To undiagnosed adults or those diagnosed in adulthood: How did you realize you might be autistic?

I started wondering about autism when I got a job as a Teaching Assistant for SEN school and I started to notice that alot  of the autistic kids were a lot like me. 

I was in a controlling relationship at the time so I did not follow it up. About a year ago I was struggling socially more than ever, and I was really struggling to cope with life so I started to properly research it. It was like a light turned on in my head and my whole life finally made sense. Reading the experiences of other autistic people felt like reading my own thoughts and life story, it was incredible. I took a lot of autism tests and scored very very highly on all of them. I decided to leave it at that and not apply for a formal diagnosis as I didnt know if my mental health could cope with the assesment. Then in September I had a massive falling out with my now ex best friend and was struggling at work. I decided I couldnt cope without support anymore and on my 34th birthday I was referred for an offical diagnosis which I am currently waiting for

How did it happen for you?

Thanks for sharing! For me it was befriending an autistic person. I had started to read what they sent to me and later research it myself, so I can better understand and support them. Eventually as I read I realized that I have similar experience… I remember clearly the first time I related to autistic experience was learning about the term “sensory overload,” I excitedly exclaimed, “So that's what it's called! That's what I experience, I finally understand.” Bit by bit I had started to understand better not just my friend, but myself. 

Thanks for sharing! For me it was befriending an autistic person. I had started to read what they sent to me and later research it myself, so I can better understand and support them. Eventually as I read I realized that I have similar experience… I remember clearly the first time I related to autistic experience was learning about the term “sensory overload,” I excitedly exclaimed, “So that's what it's called! That's what I experience, I finally understand.” Bit by bit I had started to understand better not just my friend, but myself.