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Getting a diagnosis asa a woman who masks by default

Cat

Does anyone who masks most of the time have any experience of getting a diagnosis? 

My daughter was diagnosed 5 years ago and 2 psychologists at the time suggested that I’m also autistic  Since then, I’ve read loads and realised that I am, which makes sense to my husband and family too. I now want to get a formal diagnosis but am worried that I’m so used to masking and relying on scripts and with anyone not immediate family, that whoever assesses me will miss it. Im 51 and a woman who works as a journalist so I’m used to talking to strangers and have developed all sort of strategies for hiding who I really am.

I’m just worried I’ll be told I don’t present as autistic so am wondering how to get an assessment with someone who understands and can see beyond sophisticated masking techniques that I’ve developed over decades. 

thanks 

Parents

  • I work with people too so I had similar worries, but the energy it takes to maintain that type of work usually has an impact on other areas of my day. 

    If you have ever heard of spoon theory it's quite useful, but I liked a different version of it better based on pints of beer. 

    Your tipsy but not drunk limit may be 8 pints. 

    Some days you may be able to do 10 pints but be ill the next day. 

    You can likely not sustain too many days in a row of 8 pints without also getting ill. 

    Some days you definitely need 0 to recover. 

    It goes like that. Probably was more eloquently written in the article I read (I saw it on Linkedin) but it really helped me to understand my limitations and that we ALL have them, just some of us have a higher or lower limit than others.

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  • I work with people too so I had similar worries, but the energy it takes to maintain that type of work usually has an impact on other areas of my day. 

    If you have ever heard of spoon theory it's quite useful, but I liked a different version of it better based on pints of beer. 

    Your tipsy but not drunk limit may be 8 pints. 

    Some days you may be able to do 10 pints but be ill the next day. 

    You can likely not sustain too many days in a row of 8 pints without also getting ill. 

    Some days you definitely need 0 to recover. 

    It goes like that. Probably was more eloquently written in the article I read (I saw it on Linkedin) but it really helped me to understand my limitations and that we ALL have them, just some of us have a higher or lower limit than others.

Children
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