To find this view re autism frustrating

Very unlikely to all be diagnosed. Less than 2% of the population is formally diagnosed with either ADHD or autism individually. Although if people are including other conditions like OCD and anxiety who knows.

Absolutely no idea - it was not an environment where I felt safe asking that

@Agasagas @Variationofnormal
Thanks so much for understanding.

I completely understand. Ds2 has mutism and camhs wouldn't help after his suicide attempt even before his autism diagnosis. It terrifies me as he tripped over once and didn't speak (or communicate at all) when he was at a park run and someone called an ambulance. Thankfully he had his running number in his pocket otherwise nobody would have known who he was.

I find the restriction on info to help him as a result of the mutism incredibly frustrating. Unfortunately in our experience adult MH services are completely reactionary and they only step in when the shit really hits the fan but by then it’s all harder to treat. All my kids are autistic and under adult. It has been a horrific journey and a nightmare to navigate when they’re adult but need support and care. The autism dynamic care register can be helpful.

Where thay all diagnosed?

Yes, us too. We felt CAMHS ultimately blamed him for lack of engagement. But he has diagnosed communication difficulties (asd) so 🤷‍♀️

He did engage well with some of the clinicians, so I do think a lot was down to the skill of the practitioner too. Unfortunately staff turnover was high which never helps…

He’s 18 now and adult MH services have refused him help for his debilitating OCD behaviours “because he’s autistic”.
Their words.
So they’re not even going to try.
Sorry, just venting now I know 😳

Well, if it is a super power it’s a very common one given how many people have it.

I was in a meeting of 10 people the other day and the only one who did not declare themselves to be ‘neurodiverse’. So I’m not entirely sure what neurotypical even means….is it you find social things and life challenging at times? It seems to me that a lot of people who make a big deal of ‘being neurodiverse’ are perfectly able to function in society, they just like to make sure they are the centre of it.

The mutism has been incredibly difficult for us.

DS’s ASD diagnosis was with one professional only, a top expert in the area though.
We’re finding it impossible to get an OCD diagnosis with a diagnosis of autism already in place. Not helped by DS’s situational mutism of course.
But for us the ASD diagnosis was the more straightforward one.

They say the same about dyslexia. I am probably dyslexic, my ds1 is dyslexic and DS3 is autistic.

I know I have skills that others don't. I find it incredibly easy to see the bigger picture, to join dots and see patterns BUT while these skills have been very useful at work and probably are the reasons for my many promotions I still get shit for my spelling.

It's hard to see your traits as gifts when some of your other traits are roundly criticised.

A private autism diagnosis mist align with Nice guidelines if you want the NHS, local authorities, or educational settings to recognise and accept the diagnosis. Private costs £3k, not many can afford that so resort to right to choose which must keep to nice guidelines to maintain their qualifying NHS contracts.

The core principals of NICE-Compliant Assessment are that assessments must be conducted by a trained team of professionals (such as speech and language therapists, psychologists, and paediatricians or psychiatrists). They should have a detailed developmental history which is a comprehensive account of early development, childhood behaviors, and current functioning. They should collect independent observations and reports from multiple settings (like home, school, or workplace) and family members or carers and use standardised tools and clinical assessments such as ADOS-2 or ADI-R) combined with expert clinical observation mapped against ICD-11 or DSM-5 criteria. They should also assess for differential diagnoses and co-occurring conditions like ADHD, learning disabilities, or mental health difficulties.

My NHS diagnosis at 56 did all that and then some so no nothing like an OCD diagnosis. I’ve sat through both OCD and autism diagnoses with my children. They are a world apart. The OCD diagnosis was done in a half an hour by one professional.

Yanbu. I have 4 dc with autism. It's not a gift. They all have what used to be called aspergers syndrome. It's not as hard as ot is for people with autism and learning disabilities but it's not a gift either. My 18 year old tried to take his own life when he was 12, my 12 year old has been self harming since year 4.

That's the same with a lot of other diagnoses

You seem totally determined to dismiss the experience of those with profound autism and called people misogynistic when they mention it. You have not actually offered any evidence to suggest late diagnosed females (or males) have the same condition.

Your acquaintances aren’t the norm by any means.And as for your disability top trumps, no thanks. It’s as pleasant as your dismissal of female autism.

You mischaracterises the autism diagnostic process. Nearly every private diagnosis I have heard of arose from a single diagnostic session of less than two hours. That is no longer than those I know getting an OCD diagnosis.

Despite your denials, I know many who do have successful careers and families - as head teachers, doctors, academics…. But even if they are underemployed with disastrous education they are still very different for those with profound autism.

No they don’t, nothing like the autism diagnosis process .

The vast majority of autistic people
are under employed or unemployed, many don’t manage finances, have careers, family, have a disastrous education etc.

Just appalling the way you dismiss late diagnosed autistic women and try to portray them all as having zero disability with zero significant impact on life. They’re let down twice. First time when they’re forgotten and denied diagnosis, then when they do it’s dismissed by the ignorant as not real or deserving.

Hahaha! I was told I had anxiety because none of the prescribed asthma medication worked. I've been told my vertigo is anxiety

There's no blood test or scan for them either

Those all have rigorous diagnostic procedures so….

Hold down independent jobs, careers, family, finances, education. That is nothing like those with profound autism.

Many of us were misdiagnosed with depression, anxiety, OCD, etc

Define manage! They haven’t managed, they’ve been forgotten and misdiagnosed.