 |
 |
I'm a clinical psychologist working in community learning disability team in London. Hearing about this sort of situation is depressing. Despite vaious government outpourings services are not becoming more 'person centred'. In fact the fracturing and disaggregration of services in a mixed economy of care means that there is less flexibility; various automonous services just set their own rules and disabled people have to try and fit them. I've also seen how difficult it is for young people like Cathy to negotiate the complex world of 'adult services' when they are moved on from childrens services where education, health and social care are more joined up. However, a more practical answer to your query is that your friend will probrably need to access an assessment through her local learning disability team. My experience chimes with Larry that psychiatrists are usually the ones who pronounce on autism issues, as autism is seen as an psychiatric/developmental disorder and defined in psychiatric diagnostic tomes such as DSM and ICD10. They might just use 'clinical judgement', piecing information together from background information and someone's current presentation, or they might use a diagnostic tool, such as the ADI or DISCO. The reports by psychiatrists I've read vary a lot in thoroughness and sensitivity. A clinical psychologist is more likely to be asked to do an assessment of current abilities and support needs, maybe including an IQ test. A learning disability social worker would then work out what sort of support this young woman would need, and should find ways to fund it. This is separate from DLA and could be arranged through direct payments which means that Cathy and her family would receive the money to pay someone they choose to help her, for instance with travel or with her studies. Another route might be to go to the GP and ask for a specialist assessment from a reputable psychiatrist (Pat Howlin in London for instance) or the National Autistic Society diagnostic service. Though sorting out the funding for this can be complicated. 40 miles does seem a really long journey for anyone to do frequently. Maybe an social worker, advocate or service broker can help Cathy and her family look at different options. Good luck, I'd be happy to do some more thinking about this with you if you want to contact me off-list. Deborah ________________End of message______________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about the list administratione should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.