My twins have both been diagnosed with ASD in the last six months and after reading about the different way that females generally present with ASD to males, I think there’s a reasonable chance I’m autistic to some degree. Many of the things about myself would make more sense: extreme perfectionist (often to my detriment), obsessive pursuits (eg see a knitted item I like then spending three years teaching myself knitting to an advanced level so I can make it, and then repeating this with multiple other things), difficulty maintaining close friendships longterm, severe food aversions due to sensory issues, overwhelming anxiety, tendency to completely shut down when upset, etc. There are lots more but they’re all small things in isolation.
Obviously it hasn’t stopped me from getting an education including a degree, having a good career, good relationships etc and I’m wondering whether there would be any benefit to me in pursuing assessment at 36 years old.
I only work part time now because of the kids’ needs, and it’s likely they’ll need to attend a specialist school, so I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to go back to work full time. I would like to do a distance learning masters at some point (in autism education) but whether I’ll get the opportunity, I don’t know.
Those who have decided to pursue assessment, was it worth it? How has it helped you? And those who have decided not to, how do you feel about it?