In my case, I had a HCP suggesting I was on the spectrum and had ADHD when I was 62. I spoke to my GP about it. Her reply was "What's normal?"
I actually got a formal diagnosis of OCD when I was 36. A younger family has a diagnosis of Asperger's and ADHD. He's the spitting image of his dad (my cousin) in every way. Two other youngsters went to uni with school diagnoses of dyslexia and came out of uni with diagnoses of dyslexia and ADHD.
One was asked how on earth he'd got his A levels: "I worked really hard."
It makes a lot of sense of our family. People just used to say that Mum was "really shy".
One of her uncles was the family member who used to retreat to his "hut" [actually a wee probably illegal cottage with working fire in a field] when he became overwhelmed. Latterly, he had a Shetland pony that curled up in front of the fire.
I believe that he also had his own coal supply in the field. He was a retired miner and knew where to dig... [Again, illegal - apparently.]
He used to do a lot of reading - I recall getting books passed on to me.
When I came back from my exchange in Moscow, I gave him a book of pictures of the Moscow Underground.
After he died, the book was passed to me. He'd read it so many times that the pages had fallen loose.
Another of mum's uncles had a family of 9 boys and one girl. Based on family visits, I'd say that three of the boys were on the spectrum. One of them got married - his wife did all the running - but couldn't cope outside his immediate family.
The other two lived together all their days and their sister used to pop in and do their housework. One of the two was his school Dux and should have gone to Edinburgh Uni - there was a bursary waiting for him - but his Dad had died young, so he went straight into work.
Because he was so clever, he escaped the coalmines and got a job with the water board. He used to cycle out of the town into the countryside every day for work and was perfectly happy there.
@AnonyMumAuDHD
When I brought my Primary 7 report home, Mum read "Weary allows no question to be unanswered."
She sighed and said "Oh, Weary...Have you been talking too much to the teacher again?!"
I learned to fake eye contact when I was at school and when I worked as a teacher. When I was on dinner duty at my last school, a couple of the laddies used to come up and blether to me whilst I was watching the queue and it was like looking at myself at their age.
A note went round the staff asking us not to engage in conversation about "Doctor Who" with one of the boys, since that was one of his "obsessions".
cough Guilty.
The last I heard, that wee boy was doing Astronomy at Edinburgh Uni.