I was diagnosed as autistic last year, but the psychologist still hasn't mailed me the report. I contacted them several times already and they only apologised and said it will be coming soon. It has been months since my last call. What should I do?
Definitely chase it up again, but be more forceful if you can. Write down questions to ask to get more specific information as to when the report was/will be written, and when it was/will be sent out. Write down any relevant information to make it clear what an inconvenience waiting has been. If you can’t be forceful over the phone, perhaps you could write an email.* Tell them how long you’ve been waiting.* Explain that you’ve repeatedly been told it will be sent.* If you do need the report for anything specific, such as evidence for work or school, make sure they’re aware of that. * If you had to pay for your assessment, point this out! The payment would cover the report, as you have no evidence of diagnosis without it.* Ask whether the report has been written.- If yes, ask when it will be sent, and how (email, post) or if possible you could also arrange to collect it if you are able to and don’t want to wait or rely on them posting it/emailing it. - If no, ask why not and when it will be written. Also ask them to send you a letter confirming your diagnosis, as although a full report can be more helpful with regards to supplying relevant information to various people you choose to share it with, a full report isn’t usually necessary as evidence (as long as there is written evidence that you’ve been diagnosed).- If they claim that it’s been sent, ask when it was sent and also check the contact details they have for you are correct. If it was sent some time ago, ask them to re-send a copy. Again, ask when this will be done.* Ask who you should direct a formal complaint to (if you want to make one, or if you are considering making one). * If you call them, follow up with an email or letter explaining:- When you called and who you spoke to.- What the call was regarding.- Mentioning anything that was agreed.* If you’ve emailed, you’ll have a copy in your sent folder, but make sure you keep all correspondence. If you’ve written to them make sure you have a copy of what you sent. If you make a complaint, put it in writing and keep a copy. * If you can/would prefer, you could also consider going there in person to talk to someone about it. If you do do this, stay very calm and polite. Again, if you do talk to anyone, but aren’t given a copy of your report so the issue is ongoing, make sure you follow up in writing so that you have evidence of what happened, what was said, etc. This means you can refer back to it later if the issues continue.Hopefully if they realise how long you’ve been waiting, and that they have to answer to you in full rather than being able to say, “Sorry, we’ll send it soon,” and get away with not bothering, they’ll actually do what they’ve been promising to do. Ideally they’ll immediately resolve things and most of what I’ve written will then seem OTT and unnecessary, but it’s better to be prepared to be able to stand up for yourself.
