Dr. David Mushati (Autism Assessment In Adults)
Dr. David Mushati, Chief Clinical Officer at Melios, is a leading Consultant Clinical Psychologist specializing in neurodevelopmental conditions. In this conversation, he breaks do...
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Who are you?
My name is Dr. David Mutti. I'm the Chief Clinical Officer for LIOs. I've spent the last 24 years working in healthcare, including a significant amount of time working for the NHS. I love what I do. I'm a consultant clinical psychologist. I'm passionate about neuropsychology and neurodevelopmental conditions, and I have dedicated my life to understanding some of the conditions and helping people along the way, which has been an immense privilege.
What is the process of an autism assessment?
The process of an autism assessment is varied. I think the first thing that you should expect primarily is that it is done by a qualified clinician, and it is also done in the context of a multidisciplinary team. And what that means is you have different clinicians from different disciplines going through a set of questions with you. These set of questions are usually around your background as a child growing up. And it's challenging for a lot of the adults that we come across in accessing some of this information for various reasons. So for instance, their parents may be deceased or indeed inaccessible In these cases, try and find a valued informant. So this is someone that perhaps knows you very well and has known you for a long time. This could be an aunt, uncle, or relative, or indeed a best friend or a really good colleague that perhaps has known you for a long time. And we ask questions around social interactions in the context of your childhood growing up, but also in the present time as an adult. We are curious about the challenges that you're experiencing and what has prompted you to seek a diagnosis. We discuss sensory sensitivities, and it is after we have gathered all this information that we sit down with other clinicians, have a discussion, reference a diagnostic manual such as the DSM five or the ICD 11 in order to see whether some of the traits or challenges that you're presented with exceed what might be considered a criteria for a diagnosis.
Is it common to be misdiagnosed with autism?
The process of an autism assessment is varied. I think the first thing that you should expect primarily is that it is done by a qualified clinician, and it is also done in the context of a multidisciplinary team. And what that means is you have different clinicians from different disciplines going through a set of questions with you. These set of questions are usually around your background as a child growing up. And it's challenging for a lot of the adults that we come across in accessing some of this information for various reasons. So for instance, their parents may be deceased or indeed inaccessible In these cases, try and find a valued informant. So this is someone that perhaps knows you very well and has known you for a long time. This could be an aunt, uncle, or relative, or indeed a best friend or a really good colleague that perhaps has known you for a long time. And we ask questions around social interactions in the context of your childhood growing up, but also in the present time as an adult. We are curious about the challenges that you're experiencing and what has prompted you to seek a diagnosis. We discuss sensory sensitivities, and it is after we have gathered all this information that we sit down with other clinicians, have a discussion, reference a diagnostic manual such as the DSM five or the ICD 11 in order to see whether some of the traits or challenges that you're presented with exceed what might be considered a criteria for a diagnosis.