Has a ND diagnosis in mid life been helpful?

[RoutineQueen3]

Im 42 & feel like im a little different to other people. Have done online tests & come back as displaying Autistic traits.
As there is a very long waiting list, I am wondering if I ask the doctors for a referral?
Is it worth it?
Im not overly affected in my life by any traits but just feel different & have always wondered if im (a little) Autistic. It would be nice to explain my crazy behaviours I suppose!
Anyone else want to share their experiences of late diagnosis?

Yes and no.
I knew I probably had asd (2dc diagnosed) and their assessor suggested I get assessed.
I didn't feel the need as could accept it was a possibility. However I became physically disabled and unable to work. I applied for PIP and mentioned why potentially I thought I had asd and it may be causing me issues accessing care in a timely manor. The assessor wrote I was lieing because I could answer the door to the postman and used to work.
So I spoke to my GP and they refered me to psychiatry-uk (would recommend them they do nhs and private) and had an assessment on the nhs 2 years ago (was 18 month waiting list), and got diagnosed (just sent my renewal in and the asd assessment was submitted as evidence), so hopefully that will be useful going forward.
It hasn't changed anything much, in that there is no support available however it did sort of make me think about my life and how some things now made sense. It helped me be kinder to myself.
It also helped me reflect on how I parent my 2 asd dc as how I was patented was not appropriate (but quite normal in the 80s).
So I'd say it depends why you want an assessment and what you want to get out of it.

Thanks thats really helpful. This is why im reluctant because I don't really NEED a diagnosis, im just curious.

Hey. I deliberated for a while. My friends had joked/hinted for years I was ADHD and I laughed it off. Then perimenopause hit and with it, a mind that was seldom quiet, leading to extreme tiredness, anxiety, a bit of OCD etc So I finally plucked up the courage to speak to a GP about it last autumn. Submitted my paperwork via Right to Choose in November, then the GP went off on leave for weeks. Found out last week it was passed to Psychiatry-UK on 31st December, so am now on the eight week wait to see if I've met threshold for an assessment.

I am super curious by nature, and so part of it is curiosity. But the main reason was that if I got a diagnosis I could try medication (have been on antidepressants and sleeping tablets in the past, but now think ADHD is the route cause). I've heard there's a 2-3 year wait in this area, so in the meantime I'm self-identifying and using all the available tools; reading books, watching videos, meditation, yoga, reiki, breathwork, and like @Thewardrobehashangersin said; being kinder to myself. My symptoms ramp up in the two weeks before my period (my misophonia gets worse, as does my intolerance to bright lights and noise, energy dips massively, feeling overwhelmed by small things, teary etc) so I've just started HRT patches to see if my hormones being more balanced will help.

Not sure any of that is particularly helpful if you're suspecting autism rather than ADHD - sorry! Bit of an info-dump ;-)