knowing the unknown - new diagnosis

Hi Liz, welcome to the forum!

Re. "Right now I am struggling with the 'no cure' concept. This to me says life will always be a struggle and i'm not sure i can accept that.", I would say that feeling probably has a lot to do with the process of diagnosis and should fade in time.

It's always a shake-up when you find out something new, plus the context you have encountered autism in most lately is as a 'condition to be diagnosed', which automatically casts it in a negative light. What the medical context rarely adequately highlights is the positive side of the autistic brain; the unique perspective from which we perceive the world and the talents and positive traits we can possess as a result of the way we are differently wired. 

Yes, some things are more difficult for some people and the diagnosis has highlighted that for you right now, but the good thing about the diagnosis is that you can now;
* Understand why you find the things you do hard and so (hopefully) take the pressure off yourself a bit; you're not "the smartest dumb person ever"- you're autistic! That in itself is a great thing to know. 
* More easily find strategies that work for you to improve things you find difficult, either from research into things that have worked for other autistic people or just from having and applying that greater self-understanding.
* Feel less alone. For my part I have found a real sense of belonging with other autistic people, online and IRL (most of my close friends and my partner are on the spectrum, though I obviously didn't know when I first met them- I just seem to naturally gravitate to other autistic folk!). 

Here is a pdf of a book that really helped me understand more about autism and myself as an autistic person when I was first diagnosed;
http://www.autismforthvalley.co.uk/files/5314/4595/7798/Attwood-Tony-The-Complete-Guide-to-Aspergers-Syndrome.pdf 

I think this "i just need to find myself and know myself a little better, rather than wishing i was like someone else" is spot on!

I hope you find answers, acceptance and understanding here x

Hi Liz, welcome to the forum!

Re. "Right now I am struggling with the 'no cure' concept. This to me says life will always be a struggle and i'm not sure i can accept that.", I would say that feeling probably has a lot to do with the process of diagnosis and should fade in time.

It's always a shake-up when you find out something new, plus the context you have encountered autism in most lately is as a 'condition to be diagnosed', which automatically casts it in a negative light. What the medical context rarely adequately highlights is the positive side of the autistic brain; the unique perspective from which we perceive the world and the talents and positive traits we can possess as a result of the way we are differently wired. 

Yes, some things are more difficult for some people and the diagnosis has highlighted that for you right now, but the good thing about the diagnosis is that you can now;
* Understand why you find the things you do hard and so (hopefully) take the pressure off yourself a bit; you're not "the smartest dumb person ever"- you're autistic! That in itself is a great thing to know. 
* More easily find strategies that work for you to improve things you find difficult, either from research into things that have worked for other autistic people or just from having and applying that greater self-understanding.
* Feel less alone. For my part I have found a real sense of belonging with other autistic people, online and IRL (most of my close friends and my partner are on the spectrum, though I obviously didn't know when I first met them- I just seem to naturally gravitate to other autistic folk!). 

Here is a pdf of a book that really helped me understand more about autism and myself as an autistic person when I was first diagnosed;
http://www.autismforthvalley.co.uk/files/5314/4595/7798/Attwood-Tony-The-Complete-Guide-to-Aspergers-Syndrome.pdf 

I think this "i just need to find myself and know myself a little better, rather than wishing i was like someone else" is spot on!

I hope you find answers, acceptance and understanding here x

Hi Emma, 

Thank you so much for that! 

I shall take a read over a few forums, also i found a couple of facebook groups too, one for women and one for both men and women on the spectrum. 

i shall also download the pdf book you've attached and give it a read.

I am the type of person that knows whats going on in my life and if im faced with something im unsure of i really try hard to know more. so im hoping the feeling im having now are simply due to the fact i dont know much about it and its all new still.

thank you for taking the time to reply 

Liz