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Advice on going for late diagnosis

Speranza

I'd like to ask if any of you have any advice. I know it's a long process, and looking at the forms the GP would have to submit, I see they ask "What is the patient hoping to get from diagnosis?" The truth is, I don't know. It's a few years since I realised I wasn't neurotypical but hey, I'm 61. I know it's not unusual to be diagnosed later in life but... I have hundreds of strategies in place which had me fooled, let alone other people.

I've been in counselling for a while and have been addressing 'emotional numbness' and it keeps coming to me that this might just be normal for me if I do have Autism. As I also have anxiety (again, coped until my fifties without diagnosis or medication) I can see this could related back to something else undiagnosed.

Mostly it's the feeling of 'being other' which I know people on here will understand. However I have lots of traits which would belie an ASD/C diagnosis. If I met the 5 year old me I would be referring her directly for assessment, but I'm obviously great at masking after over half a century!

Do you think I am right to think about seeking diagnosis? I feel there is a lot of effort going on beneath the surface which might be easier if I had some explanations... or should I just leave well alone as for the most part I am fine and very few people would suspect on meeting me that this is going on.

I am not in the least bit bothered about possibly having that label, in fact I might be more worried if I didn't have it. But do I NEED it?

Your thoughts would be very welcome. I have my last counselling session soon and so it may be the point to try something different and go for diagnosis. What do you think? I also fit the profile for ADHD and I don't know how to go about raising both as a possibility... 

Many thanks,

Gill

Parents

  • It's always a personal choice to go through this. But you do say there are issues you are having counselling for. You will get more out of such therapies for knowing for sure why you have the issues you are dealing with and your therapist would need to tailor the approach to autism for it to work well. You request could easily be justified on those grounds.

    I was diagnosed at 56 and it has been the best thing ever. I feel better than I have in years just for knowing why

  • in reply to Dawn

    I’m going through the diagnostic process too (have gone past the first ‘hurdle’ to the next stage ) and I’m in my fifties too. I also held back for a while as I wasn’t sure what the benefit of a diagnosis would be (and was concerned there might be disadvantages such as driving insurance etc. I decided to go ahead though. Until I realised I was autistic (through parenting my son and his diagnosis and seeing that I had most of the same traits )  I often blamed myself for the fact that I found so many things difficult that other people seemed to breeze through. I felt so useless and such a failure. Now I realise it’s an intrinsic part of me and how my brain works - not  just a personal failing or weakness in me. 

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  • in reply to Dawn

    I’m going through the diagnostic process too (have gone past the first ‘hurdle’ to the next stage ) and I’m in my fifties too. I also held back for a while as I wasn’t sure what the benefit of a diagnosis would be (and was concerned there might be disadvantages such as driving insurance etc. I decided to go ahead though. Until I realised I was autistic (through parenting my son and his diagnosis and seeing that I had most of the same traits )  I often blamed myself for the fact that I found so many things difficult that other people seemed to breeze through. I felt so useless and such a failure. Now I realise it’s an intrinsic part of me and how my brain works - not  just a personal failing or weakness in me. 

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