Autism diagnosis as an adult?

[biscuitsandbooks]

Hello 👋

I've just been to see my doctor about getting an official diagnosis of autism. It "runs" in our family and I've had multiple issues over the years which I now think were down to sensory overload and autistic burnout.

I seem to go in a cycle - a big period of change happens, I struggle, get medication, it helps for a few months, I come off, "manage" for a few years and then another big change happens etc. It's cycled around that way since I was about fourteen.

Does anyone have any experience of how a diagnosis made any difference? My GP says he's pretty certain it sounds like autism but he can't diagnose me. I'm also starting work with a therapist who specialises in neurodivergent adults.

As a teen/young adult I was diagnosed multiple times with anxiety, depression and panic attacks but nobody seemed to link everything with any kind of neurodivergence.

I haven't got a diagnosis yet but interested

Interested too!

I am late diagnosed and it has been life changing.

Mostly because I now view myself as a neurodivergent person with needs, rather than a broken neurotypical person, and make appropriate allowances for myself.

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster but it is great to finally be able to understand myself better with this new lens.

I also suffered greatly as a teen/young person and was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, OCD.

As women we can become very good at masking our differences hence medical professions not picking up on any potential neurodivergence. But this is now hopefully changing!

Thank you @ffsgloria - there seems to be a really common theme of neurodivergent women and girls being misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety from what I've read online.

Then other sources say they can go "together" which is why it can be so hard to differentiate - I think my burnouts were definitely diagnosed as "just depression" in the past.