Is it worth the hassle of getting an adult ASD diagnosis?

[Pepsipepsi]

Bit of a brain dump so excuse the abruptness.
Tl;Dr musing over whether it's worth pursuing an autism diagnosis for myself. Is it enough to just think I'm autistic - ie having better understanding of myself, take it easy on myself instead of thinking I'm lazy or unlikeable person. Has anyone gone through something similar?

I am 95% sure I am autistic after having a tiny inkling for a few years. I've stumbled across signs in women which shocked me. I thought everyone forced themselves to make eye contact, rehearsed conversations, had a bigger inner world than what was shown outside. So many signs of autism in girls/women resonate with me. Too many to list here.

I've said many times I feel like I am alien who crashed landed on earth without access to the social handbook.

But there's no cure. No magic pill. I'll still be the same person but with another mental health condition diagnosed. Or not diagnosed maybe! I've looked at reasonable adjustments at work and they've all been solved by WFH. Who knew controlling my environment that I spend the majority of my waking hours in, to my preferences would do wonders for my health and wellbeing. 🙄

The waiting times for national health care (free) assessments could be YEARS long. I can pay for private but as above if nothings changes then what a waste and still no answers for myself.

I'm fairly annoyed at every teacher, healthcare profressional and therapist who never gave me an inkling that I had this condition. In fairness I understand it wasn't well known in the 90s unless you had profound difficulties (not generalising this is how it was where I grew up).

To me it was worth it because now I am working on being able to dismiss the horrible people around me as being ableist/ignorant/intolerant and that THEY are mostly the problem, not me!!

Yes that is wildly sweeping, but wow does it help, especially to dismiss random small interactions which would have upset me and I would have obsessed over, by just deciding that stranger I will never interact with again was just an intolerant idiot!

It also helped me with realising I am not "lazy" or "broken" when I find things like supermarket shopping demanding and I cannot do another big thing on the same day.
My husband is also a late diagnosed autistic and it's great! We get along so easily with our communication styles.

I have that same feelings about my childhood, but nobody would have noticed me, it was non-verbal boys who were autistic and that was that when I was little. I was given the label withdrawn at secondary, but nobody intervened when I didn't talk to other students for nearly 2 years!

I'm too wondering this. I am mid 30s and my 8yo DS is well on the pathway to ASC diagnosis though I believe he will also be diagnosed with ADHD and other disabilities which have already been mentioned.

I follow alot of neurodiverse people on SM, mostly to help me understand him better and support him. But the more I see the more I am also seeing myself with these traits too. I'm so focused of getting my son the right help that I've totally neglected myself!

The for last few weeks I've felt even more shit about myself. Because I've wondered more and more if I could be neurodiverse too. But I've just spent my life accepting I am just the way I am. My reactions to things are extreme, my organisation is shameful, I am chronically late, I make silly mistakes due to poor concentration, I put things off until the very last minute, I am either completely lazy and exhausted or full of beans and on the go. I could go on! But if there is a chance I too have special needs then I believe a sense of understanding and self worth will follow, and hopefully I will lose this feeling I will always fall short or fail in life.

But how the hell do I even approach the subject? It makes me nervous with my son on the journey as I dont want anyone to say he is like he is because of me. His traits are far more severe than me and I feel I hide things well to the outside but the internal battle is constant

I've had a recent diagnosis of ASC and waiting to be assessed for ADHD.
Like many other women I've gone under the radar and wanted to gain a deeper/better understanding of all aspects of my identity. Im still processing the diagnosis as it's been a significant shift to come to terms with the fact that I wasn't overreacting and I would now be classed as disabled.
I also did it for my DD, as I see elements of myself in her. Time will tell whether they are learnt behaviour or something else but I wanted there to be a foundation/evidence base if I did try to seek support for her

Thing is, it wouldn't be another mental health condition diagnosed, it'd be the reason for the ones you have. Validation is very powerful thing and can completely reframe how you view yourself. For example, autistic inertia is far from lazy, it's an inability to move forward as your brain is overwhelmed.

A diagnosis gives you protection by law through the equality act. You can ask for reasonable adjustments. Mine are working from home, noise cancelling headset, and a different breaks structure.

It's also about your employer being able to deal with under performance issues in the right way, being supported as it's mh that's causing it rather than being treated punitively.

You understand that you're not just shit at life, life in general is much, much harder for nd folks so you're actually brilliant at how you've coped.

Asd diagnosis at 50
Adhd diagnosis at 52

@Mabelface what a great way to explain it.

I really think I need to get myself assessed. Is it a case of taking myself to the GP?

I feel the same. I'm late 30's and having taken my daughter though years of assessments where she finally got an ADHD diagnosis, as went along I realised but this is me. Last year I finally asked the go to refer me for an assessment as well, but I'm still about 3 months from my appointment.

I've also been wondering for quite some time if I could be autistic as well. I've read a lot about autism and masking in women and I really relate. I've done some online screeners that suggest I am. I did discuss it with a friend who dismissed it, but I think partially people have one view of autism and I'm not it and partially, people just don't see the internal struggle, even if they know you well.

Yes, speak to your gp first.

I score very highly ok the AQ10 my daughter has just been diagnosed ASD. However I work in healthcare and I know I would not be able to be assessed on the nhs in my area they will only see people for assessment who have major problems such as unable to work or manage life day to day so people who have masked their way through life and have a job even though they had to settle for a lot less than where they should be due to their difficulties in life would not be deemed to warrant referral and would be turned down. Private assessment is not feasible for me so I will remain undiagnosed