services are always under pressure to cut their wait lists. The application pack came in separate sections for standardised assessment forms, and one for admin details like contact numbers and medical history. This question was in the admin section.
I appreciate your point of view though, and it’s a reasonable possibility. I’ll keep it in mind when I fill it out.