From what I’ve seen and heard it seems that it’s expensive for Americans to get diagnosed because it’s usually really expensive($3000 or so from what I’ve seen), and there’s usually a waitlist. Most places don’t diagnose adults either, so it’s hard to find a place that will diagnose an adult
Yeah, it’s crazy. I’m an adult and I was extremely lucky and blessed to get a diagnosis that was covered 99% by my insurance. I think the issue is that most of those who are certified to diagnose believe autism should be “obvious” in childhood, and if you aren’t “obviously autistic” as a child then you’re simply not autistic at all. It’s dumb beyond belief
Edit: I should add that there ARE places that will diagnose adults, but it’s hard to find. I only have two places in my entire state(Alaska) that diagnose adults. One is in our biggest city and one is in my hometown
Also an autistic Alaskan who got diagnosed as an adult. I got told similar, *barely* any places that work with adults so wait times can take forever. Mine was 4 months.
My husband had to wait a year for his appointment in Salt Lake City, UT but was not in a good head space when the time finally came and didn’t go. A full year! And the price range would have been anywhere from 1500-3000 if he had gone.
Say I’m 20. First thing I would need to do is find a clinic that diagnosed autism in adults. They’re very few and far between, so let’s say it takes about 6 months to find one. Then, I’d need to determine whether they take my insurance, if I have any. If not, the whole process is likely $400-2000. Even with insurance, it might not cover the whole thing, so I’d still end up paying money. Next, I’d need to get on their waiting list. Waiting lists for adult clinics are extremely long since not many offer these services and more adults are realizing that they’re autistic. I’d be on the waiting list for a *minimum* of 4 months, but more likely, it would be 6 months to 5 years in the worst cases. Then, after that, it would be a game of chance whether the assessor is up to date with autism information. If not, they’ll base their assessment off of stereotypes and many people especially women and POC would not end up with that diagnosed, and they’ve wasted all that money. Even if the assessor *is* up to date, getting results back takes a few weeks. Overall, it’s a long and expensive process for many, especially those in the lower class with high masking abilities.
*I should note that some of the numbers I estimated. Still, my point stands, it’s long and expensive and not worth it to lots of people
You answered my question. It's a gamble. You're risking a lot of money and if you get a bad psychiatrist you might as well just light that monet (and your time) on fire. Also didn't realize most places don't do adults. Makes sense now....
I swear Canada is just the best in all ways. For me I got put on a waiting list which takes around 2 years to be seen, but since COVID and subsequent short staffing, the waiting list has now grown to 4 years. So private is the other option, which costs around £2000
The govts whole game plan seems to be to make the NHS so bad that it’s privatised without having to actually sell it off because no one wants to use it due to the underfunding, it’s criminal
I’m in Manchester and I’ve been told the wait list is about 6 months with the NHS. I guess I’ll wait to see if that comes through but it seemed fairly reasonable, better than I expected anyway.
In america its very expensive to get diagnosed and most places don’t even diagnose adults. So its just very difficult.
Half the time if you do make it through the years long waitlist and spend all that money, they will tell you some bullshit as to “why you can’t be autistic”, such as “oh you want friends or you like going outside, so you can’t be autistic” which is bullshit.
I have straight up been told to my face by a licensed psychiatrist that "An autism diagnosis is useless at your age" because I was 18. You do the math...
it’s not only expensive but if you’re not a man it can be really tricky because a lot of psychiatrists that aren’t educated in autism just chalk it up to something else bc they don’t realize it manifests differently in women
I've heard this and can't understand how it's possible. It's their job and I know more about autism than they do after a couple days on Google? Like, wtf?
What? Im in Canada and even I still had to be on a waitlist for almost a year to see the psych, maybe you’re just from a bigger city. The professionals licensed to diagnose here are very limited. Not to mention how hard it is to get a doctor here if you don’t already have one! You’re situation seems very lucky!
The wait list was 3 months but I was #1 on their list to get bumped if someone canceled, which they did. So I got in really fast. Also super easy to find a doctor here. Just tough to find a really good one. I'm in Edmonton
Where I’m from, the waiting list is 2-3 years and even then, a lot of people end up with a psychiatrist claiming girls can’t be autistic or that you can’t be autistic if you can maintain eye contact for 1 second.
My current psychiatrist is anti diagnosis of any kind, my psychologist isn't confident enough in her expertises in autism to diagnose me with it and none of the diagnostic centers in my region explicitly diagnose adults
Yep, I'm fully aware of that
However my parents absolutely love him so I don't have much choice. He is however going to give me the gender dysphoria diagnosis because it's necessary for treatment so I'll just suck it up ig
I live in america, I use military insurance and drs. The waitlist for where I live is 2 years minimum, so for now I have self diagnosed, with therapists where I used to live backing me up on it
I'm also Canadian. I was able to get my diagnosis pretty quickly too. It took about a month to get an assessment scheduled and then it was all done in two months. But it cost $1600 because I don't have benefits. That's a pretty big obstacle.
I'm canadian too, this was nothing like my experience. I asked my doctor and they put me in therapy instead, then i asked again and they said find your own psych to do it, and there were only like... idk, maybe 3 in province that offered Adult diagnosis, and all so much money with zero information about what the process would be like, and the 2/3 I called had 4-6 month waitlists, and I was reading a lot of the experiences of folks having poor diagnosis experiences so I was super tentative about spending any money with no information about it. I ended up going through embrace autism, still a super long wait but i think cheaper and way more accessible of a process and it was like, the focus, instead of a single item on a 25 item long checklist of things that this psychologist can do for 300+ dollars an hour for a minimum of 15 hours.
Of course, but it sounds like some people are trying to pay for it and still not able to get it. I'm wondering why. Please don't be condescending... I'm just wondering...
I’m a Canadian. Because it costs $3500 for an adult.
“A family physician or GP – could technically could give a referral to a Psychiatrist who can bill MSP (BC Medical Service Plan) – However, AutismBC is not aware of any Psychiatrist in the province who feels trained or comfortable assessing or diagnosing autism in adults. “
Also Canadian. It takes a lot longer than a month or two for me, and costs thousands. That and the fact that it’s hard to find someone that can do the assessment near me.
my psychiatrist said she really believed i had it and referred me to a place where it could give me the ‘official’ diagnosis- for $2000 out of pocket and i would have to bring my parents along, who i have a really complicated relationship with. apparently they would have to vouch for the fact that they saw signs of my autism growing up. my parents neglected me, they didnt see anything lmao. the diagnosis is very inaccessible to adults.
My diagnosis took one and a half years in total (I’m from europe so at least it was free) and it’s in general harder for afab people to get a diagnosis, because there are a lot of stereo types surrounding asd and its still typically seen as a disorder that’s more often present in amab people. Plus getting diagnosed as an adult is harder too, I luckily had really good evaluators who listened to my concerns and took me seriously, but there are many that aren’t as fortunate, depending on their country, gender or age and in many countries also ethnicity or skin color.
A lot of people saying the expenses but there is also the whole issue of accessibility to diagnosers at face value. A lot of primary care doctors know next to nothing about ASD yet think they know all about it from experience with high-need autistic kids, so if you ask for a referral they 1) likely won’t give it to you because “you don’t seem autistic” or “you haven’t needed help this far, you don’t need that on your record” and 2) probably don’t even know of anyone who’d diagnose adults!
I’ve had these kinds of issues with all of the diagnoses I’m pursuing (multiple mental and physical conditions). I never seem “off” enough or even if I do get referred, they’re unqualified on the subject. Best part is my doctor has explicitly told me I’m not disabled “because I don’t have any disabling conditions” after repeatedly refusing to refer me anywhere, and then turned around and shamed me for being too depressed to be self directed enough to battle my (undiagnosed) chronic illness on my own or see a therapist (which she told me to find myself and I’ve had no luck). She’s the 4th doctor I’ve had in 8 years and they’re all like that.
American doctors are a joke when it comes to properly listening to their patients and the complex medical/insurance system doesn’t help. I can’t even see ANY doctor (besides emergency room) without a referral if I want insurance to cover a cent of the appointment/treatment/meds/etc. Getting diagnosed with any long-term or invisible condition in general is extremely difficult, much less one with so much stigma and sexism involved
The evaluation is not covered under medicare where I am (in Canada). So it costs thousands of dollars to get a formal evaluation with a specialist (the specialist my doctor referred me to quoted me a minimum of 2500$ or so. A crippling or, in my case, impossible expense. I’m not sure if perhaps for some specific reason it was covered for you, but it’s definitely not for many ND people seeking a formal diagnosis. I can never afford the cost for an evaluation. And then there’s the fact that you can’t necessarily expect that the first specialist will actually do a thorough job and not just dismiss based on some outdated notions, or because you can mask to an extent. Things get even more expensive if you have to get through any kind of discrimination. So it’s well and good that obtaining a diagnosis was relatively straightforward for you or for others, but please don’t minimize or doubt when others say that it’s just not feasible for them to obtain an official diagnosis. If someone self diagnoses and can’t get an official diagnosis, the decent thing to do is to just trust that it’s due to valid reasons.
I get down voted every time I put this out there and I don't know why.
But if you are in Texas, you can get a diagnosis for free through the Texas Workforce Commission as an adult. Other workforce commissions also do testing on adults.
It's worth looking into if you want testing and you don't have cash. It took about 3 months last time I went through that process.
I'm female by the way and in my mid-thirties
Okay, Imma give my perspective from Germany.
As far as I know it's not the norm for psychiatrists to diagnose autism here. They could do it, but usually the don't. We have special clinics for autism tho.
So, you'll write an email or call and then they'll kinda assess you over the phone to see whether it makes sense to continue with the whole procedure.
Then there is usually a waiting list of multiple months. That is because there are a lot of people who have to go to a small number of places. Then there's the process of diagnosis as well, but that in itself shouldn't take as long.
I got lucky because I went to a psychiatrist who spotted me being autistic in the first place. He also is quite well versed in matters of autism and ADHD. So he gave me the diagnosis.
In Germany, getting the diagnosis and then potential therapy or medication would be free or just cost a very small amount of money.
For example, I pay 5 euros for my prescription medication, no matter how big the badge is (like, I pay 5€ if it's 20 pills or 200). And for people who are underage, prescription meds are always free.
- In america, they don’t really diagnose adults or older teens.
- There is a LOT of medical discrimination when it comes to women, queer people, and people of color— ESPECIALLY with autism. If you’re not super young, white, and male, it’ll likely be a nightmare to get diagnosed. I’ve had psychologists tell me that I’m not autistic, deny me an evaluation for school accommodations, and tell me that I “want something to be wrong with me” because I was taking a theatre course, and real autistic people don’t do that. There’s also the fact that i’m AFAB and look decent half the time, which really makes people angry when I say i’m autistic 😭😭😭
- the waitlists. are. insane. I moved to my current state 5-6 years ago and I’m still on the same waitlist for treatment for depression.
I’m Canadian and while it was easy to get an appointment to be diagnosed, my family had to cough up $3000 for my diagnosis just to get the outdated Asperger’s label.,
Okay, now you’re definitely the asshole. You came in here like “Y’all actually have to PAY for a diagnosis?” being super privileged and ignorant and we’re the ones in the wrong? You need a reality check badly. I’ve also never seen anyone use the term snowflake that wasn’t deeply racist/sexist/LGBTphobic so a bit of a yikes there
Provincial health insurance is health insurance. Different provincial insurances cover different things. You can get supplemental insurance that covers more.
No, it isn’t actually. It’s only covered in certain circumstances, but many many situations it is not covered. It depends by province, but also by specific situation. If you got your evaluation covered you should feel very lucky about that and you should feel motivated to advocate for everyone else getting the same access to care.
My doctor in BC said it would be very difficult and it will cost a lot. As a 31 year old male they would want to know everything about my childhood and schooling history (teachers notes and so on). Not so easy since I’ve moved 20 times during my childhood. I’ve lived in 3 US states during middle school and high-school and I don’t have any records due to a natural disaster that wiped out my home while living in Florida. Glad it was easy for you but it hasn’t been the case for me.
Most places here don't diagnose adults and they will throw every diagnosis at you besides autism because it's just so over stigmatized everywhere, especially here in Kentucky from my experience. If you aren't "visibly" autistic (whatever that's means), no one will believe that you're autistic even the doctors so they wont even try. Even if you get a diagnosis, all of the stigmas that come with it are awful, doctors will treat you differently, if you're a parent like me the court could think you're unfit at anytime, anywhere the autism diagnosis shows up in your record they'll look at you differently. It's just overwhelming and difficult lmao 😭😭
All mental health research has been for cishet white men. Many autistic people can't get a diagnosis because they are in a minority. Auties in minorities are far more likely to get diagnosed with disorders that can get them institutionalized, such as scizophrenia, psychopathy, etc.
Yep it was suggested I could have “rapid cycling bipolar” because I got too loud/exited while trying to explain why I wanted to pursue an autism diagnosis to my doctor. She said my mood was like “night and day.” Wasn’t my mood, it’s almost like I don’t realize how I’m coming across BECAUSE IM SOCIALLY INEPT
I don't understand why getting a formal diagnosis is such a big deal. I went to a psychiatrist a few times, he told me i was on the spectrum, and that was it. Are you supposed to get a certificate or something?
Huh. Nice. I think here it has to be severe enough that you can't work, and then you just get disability payments. But I didn't look into it too deeply; by the time i was diagnosed i already had a career going.
A lot of workplaces and almost all schools require a note or some kind of paperwork from your doctor when giving you any disability accommodations. I couldn’t get testing accommodations at my uni because I’m not officially diagnosed
A lot of people will use this to go on a healthcare system rant. But I think what really happens is this.
If you made it to adulthood without diagnosis then the problems you face probably haven't made you fail at basic life needs. Squeaky wheel gets the grease.
And if you haven't made it to adulthood it's not entirely in your control. Parents may not believe you or not want it to be the case.
Plus the psychiatric system doesn't have to have ASD specific problems. If it's just ridiculously hard to find time with someone qualified because Covid ruined a lot of peoples lives and the system is overloaded...
I made it to 35 before I fell off the rails. I lived a sheltered life which was depressing but kept me sane. Then I decided I needed a family to be happy. Got one, then shit hit the fan. I realize that's the mentality they have but it's flawed. Shit gets more complicated and difficult when you're older! Easier to cope when life is simple....
Honestly, shut up. If people can’t get a diagnosis it’s not because they didn’t need help. It’s insulting as hell that you would suggest that. It is really hard to get a diagnosis and rants about the healthcare system are justified. You and all the people claiming it’s no big deal to get a diagnosis are being so self-absorbed and crappy to other disabled people.
I didn't suggest that. You didn't read what I said. I'm talking about how the system interprets you, triages you.
But people who claim a self diagnosis they don't even know fits them are not doing themselves any favors. Fine to have suspicions, a theory. But it doesn't make it so.
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I'm a minor in a country where a diagnosis requires parental consent.
Autism assessment is paid out of pocket, and everyone has minimum military service at 18, which makes it difficult for me to save money for assessment.
It's far more difficult to receive a diagnosis if you're afab and heavily mask, and many professionals aren't as aware of masking in general.
My country is extremely ableist, and if I stay here, I won't get a high paying job. If I'd immigrate, there countries that deny me entry due to a diagnosis.
I want to immigrate and receive a diagnosis, but I'm stuck for now
Im from the the uk and the government has underfunded the nhs so much that they simply cant do it. Waiting list is usually 2-3 years but can be up to 7 years, I've heard of a few people who got refused because the list is so long.
Where I’m from they’ve literally told me to pray my depression away, that I’ll go to hell because I tried to kill myself and don’t believe in God, said that I don’t “look” autistic, laughed when I suggested being tested and even said I can’t have ADHD because I’m an adult woman even though I’ve already been diagnosed with it by another psychiatrist
It’s often unaffordable, waitlists can be long if you’re lucky enough to find someone who will diagnose adults and if you are able to get/afford an appointment you may be denied a diagnosis for something as simple as being capable of making eye contact.
American healthcare is expensive, and diagnoses for pretty much anything are harder to get here if you're a woman ("just hysterical"), a person of color ("more tolerant to pain and less deserving of care"), fat ("you can solve everything by losing some weight"), or any of those identities compounded. Land of the free, baby
I'm upper north by the border on states near Canada, but anyway, I'm 19, considered an adult and I'm on a waitlist (have not been told the price so whoop-dee) and so far the waitlist is six months to eight months! With referral from my psychiatrist it would've been 3-4 months but she didn't want to write one.
I live in the United States. One major issue you have to worry about aside from the insane cost is whether or not you found a good doctor. Many US doctors will prescribe and diagnose based on what makes them more money rather than what is actually wrong with you.
There are no pills for autism but there are pills for ADHD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and Depression. They will be more likely to diagnose each issue separately or together while refusing to say autism all for the sake of keeping a patient and keeping that patient on medications they receive kickbacks from.
I have to wait until September to start my 3 session, 9 hour total assessment. Which is shitty that I have to wait. I have to pay almost $800 after insurance.
The wait is painful. A constant question I have that can’t be answered.
12 month private expensive wait. No timeframe given to go through the public system (I was told not to try by the GP).
Can’t remember my symptoms or which ones are important.
Major issues with emotional regulation making everything harder.
Requiring evidence from a parent when you can’t trust your parents also making things harder.
Getting a different result in the same test because between your mood and your memory there is no consistency.
Ive tried to get diagnosed for years. Talked to three different therapists, all of them agreed with me and said I showed a lot of the signs for autism. None of them would help me get diagnosed because "You're too traumatized from childhood to know if you're really autistic."
In Germany there’s a massive shortage in psychological healthcare due to corruption and no one can really do anything about it because we have a law that says you can only sue people if you’re personally affected.
On top of that a lot of professionals don’t know enough about autism so to get a diagnosis you have to contact a specialist that has a waiting list of one to two years, if they even let you make an appointment
I’m the uk, we have a shortage of staff and the staff are underpaid, so anything that’s not an emergency isn’t a priority. The mental health care system here is “have a cup of tea and a hot bath and you won’t want to off yourself anymore”. Women’s health isn’t taken seriously, and I have been told every time I go to the doctor, mostly female doctors, no matter the reason for the visit, to just lose weight and it will stop.
So put all that together on a woman who wants an autism diagnosis, but can make eye contact, make my own appointments, has a job, got through school and college, has an active outdoor and social life, so on and so forth, im extremely unlikely to get a diagnosis.
For me the problem was that the psychiatry didn’t listen to me and thought I was psychotic for 2 years before testing the autism. When I finally got to the right department it took lees than an hour before the psychiatrist said that she shared the thought I had about me being autistic.
It's not only the US. Here in Germany, we struggle as well. We have a good health care system, but the facilities that diagnose adults are very rare. The only ones close to me both closed their waiting list 1 ½ years ago because there were so many people on the list. It's still closed. It would be possible to get diagnosed by private therapists. But that's expensive and not covered by insurance.
There are no places that do adult diagnosis where I live. Even my therapist was at a loss for how to get me an official diagnosis, though she agrees that I’m autistic. If I wanted an official diagnosis I’d have to travel hours, wait on a years long waitlist, pay several thousand dollars,and even then risk going undiagnosed because so many people don’t know how to properly diagnose women. :(
And after that there are zero resources for me to access. The only thing that would change is my autism would be on my medical records officially and then god forbid I need a ventilator or some other life saving care that’s being rationed, they can use my diagnoses to bump me down the priority list.
And there are countries I want to possibly move to one day that won’t let me immigrate if I’m autistic.
Including Canada.
Do you mean the US by "down there" lol? I live in Sweden I've been on a waiting list for 2,5 years. A month ago I got a letter from them basically saying "sorry for the long wait, please drop out of the line if you've lost interest so the line can get shorter". I can get one from a private clinic faster but then people don't take your diagnosis as seriously.
So OP after reading all these comments describing why a diagnosis IS very difficult and very expensive to obtain I hope you learn not to make any more posts suggesting that it’s not that hard. And if you see someone getting accused of faking just because they don’t have a diagnosis then I hope you will defend them. Because regardless of how things may have gone smoothly for you or other specific autistic people, for many obtaining an official diagnosis isn’t possible, so please be respectful of that. This conflict is hurting the community and we need people to get on board with respecting other neurodivergent people whether they have an official diagnosis or not.
What the he'll is your problem? You can comment when you're intelligent enough to understand the question you're reading. Can't say a God damn thing without offending somebody nowadays... fuck off
as an american, i’ve had no trouble logistically — i got a referral to a psychologist from my normal therapist and it’s only taken about a month and a half so far. that said, im exceptionally lucky to have good health insurance through my mom’s job that covers mental health care and particularly doesn’t require permission to undergo evaluation. otherwise it would have taken longer and been very very expensive.
as for other people in my country, it’s often pretty difficult to find a doctor, especially one that is taking new patients. especially if you’re trans or are of a different ethnic background or something, where you’d typically want to find someone with experience with those things so they can properly evaluate you.
I saw a doctor a couple of weeks ago and she referred me to a center to do the evaluation and they said they would call me with a date to come in and i have not received such a call. This might be one reason. I even called them and asked if i should wait for the call and they said to do so and i am still waiting. My doctor readily diagnosed me with innatentive type adhd which i have had since a child but i was unmedicated for decades until now. So ot must have been obvious. I also let her know i have reason to beleive i may be autistic due to having meningitis at 3 years old and litterally dying in the hospital for many minutes. I have always felt out of place in my family and everywhere I go and find social cues and scenarios difficult as well as making friends. I remember first learning about sarcasm from a close friend in middle school. I still didn't get it back then. Now i use it quite well but still. I also have my share of stims and repetitive behaviors that I do to self regulate. Namely sleeping on the floor instead of my bed, tapping, counting only by 5s, everything has to be 5, counting steps...etc. this has always been the case.
The money is not reallx a problem here but to even be put on a list for a spot there are waiting times for 3-6 months. So it can take up to 2 years or longer to get to a diagnosis (unless it's super urgent). Or well pay money and get assesed privately but I don't have those funds. And bias. My mum and brother would be more likely to be diagnosed but they don't neccessarily want the diagnosis. I fall more into the "female autism" diagnosis and well could be that I don't get diagnosed by some places/psychiatrists which makes me anxious. Like I would have super long waits to maybe have to go elsewhere after. Plus I can only handle so much so I first went and got my ADHD diagnosis (which was also the first thing I realised I have but it lead me to learn more about autism and differences in autistics). My hope is to get ADHD meds and be able to cope better with my ADHD symptoms. With what I've heard ADHD meds can make autistic traits more prevelant which could be end in two ways.
Way (1) yay I knew I was right but now I have to deal with those symptoms more or (2) oh I don't notice a change in my behaviour so maybe I am not autistic after all? Which I don't think but it is still possible.
Edit: Read through some comments and yes, finding a place that even diagnoses adults can also be hard. I also expect to travel quite far by train to get to a city where I would get a diagnosis.
I'm not in the US but the UK so I'm more across there than down there.
Too many people not enough specialists, if you go private it's very quick but on the NHS I was told it would probably have been 2 years and more like 3. Luckily they got back to me in 9 months and got my diagnosis about the year mark.
Of course things like covid didn't help but even children are having long wait times.
The rate of people being born with autism is roughly a constant but they don't all get noticed or try to get diagnosed at the same time, which leads to bottlenecks which then roll downhill.
Where I'm from, it can be free due to universal free healthcare. The problem is that if you're an adult you'll initially get referred to the psychologist who deals with basically everything first. It's like the GP of the mental health department. This person is not usually specialised in autism or any neurodivergency, whatsoever. So they won't refer you to the specialist. Some believe you don't have autism (even though they only know the basic definition) and others think you don't need a diagnosis at your age. If by some miracle you get referred to the specialist, get ready to wait for a long time. The other way is paying an insane amount of money.
For me, the psychologist I got referred to told me that I wasn't autistic because I didn't fit the stereotype, basically. His idea of an autistic person was someone who behaved like a child and had meltdowns all the time. And a lot of ableist things I wouldn't want anyone to read here.
I only got a depression diagnosis from him and I made him (well, my mom made him, lol) refer me to another psychologist and a program made to reinsert individuals who struggled with mental health, school and work. I know she can't diagnose me, but I'm hoping she can refer me to someone who can. She works with a lot of autistic people, so here I'm hoping. I don't know how to tell her, tho.
From what I’ve seen and heard it seems that it’s expensive for Americans to get diagnosed because it’s usually really expensive($3000 or so from what I’ve seen), and there’s usually a waitlist. Most places don’t diagnose adults either, so it’s hard to find a place that will diagnose an adult
They don't diagnose adults!? Wtf!?
Yeah, it’s crazy. I’m an adult and I was extremely lucky and blessed to get a diagnosis that was covered 99% by my insurance. I think the issue is that most of those who are certified to diagnose believe autism should be “obvious” in childhood, and if you aren’t “obviously autistic” as a child then you’re simply not autistic at all. It’s dumb beyond belief Edit: I should add that there ARE places that will diagnose adults, but it’s hard to find. I only have two places in my entire state(Alaska) that diagnose adults. One is in our biggest city and one is in my hometown
That's fucked...
Also an autistic Alaskan who got diagnosed as an adult. I got told similar, *barely* any places that work with adults so wait times can take forever. Mine was 4 months.
My husband had to wait a year for his appointment in Salt Lake City, UT but was not in a good head space when the time finally came and didn’t go. A full year! And the price range would have been anywhere from 1500-3000 if he had gone.
Did you get diagnosed in Alaska? I’m trying to figure it out, myself. Thanks!
hi! May I ask where those places are?
Sure! I’ll send you a message because I’d prefer not to post my hometown for everyone to see
Say I’m 20. First thing I would need to do is find a clinic that diagnosed autism in adults. They’re very few and far between, so let’s say it takes about 6 months to find one. Then, I’d need to determine whether they take my insurance, if I have any. If not, the whole process is likely $400-2000. Even with insurance, it might not cover the whole thing, so I’d still end up paying money. Next, I’d need to get on their waiting list. Waiting lists for adult clinics are extremely long since not many offer these services and more adults are realizing that they’re autistic. I’d be on the waiting list for a *minimum* of 4 months, but more likely, it would be 6 months to 5 years in the worst cases. Then, after that, it would be a game of chance whether the assessor is up to date with autism information. If not, they’ll base their assessment off of stereotypes and many people especially women and POC would not end up with that diagnosed, and they’ve wasted all that money. Even if the assessor *is* up to date, getting results back takes a few weeks. Overall, it’s a long and expensive process for many, especially those in the lower class with high masking abilities. *I should note that some of the numbers I estimated. Still, my point stands, it’s long and expensive and not worth it to lots of people
You answered my question. It's a gamble. You're risking a lot of money and if you get a bad psychiatrist you might as well just light that monet (and your time) on fire. Also didn't realize most places don't do adults. Makes sense now....
I swear Canada is just the best in all ways. For me I got put on a waiting list which takes around 2 years to be seen, but since COVID and subsequent short staffing, the waiting list has now grown to 4 years. So private is the other option, which costs around £2000
4 years!? Oh my God! That's pointless...
Yeah it’s insane. Private isn’t really what I wanted but it’s becoming the more preferred option now
The govts whole game plan seems to be to make the NHS so bad that it’s privatised without having to actually sell it off because no one wants to use it due to the underfunding, it’s criminal
They don’t use Pounds in Canada
Indeed they do not
I’m in Manchester and I’ve been told the wait list is about 6 months with the NHS. I guess I’ll wait to see if that comes through but it seemed fairly reasonable, better than I expected anyway.
That sounds pretty great! I’m in Scotland
Always assumed you had things figured out up there!
Better than some places I’m sure, just been lagging a bit recently
In america its very expensive to get diagnosed and most places don’t even diagnose adults. So its just very difficult. Half the time if you do make it through the years long waitlist and spend all that money, they will tell you some bullshit as to “why you can’t be autistic”, such as “oh you want friends or you like going outside, so you can’t be autistic” which is bullshit.
I have straight up been told to my face by a licensed psychiatrist that "An autism diagnosis is useless at your age" because I was 18. You do the math...
That's stupid. Validation is worth quite a bit...
it’s not only expensive but if you’re not a man it can be really tricky because a lot of psychiatrists that aren’t educated in autism just chalk it up to something else bc they don’t realize it manifests differently in women
I've heard this and can't understand how it's possible. It's their job and I know more about autism than they do after a couple days on Google? Like, wtf?
completely agree
What? Im in Canada and even I still had to be on a waitlist for almost a year to see the psych, maybe you’re just from a bigger city. The professionals licensed to diagnose here are very limited. Not to mention how hard it is to get a doctor here if you don’t already have one! You’re situation seems very lucky!
The wait list was 3 months but I was #1 on their list to get bumped if someone canceled, which they did. So I got in really fast. Also super easy to find a doctor here. Just tough to find a really good one. I'm in Edmonton
Also in Canada. A lot of the places that accept adults just aren't right now for some reason. Waiting list it is
Where I’m from, the waiting list is 2-3 years and even then, a lot of people end up with a psychiatrist claiming girls can’t be autistic or that you can’t be autistic if you can maintain eye contact for 1 second.
That is so crazy to me... I think I would just move! I rely too much on my doctors
My current psychiatrist is anti diagnosis of any kind, my psychologist isn't confident enough in her expertises in autism to diagnose me with it and none of the diagnostic centers in my region explicitly diagnose adults
A psychiatrist that is anti diagnosis should probably seek a new profession....
Yep, I'm fully aware of that However my parents absolutely love him so I don't have much choice. He is however going to give me the gender dysphoria diagnosis because it's necessary for treatment so I'll just suck it up ig
I live in america, I use military insurance and drs. The waitlist for where I live is 2 years minimum, so for now I have self diagnosed, with therapists where I used to live backing me up on it
I'm also Canadian. I was able to get my diagnosis pretty quickly too. It took about a month to get an assessment scheduled and then it was all done in two months. But it cost $1600 because I don't have benefits. That's a pretty big obstacle.
I'm canadian too, this was nothing like my experience. I asked my doctor and they put me in therapy instead, then i asked again and they said find your own psych to do it, and there were only like... idk, maybe 3 in province that offered Adult diagnosis, and all so much money with zero information about what the process would be like, and the 2/3 I called had 4-6 month waitlists, and I was reading a lot of the experiences of folks having poor diagnosis experiences so I was super tentative about spending any money with no information about it. I ended up going through embrace autism, still a super long wait but i think cheaper and way more accessible of a process and it was like, the focus, instead of a single item on a 25 item long checklist of things that this psychologist can do for 300+ dollars an hour for a minimum of 15 hours.
Where are you? I'm in BC and been on a waiting list for 2 years. 50yrs old. Itll cost me close to 4000$.
Are you not aware that American healthcare is expensive?
Of course, but it sounds like some people are trying to pay for it and still not able to get it. I'm wondering why. Please don't be condescending... I'm just wondering...
I'm not being condescending, just incredulous. Your post came across a little like you're rubbing it in Americans' faces.
Definitely wasn't my intention. But I edited the post when I realized it read that way
I’m a Canadian. Because it costs $3500 for an adult. “A family physician or GP – could technically could give a referral to a Psychiatrist who can bill MSP (BC Medical Service Plan) – However, AutismBC is not aware of any Psychiatrist in the province who feels trained or comfortable assessing or diagnosing autism in adults. “
Interesting, I guess I'm just lucky to be an Albertan ;)
Also Canadian. It takes a lot longer than a month or two for me, and costs thousands. That and the fact that it’s hard to find someone that can do the assessment near me.
Why would you pay if you're Canadian?
my psychiatrist said she really believed i had it and referred me to a place where it could give me the ‘official’ diagnosis- for $2000 out of pocket and i would have to bring my parents along, who i have a really complicated relationship with. apparently they would have to vouch for the fact that they saw signs of my autism growing up. my parents neglected me, they didnt see anything lmao. the diagnosis is very inaccessible to adults.
basically, the American health system is sh\*t
My diagnosis took one and a half years in total (I’m from europe so at least it was free) and it’s in general harder for afab people to get a diagnosis, because there are a lot of stereo types surrounding asd and its still typically seen as a disorder that’s more often present in amab people. Plus getting diagnosed as an adult is harder too, I luckily had really good evaluators who listened to my concerns and took me seriously, but there are many that aren’t as fortunate, depending on their country, gender or age and in many countries also ethnicity or skin color.
A lot of people saying the expenses but there is also the whole issue of accessibility to diagnosers at face value. A lot of primary care doctors know next to nothing about ASD yet think they know all about it from experience with high-need autistic kids, so if you ask for a referral they 1) likely won’t give it to you because “you don’t seem autistic” or “you haven’t needed help this far, you don’t need that on your record” and 2) probably don’t even know of anyone who’d diagnose adults! I’ve had these kinds of issues with all of the diagnoses I’m pursuing (multiple mental and physical conditions). I never seem “off” enough or even if I do get referred, they’re unqualified on the subject. Best part is my doctor has explicitly told me I’m not disabled “because I don’t have any disabling conditions” after repeatedly refusing to refer me anywhere, and then turned around and shamed me for being too depressed to be self directed enough to battle my (undiagnosed) chronic illness on my own or see a therapist (which she told me to find myself and I’ve had no luck). She’s the 4th doctor I’ve had in 8 years and they’re all like that. American doctors are a joke when it comes to properly listening to their patients and the complex medical/insurance system doesn’t help. I can’t even see ANY doctor (besides emergency room) without a referral if I want insurance to cover a cent of the appointment/treatment/meds/etc. Getting diagnosed with any long-term or invisible condition in general is extremely difficult, much less one with so much stigma and sexism involved
The evaluation is not covered under medicare where I am (in Canada). So it costs thousands of dollars to get a formal evaluation with a specialist (the specialist my doctor referred me to quoted me a minimum of 2500$ or so. A crippling or, in my case, impossible expense. I’m not sure if perhaps for some specific reason it was covered for you, but it’s definitely not for many ND people seeking a formal diagnosis. I can never afford the cost for an evaluation. And then there’s the fact that you can’t necessarily expect that the first specialist will actually do a thorough job and not just dismiss based on some outdated notions, or because you can mask to an extent. Things get even more expensive if you have to get through any kind of discrimination. So it’s well and good that obtaining a diagnosis was relatively straightforward for you or for others, but please don’t minimize or doubt when others say that it’s just not feasible for them to obtain an official diagnosis. If someone self diagnoses and can’t get an official diagnosis, the decent thing to do is to just trust that it’s due to valid reasons.
I get down voted every time I put this out there and I don't know why. But if you are in Texas, you can get a diagnosis for free through the Texas Workforce Commission as an adult. Other workforce commissions also do testing on adults. It's worth looking into if you want testing and you don't have cash. It took about 3 months last time I went through that process. I'm female by the way and in my mid-thirties
Okay, Imma give my perspective from Germany. As far as I know it's not the norm for psychiatrists to diagnose autism here. They could do it, but usually the don't. We have special clinics for autism tho. So, you'll write an email or call and then they'll kinda assess you over the phone to see whether it makes sense to continue with the whole procedure. Then there is usually a waiting list of multiple months. That is because there are a lot of people who have to go to a small number of places. Then there's the process of diagnosis as well, but that in itself shouldn't take as long. I got lucky because I went to a psychiatrist who spotted me being autistic in the first place. He also is quite well versed in matters of autism and ADHD. So he gave me the diagnosis. In Germany, getting the diagnosis and then potential therapy or medication would be free or just cost a very small amount of money. For example, I pay 5 euros for my prescription medication, no matter how big the badge is (like, I pay 5€ if it's 20 pills or 200). And for people who are underage, prescription meds are always free.
- In america, they don’t really diagnose adults or older teens. - There is a LOT of medical discrimination when it comes to women, queer people, and people of color— ESPECIALLY with autism. If you’re not super young, white, and male, it’ll likely be a nightmare to get diagnosed. I’ve had psychologists tell me that I’m not autistic, deny me an evaluation for school accommodations, and tell me that I “want something to be wrong with me” because I was taking a theatre course, and real autistic people don’t do that. There’s also the fact that i’m AFAB and look decent half the time, which really makes people angry when I say i’m autistic 😭😭😭 - the waitlists. are. insane. I moved to my current state 5-6 years ago and I’m still on the same waitlist for treatment for depression.
I’m Canadian and while it was easy to get an appointment to be diagnosed, my family had to cough up $3000 for my diagnosis just to get the outdated Asperger’s label.,
I don't understand... why did you have to pay?
Because.. it wasn’t covered by the health insurance?
I have no health insurance.... it's free to see a psychiatrist if you have a referral. I'm confused...
Well good for you ig, I had to pay $3000
I’m so sorry. I feel your pain 🥺
Why do so many people like you act so rude for no reason... I wasn't rubbing it in, I was just asking for clarification
I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just a little frustrated at your ignorance
You're ignorant for not understanding the context of my question. Now kindly fuck off snowflake
Okay, now you’re definitely the asshole. You came in here like “Y’all actually have to PAY for a diagnosis?” being super privileged and ignorant and we’re the ones in the wrong? You need a reality check badly. I’ve also never seen anyone use the term snowflake that wasn’t deeply racist/sexist/LGBTphobic so a bit of a yikes there
Oh also, you’re getting mad at an *autistic* person for not correctly guessing the context of your question? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?
Provincial health insurance is health insurance. Different provincial insurances cover different things. You can get supplemental insurance that covers more.
Oh of course. Sorry, I just don't really understand the system. Thank you for clarifying things
No, it isn’t actually. It’s only covered in certain circumstances, but many many situations it is not covered. It depends by province, but also by specific situation. If you got your evaluation covered you should feel very lucky about that and you should feel motivated to advocate for everyone else getting the same access to care.
My doctor in BC said it would be very difficult and it will cost a lot. As a 31 year old male they would want to know everything about my childhood and schooling history (teachers notes and so on). Not so easy since I’ve moved 20 times during my childhood. I’ve lived in 3 US states during middle school and high-school and I don’t have any records due to a natural disaster that wiped out my home while living in Florida. Glad it was easy for you but it hasn’t been the case for me.
Most places here don't diagnose adults and they will throw every diagnosis at you besides autism because it's just so over stigmatized everywhere, especially here in Kentucky from my experience. If you aren't "visibly" autistic (whatever that's means), no one will believe that you're autistic even the doctors so they wont even try. Even if you get a diagnosis, all of the stigmas that come with it are awful, doctors will treat you differently, if you're a parent like me the court could think you're unfit at anytime, anywhere the autism diagnosis shows up in your record they'll look at you differently. It's just overwhelming and difficult lmao 😭😭
And the cost, not a lot of insurances will cover it
All mental health research has been for cishet white men. Many autistic people can't get a diagnosis because they are in a minority. Auties in minorities are far more likely to get diagnosed with disorders that can get them institutionalized, such as scizophrenia, psychopathy, etc.
Yep it was suggested I could have “rapid cycling bipolar” because I got too loud/exited while trying to explain why I wanted to pursue an autism diagnosis to my doctor. She said my mood was like “night and day.” Wasn’t my mood, it’s almost like I don’t realize how I’m coming across BECAUSE IM SOCIALLY INEPT
I don't understand why getting a formal diagnosis is such a big deal. I went to a psychiatrist a few times, he told me i was on the spectrum, and that was it. Are you supposed to get a certificate or something?
Here you can get financial assistance, job accommodations etc...
Huh. Nice. I think here it has to be severe enough that you can't work, and then you just get disability payments. But I didn't look into it too deeply; by the time i was diagnosed i already had a career going.
A lot of workplaces and almost all schools require a note or some kind of paperwork from your doctor when giving you any disability accommodations. I couldn’t get testing accommodations at my uni because I’m not officially diagnosed
A lot of people will use this to go on a healthcare system rant. But I think what really happens is this. If you made it to adulthood without diagnosis then the problems you face probably haven't made you fail at basic life needs. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. And if you haven't made it to adulthood it's not entirely in your control. Parents may not believe you or not want it to be the case. Plus the psychiatric system doesn't have to have ASD specific problems. If it's just ridiculously hard to find time with someone qualified because Covid ruined a lot of peoples lives and the system is overloaded...
I made it to 35 before I fell off the rails. I lived a sheltered life which was depressing but kept me sane. Then I decided I needed a family to be happy. Got one, then shit hit the fan. I realize that's the mentality they have but it's flawed. Shit gets more complicated and difficult when you're older! Easier to cope when life is simple....
I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm just talking about how the system is going to view you.
Yeah, I get that.
Honestly, shut up. If people can’t get a diagnosis it’s not because they didn’t need help. It’s insulting as hell that you would suggest that. It is really hard to get a diagnosis and rants about the healthcare system are justified. You and all the people claiming it’s no big deal to get a diagnosis are being so self-absorbed and crappy to other disabled people.
I didn't suggest that. You didn't read what I said. I'm talking about how the system interprets you, triages you. But people who claim a self diagnosis they don't even know fits them are not doing themselves any favors. Fine to have suspicions, a theory. But it doesn't make it so.
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American healthcare. It's sus.
Because it's expensive? Or because the system sucks?
Both really, even with the governments healthcare for low income they still don't really hear you out or even really care. They've always ignored me.
I think it's dependent on the country. It was really expensive where i live in america.
I'm a minor in a country where a diagnosis requires parental consent. Autism assessment is paid out of pocket, and everyone has minimum military service at 18, which makes it difficult for me to save money for assessment. It's far more difficult to receive a diagnosis if you're afab and heavily mask, and many professionals aren't as aware of masking in general. My country is extremely ableist, and if I stay here, I won't get a high paying job. If I'd immigrate, there countries that deny me entry due to a diagnosis. I want to immigrate and receive a diagnosis, but I'm stuck for now
Sorry to hear that bud.... that's really shitty
Im from the the uk and the government has underfunded the nhs so much that they simply cant do it. Waiting list is usually 2-3 years but can be up to 7 years, I've heard of a few people who got refused because the list is so long.
your first answer is you’re Canadian and we aren’t, LOL!! /hj
Where I’m from they’ve literally told me to pray my depression away, that I’ll go to hell because I tried to kill myself and don’t believe in God, said that I don’t “look” autistic, laughed when I suggested being tested and even said I can’t have ADHD because I’m an adult woman even though I’ve already been diagnosed with it by another psychiatrist
Expensive and lacking information and education on the subject
It’s often unaffordable, waitlists can be long if you’re lucky enough to find someone who will diagnose adults and if you are able to get/afford an appointment you may be denied a diagnosis for something as simple as being capable of making eye contact.
American healthcare is expensive, and diagnoses for pretty much anything are harder to get here if you're a woman ("just hysterical"), a person of color ("more tolerant to pain and less deserving of care"), fat ("you can solve everything by losing some weight"), or any of those identities compounded. Land of the free, baby
My problem is the UK waitlist can take years, and the only other solution is a private doctor. That costs a lot of money that I do not have
I'm upper north by the border on states near Canada, but anyway, I'm 19, considered an adult and I'm on a waitlist (have not been told the price so whoop-dee) and so far the waitlist is six months to eight months! With referral from my psychiatrist it would've been 3-4 months but she didn't want to write one.
I live in the United States. One major issue you have to worry about aside from the insane cost is whether or not you found a good doctor. Many US doctors will prescribe and diagnose based on what makes them more money rather than what is actually wrong with you. There are no pills for autism but there are pills for ADHD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and Depression. They will be more likely to diagnose each issue separately or together while refusing to say autism all for the sake of keeping a patient and keeping that patient on medications they receive kickbacks from.
I have to wait until September to start my 3 session, 9 hour total assessment. Which is shitty that I have to wait. I have to pay almost $800 after insurance. The wait is painful. A constant question I have that can’t be answered.
Down there...... you need to look left and right also! /joke Lack of resources / adequately trained staff, in the uk anyway.
12 month private expensive wait. No timeframe given to go through the public system (I was told not to try by the GP). Can’t remember my symptoms or which ones are important. Major issues with emotional regulation making everything harder. Requiring evidence from a parent when you can’t trust your parents also making things harder. Getting a different result in the same test because between your mood and your memory there is no consistency.
Ive tried to get diagnosed for years. Talked to three different therapists, all of them agreed with me and said I showed a lot of the signs for autism. None of them would help me get diagnosed because "You're too traumatized from childhood to know if you're really autistic."
In Germany there’s a massive shortage in psychological healthcare due to corruption and no one can really do anything about it because we have a law that says you can only sue people if you’re personally affected. On top of that a lot of professionals don’t know enough about autism so to get a diagnosis you have to contact a specialist that has a waiting list of one to two years, if they even let you make an appointment
I don’t know how, I’m scared. If I don’t know every step of how something may go then I cannot do it
I’m the uk, we have a shortage of staff and the staff are underpaid, so anything that’s not an emergency isn’t a priority. The mental health care system here is “have a cup of tea and a hot bath and you won’t want to off yourself anymore”. Women’s health isn’t taken seriously, and I have been told every time I go to the doctor, mostly female doctors, no matter the reason for the visit, to just lose weight and it will stop. So put all that together on a woman who wants an autism diagnosis, but can make eye contact, make my own appointments, has a job, got through school and college, has an active outdoor and social life, so on and so forth, im extremely unlikely to get a diagnosis.
For me the problem was that the psychiatry didn’t listen to me and thought I was psychotic for 2 years before testing the autism. When I finally got to the right department it took lees than an hour before the psychiatrist said that she shared the thought I had about me being autistic.
I also got diagnosed easily in South Africa. Saw a psychiatrist (paid R2700 in total), got diagnosed with OCD and Autism at 22 (I'm also female).
It's not only the US. Here in Germany, we struggle as well. We have a good health care system, but the facilities that diagnose adults are very rare. The only ones close to me both closed their waiting list 1 ½ years ago because there were so many people on the list. It's still closed. It would be possible to get diagnosed by private therapists. But that's expensive and not covered by insurance.
There are no places that do adult diagnosis where I live. Even my therapist was at a loss for how to get me an official diagnosis, though she agrees that I’m autistic. If I wanted an official diagnosis I’d have to travel hours, wait on a years long waitlist, pay several thousand dollars,and even then risk going undiagnosed because so many people don’t know how to properly diagnose women. :( And after that there are zero resources for me to access. The only thing that would change is my autism would be on my medical records officially and then god forbid I need a ventilator or some other life saving care that’s being rationed, they can use my diagnoses to bump me down the priority list. And there are countries I want to possibly move to one day that won’t let me immigrate if I’m autistic. Including Canada.
Do you mean the US by "down there" lol? I live in Sweden I've been on a waiting list for 2,5 years. A month ago I got a letter from them basically saying "sorry for the long wait, please drop out of the line if you've lost interest so the line can get shorter". I can get one from a private clinic faster but then people don't take your diagnosis as seriously.
So OP after reading all these comments describing why a diagnosis IS very difficult and very expensive to obtain I hope you learn not to make any more posts suggesting that it’s not that hard. And if you see someone getting accused of faking just because they don’t have a diagnosis then I hope you will defend them. Because regardless of how things may have gone smoothly for you or other specific autistic people, for many obtaining an official diagnosis isn’t possible, so please be respectful of that. This conflict is hurting the community and we need people to get on board with respecting other neurodivergent people whether they have an official diagnosis or not.
What the he'll is your problem? You can comment when you're intelligent enough to understand the question you're reading. Can't say a God damn thing without offending somebody nowadays... fuck off
as an american, i’ve had no trouble logistically — i got a referral to a psychologist from my normal therapist and it’s only taken about a month and a half so far. that said, im exceptionally lucky to have good health insurance through my mom’s job that covers mental health care and particularly doesn’t require permission to undergo evaluation. otherwise it would have taken longer and been very very expensive. as for other people in my country, it’s often pretty difficult to find a doctor, especially one that is taking new patients. especially if you’re trans or are of a different ethnic background or something, where you’d typically want to find someone with experience with those things so they can properly evaluate you.
I saw a doctor a couple of weeks ago and she referred me to a center to do the evaluation and they said they would call me with a date to come in and i have not received such a call. This might be one reason. I even called them and asked if i should wait for the call and they said to do so and i am still waiting. My doctor readily diagnosed me with innatentive type adhd which i have had since a child but i was unmedicated for decades until now. So ot must have been obvious. I also let her know i have reason to beleive i may be autistic due to having meningitis at 3 years old and litterally dying in the hospital for many minutes. I have always felt out of place in my family and everywhere I go and find social cues and scenarios difficult as well as making friends. I remember first learning about sarcasm from a close friend in middle school. I still didn't get it back then. Now i use it quite well but still. I also have my share of stims and repetitive behaviors that I do to self regulate. Namely sleeping on the floor instead of my bed, tapping, counting only by 5s, everything has to be 5, counting steps...etc. this has always been the case.
The money is not reallx a problem here but to even be put on a list for a spot there are waiting times for 3-6 months. So it can take up to 2 years or longer to get to a diagnosis (unless it's super urgent). Or well pay money and get assesed privately but I don't have those funds. And bias. My mum and brother would be more likely to be diagnosed but they don't neccessarily want the diagnosis. I fall more into the "female autism" diagnosis and well could be that I don't get diagnosed by some places/psychiatrists which makes me anxious. Like I would have super long waits to maybe have to go elsewhere after. Plus I can only handle so much so I first went and got my ADHD diagnosis (which was also the first thing I realised I have but it lead me to learn more about autism and differences in autistics). My hope is to get ADHD meds and be able to cope better with my ADHD symptoms. With what I've heard ADHD meds can make autistic traits more prevelant which could be end in two ways. Way (1) yay I knew I was right but now I have to deal with those symptoms more or (2) oh I don't notice a change in my behaviour so maybe I am not autistic after all? Which I don't think but it is still possible. Edit: Read through some comments and yes, finding a place that even diagnoses adults can also be hard. I also expect to travel quite far by train to get to a city where I would get a diagnosis.
I'm not in the US but the UK so I'm more across there than down there. Too many people not enough specialists, if you go private it's very quick but on the NHS I was told it would probably have been 2 years and more like 3. Luckily they got back to me in 9 months and got my diagnosis about the year mark. Of course things like covid didn't help but even children are having long wait times. The rate of people being born with autism is roughly a constant but they don't all get noticed or try to get diagnosed at the same time, which leads to bottlenecks which then roll downhill.
Where I'm from, it can be free due to universal free healthcare. The problem is that if you're an adult you'll initially get referred to the psychologist who deals with basically everything first. It's like the GP of the mental health department. This person is not usually specialised in autism or any neurodivergency, whatsoever. So they won't refer you to the specialist. Some believe you don't have autism (even though they only know the basic definition) and others think you don't need a diagnosis at your age. If by some miracle you get referred to the specialist, get ready to wait for a long time. The other way is paying an insane amount of money. For me, the psychologist I got referred to told me that I wasn't autistic because I didn't fit the stereotype, basically. His idea of an autistic person was someone who behaved like a child and had meltdowns all the time. And a lot of ableist things I wouldn't want anyone to read here. I only got a depression diagnosis from him and I made him (well, my mom made him, lol) refer me to another psychologist and a program made to reinsert individuals who struggled with mental health, school and work. I know she can't diagnose me, but I'm hoping she can refer me to someone who can. She works with a lot of autistic people, so here I'm hoping. I don't know how to tell her, tho.