I completely agree, @Nepmarthiturn
Strange that your post was deleted, @Psychoticbreak as I had read it and to me it did not break any talk guidelines.
I think it can be a problem when a newish thread is first published and people happen upon it. It's a shame, as we certainly aren't looking to be challenged on our own long standing difficulties and official diagnoses. It also clearly states that it's an ongoing support thread.
I guess there is always an option to move the threads to the Neurodiverse Mumsnetters board. At least there, there is a banner at the top explaining that the board is primarily for the use of Neurodiverse posters. That said, I appreciate that we do want to be open to those thinking about going for assessment, therefore I'd not like to put anyone off posting.
On the topic of what was discussed, I'll add this. My childhood background is that of an alcoholic father and profoundly disabled sibling resulting in us running away from said father. So I totally understand that trauma issues from childhood can present major problems later in life. This is explored both pre assessment and during assessment (if applicable) as of course it is possible to have difficulties relating to previous trauma and Autism. This is the reason that the AQ50 is used as an initial screening tool as it concentrates solely on Autistic traits.
For any others reading and questioning whether they may be Autistic, the diagnostic process actually goes back to birth and is extremely thorough. To be diagnosed, your difficulties must be shown to be lifelong. There is no chance that PTSD on ittself would ever be misdiagnosed as Autism, although like I say, it can be present alongside. The two are not mutually exclusive.
I'd like to add that the whole process of assessment and diagnosis is exhausting, but worthwhile in my opinion, particularly once you realise that it's something that is significantly impacting your life. It does mean that as diagnosed Neurodivergent individuals, we can be fiercely protective of our clinical status and rightly so.