Whilst I have no respect for Greggg, my son was diagnosed privately and my husband will be too.
My GP’s words were: if you can afford to pay private, do it, rather than get lost in the system and wait years (and lose my son in the process).
It still took over 8 months and various very expensive professionals reports milking the system. We got a diagnosis for my son, but that’s it. Yes, I know we are lucky to afford to pay which others can’t do.
People now the option of Right to Choose which ‘speeds up’ the process. Still takes around 8-12 months minimum.
Greggg was clearly suggested for some years to
Get a diagnosis and chose not too. My husband is the same.
The fact he now uses it as a ‘vet out of jail free card’ speaks volumes about the scumbag he really is
Took about twelve years on and off to get my nephew diagnosed on the NHS. Everyone who saw him knew he had it, including social workers but that wasn't enough. First time we asked a doctor for advice; he was five and the doctor accused him of just misbehaving while another claimed my sister was just after extra money. The next time, they talked to the headmistress of his school who had nothing to do with him, and she said he was fine (she ended up being kicked out because she stopped a lot of kids being diagnosed with things). When we finally got him assessed the first time, they said he had all the signs and mannerisms but because he was friendly and outgoing, he didn't have it, even though he refuses to talk even with family members and even with us who he is comfortable with, there are times he will not look us in the eye. It disheartened my sister as she was raising him without any help apart from my mum and myself. Eventually when he went to high school, we finally got people helping us who were willing to back us up and he was finally diagnosed at the age of seventeen.
Along with autism, he also has developmental delays among other things and will be twenty this year but has the mental age of a 5–6-year-old and will likely never catch up to others his age. Because of this, he has had many issues over the years including going through a phase of dropping his pants in front of people until he was told that was his private area and he understood why he shouldn't do it. He also knows that while there are allowances for him, he isn't allowed to get away with bad behaviour and if he does wrong, he won't get off scot free. If a child could understand the difference, then an adult in his 40s/50s certainly can. As you say, he is using it to try and escape dealing with the consequences of his actions and because it isn't working, he isn't happy.