Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
I am 34, dyslexic but no diagnosis of autism.
Two close family members of mine have been diagnosed with autism in the past 2 years.
After some time off work with Mental Health issues and subsequently leaving, I am starting to think I may be autistic too.
I often struggle with social situations (not servery but noticeably). I struggle a lot with change and disorganization (a large part of my leaving my job). I also struggle a lot with particular noise stimuli (particularly road noise/traffic) to the point where I just have to leave / go somewhere without noise.
These things haven't held me back too much (I am a reasonably successful product designer) but after leaving 2 good jobs because of Mental Health / burnout, deteriorating professional relationships (Which in my opinion have arisen from poor management. Possibly due my me need to be managed differently?) I am starting to wonder if there is more too my mental Health issues and my inability to stay in a job for 2-3 years.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? Does this sound like it could be autism / related to autism?And if so, does anyone have any advice on how to move forward / get assessed?
Thanks,
WR
Hi WR, and welcome to the forum!
What you've said here sounds quite similar to what led me to look into whether I might be autistic - particularly what you said about leaving jobs due to burnout/mental health. (I'm recovering from another burnout at the moment, but now self-employed as staying in full time employment has been too much for me to handle.)
Once I did realise what was going on with me, which was back in August/September, I spoke to my GP to ask for a referral for assessment. He was happy to do so, and sent me the AQ50 questionnaire to complete before referring me. My score (49) has been more than enough for me to now identify as autistic while I wait for an appointment to get assessed. It varies depending on which NHS trust is doing the assessment (unless you opt to go private, which is much quicker but obviously costly) - I've been warned it'll be a case of years rather than months.
So I'd recommend speaking to your GP if you want to get a formal diagnosis, and also do some research of your own (this is a great place to do that!) and start making some notes of experiences you've had that point to autism, as you'll need those if you do go for an assessment.
And keep asking questions here, as there'll always be someone who'll be happy to answer them for you!
Hi Ducky,
My last job was technically a self employed / contractor role. However, I was treated like an employee in most regards until I mentioned reasonable accommodations for dyslexia and then the I was no longer an "employee" and I was on my own. I get the impression that even if I was a full employee they would only reluctantly commit to reasonable accommodations.
However, not to down talk self employment, my first job was also self employed and my boss then was brilliant. Very accommodating, flexible, as long as the work got done I could work how and when I liked... I only left because the work dried up.
I know I have only had 2 reply to this post so far but its so nice to hear from people who have been though similar experiences. THANK YOU!I will keep looking into symptoms, experiences... and then see about raising it with my GP.
And thanks for the tip about making notes of experiences. Very useful tip.
You're very welcome. I've seen in your other replies that you're going to speak to your GP - that's great news. Do let us know how you get on once you've spoken to them.
Will do :)