What To Do Waiting For Autism Assessment| Purple Ella

I'm sharing my tips for how to spend the time whilst waiting for an autism assessment for both adults and children. More below
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A little bit about me:
Hi I'm Purple Ella and my family is an autism family with three out of five of us on the autistic spectrum. I also have a connective tissue disorder (HSD). So life can be a challenge but also a lot of fun.
Helpful links
The National Autistic Society - autism.org.uk
Hypermobility Syndromes Association - hypermobility.org

[@MOJORAPSCALLION]

I just got diagnosed Tuesday 31/05/22.. waited 2.5 yrs for my NHS appointment. I have to wait for my report 2-3 weeks then have a questions & support meeting this coming month. I’m glad I’m not crazy or mad like I was feeling before getting diagnosed. Intrigued to read the report. I did the Aspie Quiz, RAADS & AQ tests as part of my preparation for assessment. Finally I feel at peace and happy with who I am and I’ve found my tribe. Now the work to learn how to unmask everyday will begin, I’ve done it so long on auto-pilot for decades, it will be quite the journey and challenge.

[@soulTraveller144]

Wow over 2 years, ive been waiting 17months and have now mafe an appeal to have my test as soon as possible due to other struggles and housing situation

[@BrewsandReviews]

Wow, I can't really express how much you described what I'm going through right now. I actually really needed to hear what you said about not waiting for a diagnosis to make things better. I've being feeling like I'm in limbo while waiting for an assessment (I started this process back in September, so seven months ago, and still have no idea when I'll be getting an assessment. The lack of communication has been terrible for me). My biggest worries are to do with work and, unfortunately, I can't actually change anything until I have a confirmed diagnosis so I've been putting everything on hold and it's just really depressing. I'm really hoping I don't have to wait two years for this. But anyway, thanks for the advice!

[@carolyn3746]

How did you get on eventually? My adult son has to wait until September for an appointment for assessment. He is 22 years old and struggles in the work environment. The fallout is it impacts on the person he works with too. My heart breaks.

[@rahbeeuh]

@@carolyn3746 how'd the assessment go? Are you still awaiting results?

[@alishabhullar]

Omg the doubting stage is so true..

[@LaurenMca]

I’ve had my diagnosis for years... it’s the help I’m waiting for 😢

[@andrewmorton395]

Same with me

[@SodaSpeakNow]

I have mine in a week... a total of one month waiting 😅 I’m so spoiled. I love your advice!!!

[@soulTraveller144]

Only 1 month..???? Ive been waiting 17months

[@yael5067]

Thanks so much for making this video, Ella. I am currently waiting on an assessment, and you made several points that really helped me be more comfortable with where I'm at. Especially the points about researching being okay, and the struggles you're going through being valid regardless of whether they fit under an autism diagnosis or not!

[@amritkalsi7593]

4:00 my school dont care unless u have a diagnosis written on paper

[@sophiefraser3995]

I am 3 years through a 4-year waiting list and I found this incredibly helpful. Thank you.

[@jrichard88]

2 years? Wow...that 6 months I just waited for my upcoming assessment doesn't seem so bad now.

[@ReiverBlue1971]

The current estimate for South Yorkshire is 2-3 years (dependant on other factors such as ability to work, self harm or any co-morbid conditions which can shorten the wait time. Just started my wait....

[@juliettedorinne]

I'm so truly grateful to have found your work and videos--they've helped me get through a lot in the past few months since I've relocated and started a new job. Would you ever consider making a video discussing autism in the workplace? I didn't have many problems in communicating when I was a child, but since growing up I struggle a great deal with understanding the ins and outs of dealing with management in particular. I feel somehow like everyone understands these unwritten rules of engagement but I can't help but be honest and literal and direct, and it has gotten me into trouble with people who seem to be more indirect or even strategic in their social dealings. Feeling very alienated and would love to hear any insight you might have. As always, thank you for what you provide. Really.

[@alexba1ley]

I would also love to see content about working and job searching as an autistic adult.

[@BassGal92]

I actually started doing the autism research before seeing this video. I'm currently waiting for an assessment, but that's because no one in my state is doing evaluations right now due to Covid. I don't know how long I will have to wait until it's safe again, but I feel like my therapist will start helping me work on some management and coping skills.

[@tiffanizzle]

Thank you for explaining this, It was so helpful !!

[@kathybramley5609]

This is really important stuff! Especially the bit about feeling empowered! And working together towards your best life anyway! And I would add that trying to connect with your children and see them whole whatever is a really important part. Especially with the neurology tending to anxiety and dissociative experience sometimes, and anyway, you don't want to be in a situation where you or your child are locked away in a dangerous conceptual box like poor old Schroedinger's cat (who wasn't actually real, this was a thought experiment) - diagnosis and help is neither poisoned chalice/catfood nor indeed the holy grail, though it can be difficult to get hold of! Helping each other and yourselves anyway, empowerment and so on, is a way to avoid being damagingly macerated in this weird superposition of bad concepts! And elusive answers. And I'm passionate about this having experienced this from both sides and ongoing: although this researching and seeing the issues and trying to help what you see in front of you confidently _is_ what I've tried to follow but self-esteem is a bit of an issue for me too and self assurance, given the effects of childhood uncertainty/angst all around me on top of my struggles and through my daughter's disabling neonatal illness and aftermath and my postnatal depression and social services/MH "support" (mixed bag, c'est la vie) and also indeed leading up to my son's diagnosis of autism age 8 and in the ongoing saga about my potential autism-or-what diagnosis (assessed in general way on and off right through childhood and at one point we thought dyspraxia but it came to nowt official exceot recognition of some unspecified spLDs with some confusion around it, GPs unhelpful, uni was a bit similar, as an adult &parent cmht psychiatrists rejected question twice, as did an ADHD clinic, but credible others including recent CPN assessing me thought so... And I'm in the waiting list for the waiting list, I think. Having submitted some forms. And having been told the waiting list was open. Grr. But I haven't pulled my finger out to confirm why. I missed the appointment where he was going to tell me.) It's important now - helping and connecting and trying to live well anyway - with waiting lists, and it was when I was a child with the very different understandings within professional, educational and lay/general communities. That is an important extra point: Ella is focused positively on autism because this is an autism channel and Ella's style is about trying really hard to be positive, however there's understandings that were important were important and still matter are not just those towards towards autism spectrum but also to wider neurodiverse spectrum/neurodevelopmental conditions and specific learning difficulties, and attitudes towards issues with functioning/performance and disablity in general. There's often lots going on before you get to a waiting list and that you might be thinking about when a diagnosis happens, comorbid or alternative diagnoses. Family reactions, friends opinions, school recognition, neighbours and in the community. Etc. ---- Tangent alert (politics): I say very different, in theory they are, but then the specific comments about Theresa May recently and the more general ones about Boris Johnson in the past, show a different story. Even if suggestions you can get to that level without a diagnosis would be encouraging in one light, it's a double whammy of imposter syndrome for us and horrendous double standards and stereotypes from the people who like to elect a dogmatic focussed eccentric. It's alarming! ---- I did find it very difficult with this split set of conceptions about me that were reflected back at me whilst people were trying to work out the puzzle I presented (why I hate the jigsaw piece symbol): it was as if I was supposed to be able to work out them and the whole cultural context behind what they were saying as well as my own difficulties in the middle of them, for their sakes! It was horrible. It didn't help. And, on a slight tangent again, it's not surprising borderline personality which can be a misdiagnosis or dustbin diagnosis for women in particular, supposedly often involves splitting people into all good or all bad: it's the way people who don't wants to be disabled but worry about us treat us, and autism often involves black and white thinking and living in the moment anyway. So. (And this is NOT just about me and my issues) There's not the "broken child" and "fine child" - some parents I've met in real life and online seem to be all about the diagnosis process and what they think they see, rather than about the needs they see and meeting them, with or without a diagnosis. I think that there's good reasons and bad reasons people who are concerned about a child get paralysed and angsty waiting. There's a worry that it will be the wrong thing, but parenting and teaching strategy is trial and error anyway and much of it is generic. I don't recommend you leap into ABA or aversive therapy anyway, even with a diagnosis. It's not about painful surgery or physio for the mind to burn the autism out anyway!! This "no pain, no gain" attitude towards therapy and "fixing" disablity or the idea of being stuck "living with" the "enormously tragic" difficulties - these old fashioned ableisms - are a lot of where the problems we're talking about do come from: because of the stigma attached to having a disablity or the way people think life might go depending on whether or not they have a disablity. But the fear of having a child with a disablity or of "having" to hand out cruel, unusual or damaging fixes, these old-hat misconceptions, not a good reason to hold off helping each other. Schools and parents will trial and error, and can do it a bit less smartly with either a "nothing wrong" or low-expectation highly-stereotyped ill-informed view. As Ella says in reality it might not make much of a difference to the actual responsive aware business of helping if you focus on helping and working with the person in front of you, aided by a bit of genuinely caring awareness and research. Disability including autism isn't necessarily a barrier to a "normal" or fulfilled life and meeting needs together more than cynically deconstructing the concepts is what's helpful. Better to deconstruct the actual barriers than the very idea of having them, or colluding with the people who do whilst "waiting" as if the pronouncements of the proper persons will start your lives. I got a lot more "what's normal anyway" than I should've I think! Whilst the spectre of my actually having any kind of disablity at all was constantly poo-pooed or shivered about and chased away with curt comments. #abledsareweird Suprisingly, or not, I got less help with the problems that were raised on nearly every piece of work ALL THE WAY through school - "logical structure" and "presentation" - ie understanding what academic work was (and outline structure and proper crossing out and what a point was) and all the nitty gritty of what they wanted from me, and not much help therefore pinning down my difficulties with pragmatic language and organising ideas. I didn't have the recipe in my head, but I kept getting the same comments, so I was in my own world playing an alien who had to try to pretend she was human. I mean, although I was underperforming in this consistent way and with layers of engaging and annoying quixotry and avoidance on top it wasn't just ableism and prehistoric attitudes and the fear of throwing a dissident to the Nazis or Soviets or similar forces in the UK! The expert position _was_ itself quite authoritative but confused, and different. So it was very much a tense confused sort of superposition as to whether I had a disablity and what it was, stigma and the awareness around disablity and impairments as they were had its reasons because of the way generic assessment worked in my area and at the time (I'm 41). They didn't diagnose girls in the same way and I was going to some other kinds of assessment and coming up within normal ranges by their standards and understanding or my mum got the blame and it went on record as lack of parental stimulation and that was where things stayed. In school, I was selected as a helpful calm child to help with other more thoroughly dyslexic kids, and I was good at it, but it was never really tailored for me. By the time I finally got some kind of official recognition of at least some kind of specific learning difficulties, I was heading off to uni and was problematically for the educational Psychologist who'd known me for a while dealing with my behaviour and social and academic difficulties, I now speculate, caught between pediatric and adult assessment systems. So there's quite a lot that can go wrong in the diagnosis process and in terms of help and support afterwards. And not that I'm very good at putting it into practice at least towards myself right now: but it's because of my history I have just outlined that I am arguing that you - Purple Ella viewers - have all the more reason to BE THE CHANGE we all want to see!

[@wetboy72]

This video has been really helpful. I received my letter advising that I qualify for a full assessment, but the waiting list is about a year. Thanks. The only reason I’m now on the waiting list, is I complained to the health authorities.

[@fizzy965]

I'm 30 and I've thought for years that I've had autism but never been brave enough to mention it to my doctor until recently and I always tried my best to hide my struggles. But I've been really unwell since August last year and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia on top of my anxiety getting worse and I had to give up work. I'm on the waiting list now for an assessment. I applied for ESA when last year and got it but then after the medical assessment they stopped payments saying I'm fully fit to work. But everything in the medical report was untrue and I asked for a mandatory reconsideration. But despite the evidence I submitted including a 29 page correction of the report with all the right info, letters from my doctor, therapist and people who know me, I've had the decision back today saying they still won't give me my payments back. But they've ignored all the stuff I told them and just used the same report from my assessment to make their decision. So now I have to appeal. I've had no income at all since february and i dont know how long the appeal will take. I've also applied for PIP and have my assessment next week but I now feel like it's pointless because whatever I tell them they wont listen and it'll be a waste of time. I honestly feel worse than ever and I don't know what else to do. I'm really struggling to cope 😭

[@29Bodhisattva]

Sorry to hear you're struggling. Perhaps take a look at the Benefits and Work website? They have some helpful guides about applying for benefits and appealing DWP decisions.

[@alexba1ley]

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I hope things have gotten better since you posted a year ago. If you don't want unsolicited medical advice, don't read any further, but I have personal experience that may help. You mentioned fibromyalgia. My partner was disabled for years with ME/CFS, which is similar. He was treated for Tension Myoneural Syndrome (TMS), which can also cause fibromyalgia symptoms. He still has some symptoms, but he doesn't meet the criteria for ME/CFS anymore, and he went from requiring 24/7 care, being immobile, minimally verbal, and in chronic pain to being fully independent, able to exercise, able to speak, and in minimal pain after only 3 sessions with his D.O. If you're interested in learning more about TMS, I would start by browsing tmswiki.org and reading The Divided Mind by Dr. John Sarno, who pioneered diagnosis and treatment of TMS.

[@haydenwinfield5397]

I Have Autism I Was Diagnosed With Autism At Age 14 I'm 27 Years Old Now Iv'e Been Living Interdependently On My Own For 3 Years So Far

[@lucfierslight]

I hope you are doing well now! 😔 I know this is an older comment. I found out I was autistic at 29.

[@Zebo262]

This is such amazing advice 💙💙💙

[@rowanbirch9389]

It's about 26 weeks wait for my area, which I find really anxiety inducing because I plan to start university in September, and I know I will really struggle but might not be able to access extra support if I don't have a diagnosis at that point. Your videos are helpful though, I am adding to my knowledge and my ability to recognise when I need to stop or leave a situation, so hopefully I will be able to cope.

[@crazigrl]

Thank you for your awesome videos! I'm 55 and currently self-diagnosed autistic with suspected ADHD. I've done many tests and quizzes, making a autism and adhd folder and listened to videos and like that. I hope to have an assessment by the end of the year or the first of 2023. Every test result said yes to autism and adhd. My worry is tho that despite all this the diagnoser will say " no you are perfectly fine, there's no autism and adhd" even though both myself and my adult son believe that I do have both and he's been diagnosed with ADHD. So I worry that they will tell me no I don't have anything. I don't know what to do.

[@poot-poot]

The worst thing that can happen is you find a new family doctor that takes you seriously!

[@charliea7479]

I’ve been waiting nearly 4 years and finally have my assessment tomorrow! I feel so scared! Your videos have really helped me 😊

[@crissyretroguitarvideos3933]

I hope it went well.

[@alanguest1979]

A bit too late for my, I was diagnosed in November 2020! But in hindsight, I wish I had done my research whilst I was diagnosed.

[@kcskoolz8312]

My assessment is on September 15th and you have definitely been helping me learn what to expect. Thank You!

[@alishabhullar]

Hi what happened

[@sob6911]

How did it go 😊

[@kcskoolz8312]

Hey there, I am indeed on the spectrum! I was good to be validated. I knew I was autistic for over 10 years. I'm 38 now, and finally have some official answers.

[@johnbladykas4454]

This was a post from the fourum, remember before Brexit Kathi Hiya , many thanks for your reply, the testing was sent off to Manchester university as they are the only ones doing the testing in the UK ( I believe) the Trypase level was taken many months after the wasp sting and I have had 4 done this year all come in the mid 40s.

[@alexba1ley]

Great advice. Thank you, Purple Ella. I'm amazed that some students in the UK are able to get support for special needs without diagnosis. I'm not sure if that's an option here on occupied Turtle Island (the "US"), but I've never heard of it happening. Does anyone know?

[@Positive.Motivate]

Can getting counselling/psychological well-being practitioner help Autistic ppl with anxiety/depression during the waiting period for an assessment?

[@contraryween]

See I don research but I am beyond exhausted. I have full blown ME which I am sure was triggered by melt down. And actually research is exhausting. Just trying to manage the few hours a day work and all that comes with life even being house bound. I do look for strategies and do them. And I have applied for PIP. But really I think the thing I need more is to be left alone. But people don’t seem understand that. I seem to constantly get other people thinking I have to deal with them and what they think.

[@Samantharichie1986]

I have my assessment today, and I am incredibly nervous

[@sarahpenny3852]

Oh my this is me at the moment!

[@PaulMScully]

2 years waiting time in Gloucestershire.

[@soulTraveller144]

Similar ive been told 2 years in brighton, 17months so far

[@alihayman3834]

Not in UK but US and scheduled for an assessment already

[@rahbeeuh]

How long did it take? Which part of the US?

[@KidneyMush]

Ella, I have my appointment in a few weeks, everything points to autism, apart from routine...whilst I don't NEED a routine, I find a routine helpful and gives me structure which in turn I find comforting, should that change it doesn't make me mad or anything, just throws me off a bit and it sort of unbalances the familiarity which i like...does that sound like I might not be? I'm hoping I am to validate everything up to this point because itll answer a lot of questions. Thanks

[@littlesparkkitten]

For anyone watching this about their child wondering if its really ok to use strategies for autistic children with your child before they're diagnosed: I worked in Early Childhood Education and I want you to know that for the most part, the best teachers use those strategies on *all* children because we have no way of knowing which kids will or won't be diagnosed with anything after they leave our room. We focus on the here and now and we don't organize strategies by "autistic vs allistic" we organize them by "if this doesn't work, try this" and "if the child struggles with this, try that". If it works and is not harmful or upsetting to your child, enjoy it! All children are regulated by sensory activities, so if a bowl of cool water helps calm your child when they're stressed, allow them that! Is that a common strategy for parents of autistic children? Yes. Does it work for 3/4 of the kids I met in my time working ECE? Also yes!

[@hannahgibson7350]

❤

[@aussieman3021]

Has anybody told you that you look like Emily Watson? Not Emma Watson, but the similarly named English actress who starred in films like Breaking The Waves, Equilibrium, Punch-Drunk Love, Gosford Park and Hilary and Jackie, as well as the TV series Chernobyl.

[@katrinataylor827]

I'm not sure if I'm autistic, but I'm waiting on a diagnosis list and it's so hard!!

[@alishabhullar]

Have u got an assessment yet

[@katrinataylor827]

@@alishabhullar yes and I am :)

[@hollietamale5156]

I’m, currently, trying to schedule my own evaluation after learning my daughter is autistic. She’s 3. There was nothing about her, to me, that pointed to it. After educating myself I identified with so much. But a part of me feels embarrassed. I don’t want to be judged..even by a medical professional. Has anyone else felt this way? After getting your diagnosis, did you feel judged even more than before?

[@briafeaster5313]

Hollie RC just started looking into this and I’m terrified of the stigma that comes with it but I identify with a lot of the traits. Looking into getting assessed now.

[@shadowfox933]

This video is also great for those of us who have chosen not to pursue an official diagnosis at all. In my case, the cost of even getting to the assessment phase at all is not worth the relatively small amount of benefit the diagnosis would get for me. Add to that the wait time in my area, and there really isn't much of a point for me. That being said, this video really is still helpful because I am essentially in the same category as those who are on the wait list. Much love and thanks for what you do, Ella :)

[@valeriegriffith886]

I'm 49 and waiting for an assessment in the USA. I've been trying to educate and find out about whether I can relate and I totally do. I was diagnosed with BPD 5 years ago and have always felt like it's wrong. However, my family is making fun of me. Saying I don't have it. Saying I just want to be retarded so I can use it as an excuse for my behaviors. I'm so crushed by their attitudes. I need this diagnosis for myself. To know why I've always been so different. Your videos have been really great. But, even though I've reached out to people, no one has ever responded. I just need to know where I can find support for what I'm doing and be able to talk to people about this. I really need to be able to connect and not just be happy about the information I see in the videos.

[@marlaadamson1633]

I'm in a similar situation. I've found discussions on Reddit. They've been a good source of information, but I sure would like to just talk to someone. I'm in a very rural area. Autism groups near me are for NT parents and are pro-ABA.

[@soulTraveller144]

Sorry your going through this i have bpd and realise im prob autustic too with possible adhd too, i feel like its common for children with autism to more likely get bpd

[@bexie1992]

The current waiting time for where I am is 18 months. I'm finding it hard right now 😔.

[@bobbiemason7912]

Autism is the only diagnosis that makes sense for me and how I act and how I feel I’ve been misdiagnosed all my life, sent to psych hospitals because I couldn’t handle school or express how I felt properly I never fit in with my peers in school but I never really fit in with the other people in the hospital Then 20 years later I learnt about autism in females, and everything is me, how I act, how I manage, how I feel I am SO scared that I won’t pass the tests and I won’t get the diagnosis, my future depends on this, in my country we get support for disabilities but you need a diagnosis for specific help and one day when my mothers no longer here I will need those extra helps or I don’t know how I’ll cope because she is my only support and I can’t do it without her help

[@soulTraveller144]

If you feel this you are mostly correct you have it so make sure you get a 2nd opnion if no posotive result

[@thatautistictheatrekid]

I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I have a question. My friend told me about autism and that she suspected that I had some form of it, but I don’t want to talk to my parents about it (I’m not 18 yet so I can’t just do it on my own). Do you have any advice? Or just a better way of “knowing” it without knowing that I have autism.

[@marlaadamson1633]

I'm sorry to see you have not had a response. I'm newly diagnosed, at age 53. It was scary, but exciting to discover that I was right; I really do think differently than nearly everyone I know. As a former teacher, I am embarrassed by how little I knew about autism and how detrimental some practices supported by the education system are to young children. I'm also a parent and know how hard a job that is. I hope you have figured out how to approach your situation. Watching, listening and reading accounts of diagnosed autistics really helped me decide. I wonder if your parents would be receptive to sharing your journey of discovery. Best wishes!

[@mads890]

Hi so you commented over a year ago and this may be a stretch but I’m in your exact position, and I want to know what you did and what ended up happening to see if it could help me?

[@thatautistictheatrekid]

@@mads890 I did end up getting diagnosed last July. My mom actually guesses it and asked me if I thought I was. We were then on a wait list for a couple Mithras and I spent all day in the city taking tests. My advice would just do a butt ton of research, like more that you think is needed then present it to them.

[@Weird_guy79]

my assessment got screwed over, i am now at the bottom of another wait list. good times

[@dreamers2246]

The wait is currently 5 months just for a pre-assessment screening. Then from there, if they decide to give me an assessment, then the wait is currently 30 months :(

[@amymclellan583]

I only waited 4 months for assessment.

[@despina2898]

Cool beans. Do u live in the UK?

[@soulTraveller144]

I wish i wasbt still waiting after 17months

[@elijahroperelijahtarzan3302]

I'm waiting for autism assessment my referral is done I phoned my gp about 2 times a day when I was at work they said haringey use to do autism assessment but not anymore I have speech problems I need my speech and language therapy my body odor needs to be sorted my mum was about to phone my gp discuss about my smell of my body odor but my mum is sick and she passed away last year at new years eve 31.12.21 I have done my blood test for my mental therapy to find out something is wrong with my blood and then I have diagnosed with autism when I was 20 years old and when my mum was alive she said I was autism the hole time but my dad has to do autism assessment with me I struggle at secondary school and at college I never had speech and language therapy at my secondary school and college 😢 😞 💔 😔 I have liver and thyroid function I ask my gp they said is fine I find it difficult at secondary school and college I have to learn to write my own sentences and I get support but I didn't get enough support my friend and my mum knows I have mental health issues and mental health problems because my blood is low i have to take vitamin b I didn't like it the taste I sensitive to sound noise also I have a skin condition I work at nandos and it affects my mental health issues I have struggled with my own problems needs to be sorted I leave college it was difficult for me I good at technology my mum said cooking I'm struggling at maths come to college like back and forth and I done with college I never graduated because i have learning difficulties at birth now waiting for a autism assessment letter to be posted at my door step but they going to ring me back soon so I give them time also I was doing activities at my afk session gor I am festival blue rubbing colours for a school children I said blue stands for autism blueish my favourite colour

[@amritkalsi7593]

I font think I have ever had a meltdown does that mean I'm not autistic.

[@alexba1ley]

If you're going by the (highly problamatic) DSM-V, meltdowns are not a diagnostic criteria, but you are supposed to be in "current distress" because of your autistic traits, which is a controversial idea in itself. Different people process stress in different ways. You might shut down, zone out, stim, or use another coping strategy in situations where others might melt down.

[@carolyn3746]

@@alexba1ley what is stim? Thank you

[@marlaadamson1633]

I didn't think I had had meltdowns either. I certainly didn't as a child but I had a very free, low stress, outdoorsy youth. Upon serious reflection I can now see that I what I thought were physical complaints such as excema, migraine, inflammation, infection were really meltdowns. I masked REALLY well and my body paid the toll.

[@mariamzeb600]

Autistic ocd my self age get worse no help no support

[@offthebrand]

I love this! Yes, why wouldn't I begin the work before an assessment. Even if I don't get an assessment then I'm still making sense of my experiences and making my daily life better. I am grateful for your insight.