Wondering whether I am autistic.

I’ve always felt like the black sheep of my family, I was the wild child, the naughty child that no body wanted to took after as I was too much of a hand full. I decide to get diagnosis not long after my daughter did at the age of 9. As a lot of the issues I was having with her I found I also suffered with. 

My first appointment with the gp did not go well because as she put it because I was married and studied for a degree I couldn’t possible be autistic, Needless to say I left the doctors in tears. After I couple of months of still feeling like there comethimg wring with me I plucked up the courage to go back and see a different doctor. This time Id written down all the reasons I thought I was autistic I ended up with 4 pages of A4 paper. This doctor took me seriously and referred my to hospital for tests I had two appointments and with 4 mounts I was diagnosed. 

For me a diagnosis has helped me understand me and why my parents struggled with me when I was a child, it’s brought us closer together. It’s help people around me understand why I act a certain way. Its also accepted at work so my employer has to make allowance and offer support should I need it. The down side to having a label is that people blame the label ie autism instead of looking deeper in why certain things happen. Sometimes my husband just sees the autism and not me. Having autism doesn’t define me its just a part of who I am therefore,  there’s  more to me than just being autistic. 

Getting diagnosed is a individual choice people go for different reasons but for me it gave me permission to be me. 

£550

Hi Beaky how much did the private diagnosis cost?

Hi i am in the same boat as you but my thoughts and research about it have been going on for over 2 years. I think this is typical of me in that i have to weigh absolutely everything up before i start to go through with anything. 

When ive approached people i know about it they have said no way but i think its cos they have a stereotypical view of what AS should be. My main point to them has been that if you dont feel.different you dont go searching on the internet as to what you think is "wrong" with you. Something must trigger it off. 

I am in 2 minds as to seek an assessment or not. Altho ive had stress and anxiety ive got this far without knowing about it.i feel i would end up limiting myself.

Im.content at the moment with self-recognition and my research as helped me put coping strategies in place.

I click on your link and wordpress loads up but no blog. Maybe its just my technology though.

Various people kept suggesting I was autistic about 10yrs ago so I very slowly began reading about it and then did some of the tests online and scored VERY high. So I began to read about aitism in women.

Just over a year ago I decided that my 2018 goal was to 1. Accept my autism for myself and 2. Approach GP to get a formal assessment. I'm 34, married with 3 children but unable to get jobs or keep them for long when I do get one.

I ended up going privately for assessment as my GP was not very helpful and the NHS waiting list for adults once you are referred in my area is about 3 years. I was diagnosed with ASD Adult Aspergers 7/12/18! My private diagnosis is NHS recognised, I made sure it would be and that a copy of my assessment and diagnosis is sent to my GP for my medical records.

For me, having it formally recognised means I can sense of my past. And I can now head into 2019 better able to think about employment and how to keep a job. I have not had a full time job for longer than 3 months at a time because I burn out. A formal diagnosis gives me employment protection. (I know employers can still be hard to work for i they start trying to change terms of employment etc once you actually get in role so it's not a 100% guarentee of being easier all the time though.)

Having my diagnosis has been a big relief.

There are lots of really good books and blogs and fb groups to discover that will help you work things out.