I’ve known for a long time and that DD12 is likely ND. However she has always been super academic and would never meet the threshold for support at school. She has always found the social side of things more challenging but again she has managed well with support at home and understanding teachers. We have always held off a final diagnosis pathway as it didn’t seem to offer much benefit.
However, now that she is almost a teen she is struggling more. She tells me often that her brain feels overwhelmed- likely from masking all day at school. Her behaviour at school is exceptional but she has always been challenging at home and this is getting more so. She is also often showing very immature behaviours at home.
She is struggling to find where she fits in and is exploring her gender identity ( which concerns me as she has never expressed a single sign of this before. - even when a close friend identified a a boy early in primary school). I think it far more likely that she is autistic and curious about her sexuality
Is now the time we need to pursue a diagnosis? Is a diagnosis likely to help her understand herself better?