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Not sure what to do

NAS82475

Hello I am a 23-year-old self-employed male and for the last few years I have suspected I maybe autistic. I have done online surveys/quizzes which I know aren't a diagnosis but I have done about 15 and they all have come back with “Strong Chance Of Autism” (or whatever it is they say).

At this point, I am unsure what to do as my GP is useless and honestly the whole process gives me anxiety and I never end up following through with it.

I have had people mention to me or ask me if I'm autistic and they have also mentioned it or asked my Fiance as well.

The things that made me think I may be are: 

I hate the thought of any social interaction or activity of any kind. Even with people, I have known for years I struggle to stay in the room with people  for longer than 20 minutes without disappearing to be on my own for a while.

I tend to come across to people as emotionless or ‘forcing’ emotion to fit the situation and people always seem to think I'm being rude towards them due to how blunt I can be and being very forceful in a conversation which leads to a lot of arguments and miscommunication with people close to me and has put in a place where I have virtually no friends.

A big thing my fiancee's sister has mentioned is that I don't like to make eye contact when I talk to people.

If I'm feeling very anxious, stressed, frustrated or angry I can't stand being touched and I'm very specific about the people that I like touching me.

I can not stand having people's faces close to me and if someone breaths in my face it can really affect me in a multitude of different ways.

I love fantasy writing and have a very very creative imagination which I am told is something I shouldn't have or should hide because I'm an adult 

The smallest changes to my daily routine can put me in a very bad place even to the point of waking up later than normal on the weekend makes me anxious and stressed.

Sleeping me is a struggle most nights.

If I am doing something that seems pointless, is tedious or requires a lot of brain power but is something I don't care for I become very fidgety, stressed and lose all motivation which is a problem at work and sometimes at home, but when it comes to things I enjoy I can spend hours doing them and get lost in doing it.

I find it very hard sometimes to focus in conversations, especially in groups where more than one person is talking but also when talking to a single person I tend to zone out and into my own head or the environment around depending on the environment.

There are certain things I can't stand touching and I feel sick and sometimes stresses me out, but there are also things I could feel and play with for hours for example I love rubbing the soft fabric between my fingers like the inside of a pocket or bed sheets I find this very calming and can help me in tough moments. 

An addition:

I also find myself putting hard, long or boring tasks off for long periods or if I can avoid them completely.

Unsure if this is a thing:

In the always found I either get along very well or not at all with autistic people and autistic have always seemed to gravitate toward me or away from me.

I may have missed things but these are the ones I feel most affect me and people have mentioned to me. Any help or insight would be well received thank you.

Parents

  • Hi.

    Unfortunately there's lots of stories of local GPs who resist referral. In some cases this might be due to a lack of understanding of autism - especially in adults who appear 'normal'.

    It also seems like the availability of local services for assessment and diagnosis varies massively - some areas have reasonably efficient services with levels of demand they can cope with, some areas are struggling.

    When I first started researching diagnosis I was told to expect a waiting time of at least two years. It took less than that - but weirdly that was partly because the waiting times in my area were so long that local council had stepped in to get things improved.

    The two best bits of advice I got were 1) Make a solid case to your GP that the possibility of undiagnosed Autism is having a negative impact on your day to day life and give them real life examples to back that up 2) Be prepared for a long haul through a system that can be incredibly slow, inefficient and frustrating.

    The other part is that even if you're diagnosed - you still have to work out how to live with the symptoms and how to interface with the neurotypical world and that's most likely going to come down to you.

    I hope that info helps somehow. Good luck.

  • in reply to NAS90609

    Thank for this hopefully my area isn't too backed up and I can get through quite quickly, but this is very good to know and helpful so thank you.

    That's the main reason I put this on here to get a second opinion before going through with it, in the hopes of some insight on my issues and how things work. 

    Cheers 

  • in reply to NAS82475

    Thank for this hopefully my area isn't too backed up and I can get through quite quickly, but this is very good to know and helpful so thank you.

    That's the main reason I put this on here to get a second opinion before going through with it, in the hopes of some insight on my issues and how things work. 

    One of my bigger est things for getting a diagnosis is to try and understand why these things are how they are me so I can get a better understanding of myself and how to deal with certain things. Nothing worse than having these feelings and not knowing what's causing it.

    Cheers 

Reply
  • in reply to NAS82475

    Thank for this hopefully my area isn't too backed up and I can get through quite quickly, but this is very good to know and helpful so thank you.

    That's the main reason I put this on here to get a second opinion before going through with it, in the hopes of some insight on my issues and how things work. 

    One of my bigger est things for getting a diagnosis is to try and understand why these things are how they are me so I can get a better understanding of myself and how to deal with certain things. Nothing worse than having these feelings and not knowing what's causing it.

    Cheers 

Children
  • in reply to NAS82475

    I went through my GP and he ignored the response from the diagnosis service for months on end, eventually I found out who they were and went direct to them. They couldn't understand how it had taken so long for the referral to turn into an appointment, but after direct contact, it only took a matter of months.