Anyone diagnosed as an adult?

Hi complete newbie here. 

im wondering if anyone has been diagnosed as an adult? 

I’ve always known I was abit ‘quirky’ as some say about me. But in the past few years I’ve started to mask less and just be myself even around family and they’re noticing things now. 

Does anyone else get overwhelmed easily? Sensory overload happens a lot. I struggle with a lot going on and rock a lot to allow my to understand or take in what’s being said to me etc this has definitely started showing slot more recently. 

I find something I really like and then have to learn everything about it. Where it started? Why? What’s the reason it? When did it originate? I read fact books and then become so overwhelmed I end up flapping and getting myself into a state. I’ve come to realise I’ve masked so much over the years growing up that now those coping mechanisms I created are now not working so well as they once did. I have this urge we’ll need to understand myself and this is definitely making me think about pushing for an assessment. 

I crave routine and absolutely hate change!! It takes me months to get used to a change, this has definitely heightened in the past 2 years or so. I know even as a child I’ve always hated change anyway.

has anyone ever been diagnosed in their 30’s? Where would I begin? 

thanks if you reached the end 

  • It's been proposed to me that diagnosing adults can be quite complex given the array of many well known disorders that spawn symptoms similar to traits found within the ASD spectrum.  The longer the life lived the more tainted the process can be.  Myself having what is termed a 'prejudicial childhood' (damaging) has given way to a previous diagnoses of chronic (long term/permanency) complex (self explanatory) PTSD with social phobia (now agoraphobia)  and having been previous labeled with clinical depression + Bi-Polar tendencies; the latter having been dismissed with a focus now an ADD/ADHD ... which is even more problematic when compared to ASD ... yadda yadda and so on.  That's just my story.  It's different for different folk. 

    Now whilst that may be considered on the extreme side of things, even the most benign background in adult diagnosis is still going to be more complex than a child's.  I highly recommend learning as much as you can before being diagnosed.  However, that in itself comes with risks.  Self diagnosing can also taint. More so the process in which confused individuals desire to identify with this or that diagnosis.  That said, if your objective enough and aware of the self diagnosis trap, and genuinely identify with various traits back in your childhood, that note it down.   Just be sure the behaviors, symptoms and traits are not  tainted with environmental trauma or unrelated PTSD events. 

    You see, it's not just about acknowledging the learning difficulties and breaking those down from reading, comprehension and so on - In an adult diagnosis it's important that you yourself can 'define the difference between events/life progression' that might mask/taint  X, Y and Z ASD traits.  The staring into space, stuttering, not following along, attachment & detachment issues on and on.  

    Forgive me.  I seem to the only one going on and on here. 
    _______________

    YES - I was diagnosed as an adult.  I just wanted to give you something more than just a yes is all.  Sorry I am doing this all back to front.  Something else worth considering:

    It's not uncommon for undiagnosed ASD adults to of had a traumatic upbringing.  The challengers themselves often make for ASD kids to be ridiculed and picked on in school by both students and teachers. (discounting challenger in the home and socio economics) -  My grandson is Level 2 Diagnosed.  My wife and I now having a better knowledge of ASD enabled us to pick it up early with my grandson.  So I did a bit of researching and found out statistically speaking that ASD children are at 80% risk of being bullied.  This concerns me greatly and thankfully have a good relation with the special ed department.  The teacher issue I think more present in high school.  That said back in the 70's for me my teacher use to grab a hand full of hair holding the back of my head slamming it into my table repeating whatever it was the I either did not understand or what she told me to do.  Again the point here is ASD kids don't have to come from a troubled home to be victims of their own challengers.

    The above paragraph is but just one example of drawing a distinction between what one individual may determine as X.Y and Z ASD traits and resulting PTSD from whatever event at whatever times.   My ASD traits as I understand them now often saw me wind up with PTSD events. Again it's more about having to draw those distinctions during the diagnosis process.  It's a tact in the remembering that helped me define between resulting anxiety and the actually preexisting traits that led me to such unfortunate events. ← such remembering from ongoing therapy but context here is to understand the important of filtering out the traits from so far back.  I suggest therapy before actual diagnosis would make the process much easier.  Just saying is all.  

    I'll try to surmise and make this the last paragraph.  Apologies for wall of text.  Let's just call that one of my one track traits.  The thing is just going to a GP will not be enough.  I sense you already know that.  A referral to a phycologist was a good start for me and it was in fact a therapists that brought it up where eventually I ended up seeing a physiatrist.  I'm pretty sure a clinical psychologist could to the diagnosis as at the moment I've downgraded to a registered psychologist who is looking at upscaling my current Mild ASD to Level 2 due to X,Y & Z.  The thing to ask yourself has anyone in your past ever approached you with concerns regarding yourself having some kind of difficulties?  As an adult I my kids school social workers approached me with concerns regarding myself showing traits of aspergers.  This was like 12 to 15 years before I ended up with a DX of ASD.  The approached concerns could be anything though.  It's with ongoing therapy that recollections take place and having a little knowledge when either in disagreement or just not gelling with previous DX/diagnosis don't fit or you feel you simply don't fit either the boxes of both society or tick and flicks that you join the dots to something ... hmmm ... more appropriate; as was my case.  

    At any rate - one DX does not fit all.  I feel we all have strains of many and that is exactly why the spectrum was introduced.  That's what I am saying at any rate. 

    Adult ASD diagnoses is not easy, but having a good understanding of how these things work can greatly assist your endeavors to get to find appropriate supports.  For me ASD fits the bill quite well although I am careful not to identify as my labels. 

    I too am new here. I wish you all the best where ever you go or whatever you do.

    I really don't know.  Still finding my own way.  I just wanted to help.  Good luck!  
    ______________________

    PS - I was diagnosed around 50?  My memory is also shot.  But that sounds about right.  Had many other labels before that and still do. ;) 


  • Yep diagnosed with autism last year at age 34

  • Yeah. I have just been diagnosed and I'm 32. It has been interesting. Though not much has changed, yet...

  • Thankyou. I shall have a look on those links. 

  • Good thanks. I think. Just did the test on Ethan's link. Now in shaking. Must need sleep.

  • Diagnosed last year at the age of 46 (ouch! - although since my time on this forum I consider myself one of the more lucky ones)

    A lot of things in your post I related to. Overload, fascination with new topics, desire for routine - yep. All relatable here.

    There's the autism spectrum quotient if you're looking for some kind of self-screening https://psychology-tools.com/test/autism-spectrum-quotient 

    It's a screening tool to indicate whether someone should be considered for an assessment. I used the shortened version, AQ10 to open up a conversation with my GP. He had me keep a mood diary because of my depression (one of those overlapping conditions along with anxiety) and my responses pretty much convinced him to push ahead with an assessment. I suspect it was to do with how much I wrote, the writing flourishes and my recollection of a rather unpleasant experience struggling with the overhead lights in a chemist waiting for a prescription. 

    There is advice here on getting assessed on the NHS https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/ and the NAS has a good page here https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis

    The NHS was taking ages, so I was fortunate enough to get someone at work to advocate for the company to pay for my diagnosis because it wasn't covered by our occupational health contract. I went to a private local company which was really supportive and has provided some excellent follow up sessions. It's not cheap though.

  • Thankyou for reply. I have had issues with anxiety and depression too. A few people have said to me ‘oh so you’re autistic then?’ And it’s become more recently too, so I wonder if my masks are any good.  People at work are seeing things too now I’m beginning to settle. 

    I hope you both are ok x

  • Glad your assessment went well.

  • I hear you, I have issues with anxiety and depression as well. I've no idea who I am or even how to find myself, surely one of these masks must be me. I hope you do feel better though and soon

  • I was advised by the Mental Health team to ask my doctor for an assessment. He just replied 'Oh, I thought you had already been diagnosed' so perhaps my masks were never any good.

    The assessment was scheduled for 90 minutes over zoom, but they diagnosed me within 45 minutes because I already provided them with enough evidence - whatever that meant.

    They can and I was expecting them to contact my Mum to ask about my childhood, but they didn't.  They just asked questions about me and my childhood

  • Oh bless you.  It’s a hard place to be in. 

  • I find it hard to get back on track again.

  • I'm at a point where I'm not entirely sure who the real me is. It's possibly partly caused my anxiety. You often hear people say they're looking for themselves, I'm not sure if I'd recognise me if I found me.

  • Thankyou for your reply. I am so scared to go to my dr. What if he thinks I’m just being silly PensiveFace palm I want to understand myself. I want to read up on me and find out how to help me and why these things happen and I feel the way I do. 

    it’s good to know people are still being diagnosed in adulthood. What did they do at your assessment? If you don’t mind me asking?

  • I end up having a neck spasm and my neck will just keep jolting back several times. It’s so hard Cry

  • I'm 36 and was diagnosed just 2 months ago, so I've not even had my post-diagnosis follow up yet so I'm a bit new to this. Go speak to your GP and ask for an assessment. It is quite a long waiting list though, my wait was 12 months, but I have heard up to 2 years.

    Yes I zone out, half way through me talking or someone else talking. I have also masked for years and now struggling to hold them all in place, but the scary thing is that my mask has been on so long I'm not even sure what's under it.

  • I do that, quite a lot, followed by a nervous laugh.

  • Does anyone else just zone out too? I’ll be half way through a sentence or will be discussing something and i’ll forget and my eyes dart around the room trying to regroups myself to carry on. I feelo stupid when it happens Pensive