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"Less autistic" during teenage years? Late diagnosis 28/w

NAS63599

Hello,

(English is not my first language so i apologise if there are mistakes)

i recently got diagnosed with being on the spectrum. Reading into High functioning autism now i realise so many things and it fits perfectly. I am a 28 year old woman and spent the last 6 years of my life very depressed and anxious, i though i was going crazy and i would never fit/belong anywhere, i am too different to others. So in one way, the diagnosis was a relief (i never thought of the possibility of ASD before i thought i was severely depressed and high anxiety).

One thing i keep thinking about is my teenage years. I had this 3-4 years as a teenager from 15 to 19 where i totally broke out of my shell, i was rebelling. I always felt very different and didn't have friends and spend most of my time alone. Then there came the turning point when i was about 15 where i didn't care about anything and embraced my weirdness and became quite loud and eccentric during art school times (outside of the house - as soon as i got home i was always quiet). I had this "outside persona" and also started going to parties and drinking - there was no party without alcohol though. Also had a strong ED during those years.

During this time i don't remember sounds and lights bothering me as much as they do now. I always had conflicts and meltdowns (which i never understood i just thought everyone gets this crying attacks at home and punches walls).

Now my question is -is it common that during teenage years the traits can show less?

After turning 20 it all went downhill from there - depression and anxiety, i got very insecure.  Has anybody that got diagnosed late experienced smth similar during teenage years?

  • I'm in my mid-twenties and waiting for a diagnosis. I definitely feel "more autistic" than I did when I was a teenager - I'm certainly much more sensitive to light and sound. I've also been having meltdowns since my teens, but I find they're more frequent now I'm an adult and I have more responsibilities to worry about.

    Hope you're finding the group helpful so far.

  • Your English is great!!

    When I was a child and pre-teen I did quite well socially compared to now, but I think that's because my social skills were ok back then relative to everyone else, whereas now my social skills are not so good relative to everyone else.

    It could be that because of peer pressure at school you were hiding your autistic symptoms during your teenage years with your 'outside persona'. This is called 'masking'. Maybe your ED, which you say was strong during those years, was your way of coping with the pressure of maintaining this façade when in public.