"Autism diagnostic assessment referral"

Thank you for your detailed (and quick) response. Unfortunately, I tried to re-refer after the initial response, but this was denied. It was difficult to expand upon the questionnaire as my GP telephoned me to get the extra information while I was out shopping and in public, so I couldn't recall all of my difficulties/experiences off the top of my head, and I do not even know what my GP submitted as supporting information. Additionally, I could not get a word copy of the questionnaire to work as I do not have a Microsoft subscription.

I appreciate that many services are under strain, however, the letter I received was so blunt and dismissive. I think there needs to be better thought given to how communications are written, especially as it sounds like many people who may be on the spectrum will be dismissed due to an oversubscribed service.

I was told that my experience sounds more like social anxiety and adverse early experiences; I'm not sure how sensitivity to light, sound, temperature, and touch, repetitive behaviours, scripting conversations in my head repeatedly, audio processing difficulties, overwhelming emotions and meltdown, late/slow development as a child, clumsiness, difficulty with identity, taking things literally, strong sense of justice, difficulties with change, fall under these. I can appreciate that my other symptoms such as difficulty with eye contact, paralysing difficulty with making decisions, need for control might, but again, it just feels like I have been dismissed because I couldn't make the information fit the boxes/regurgitate all of this and more at a moments notice, and because I don't necessarily present with the male version of autism. I note that even my therapist stated that the system for autism diagnosis is very flawed.

I'm just really disheartened with how I was dismissed from a service that I thought would benefit me, without so much as a telephone consultation.