After diagnosis, medical interventions will usually be focussed on prescription medication. This may come from a General Practitioner of a Psychiatrist. Sometimes medication is essential and extremely helpful in reducing particular symptoms (anxiety, depression, over activity, obsessive thinking, mood disorders etc). Modern medication is much more specific and has fewer side effects than those used twenty years ago. Occasionally psychiatrists will offer regular appointments that they will use for therapy sessions. Many psychiatrists do not have a great deal of experience of Asperger’s Syndrome. Medical people are scientist and can become very committed to experimentation (‘which drug has what effect? Can we try this?’). This can be a slow and unproductive route to take, and there are no guarantees of success. However, it may also be a significant help. Also, psychiatrists can be the doorway to referral to other services, as can GPs.

Medical intervention is either slow or expensive – in the UK the Health Service is slow to make a referral to a specialist consultant psychiatrist, and private medical services are very expensive and may not offer the level of experience that is needed. Often medical intervention is not felt to be helpful, with psychiatrists being rated very low in terms of helpfulness by people with Asperger’s and their families. This is supported by my own experience.

Medical intervention is usually the first place to go as it is a doorway to referral. It is essential in the first place in order to obtain a believable diagnosis. It is very rare in the UK for medical intervention to offer long term and detailed effective support. Rather, medical services monitor what is going on elsewhere.