At age 52 and having had an (online via Zoom and email) initial autism diagnosis in 2021, I’ve still not had a post-diagnostic autism assessment, having went for diagnosis in 2019 here in the U.K. (Manchester) after being “encouraged” to do so by family in Ireland, so I’ve no idea as to what my support needs are in terms of what I’d want or need, aside from what family in Ireland want to decide on my behalf what they consider as being in my best interests (according to traditional Catholic Social Teaching and in an Irish Catholic social and cultural context) and insist upon same, as I live alone, which in the light of my diagnosis, they do not approve of and they insist on either a live in carer or a long term residential placement, even if working, where unchaperoned travel (over 20 miles) is also strongly disapproved of - after my diagnosis, I’d came back to the workplace too soon after redundancy since 2019 after 17 years without being properly prepared nor having proper supports in place - the support for autistic adults compared to that for children, is simply not available and I’ve really struggled to find anything, even online and via the directory on this website - I’ve contacted a few adult autism charities via email and am awaiting responses, as the support from the council, NHS, social services etc is even more dire - private sources of adult autism support are not only very expensive but also require GP referrals and other red tape, even where a full diagnostic report is available and is given to them on initial contact - I’ve had to quit working after just over a year because of this lack of post-diagnostic assessments and other support to establish my support needs - when I can’t even get in touch with my social worker by both phone and email while working and none of my calls are returned, even if work are willing to allow me time off to attend such appointments, this is doubly unacceptable - it would appear that the only way to access support is not to be working to start with - and I’ve also felt that I was in the wrong type of job for my condition regardless of past work experience, yet especially since the initial diagnosis was carried out online, this emphasises the need for post-diagnostic assessment so that support needs and other elements, including that of more suitable employment can be clearly established and action plans can be drawn up - it’s been mutually agreed with my employer for me to make the difficult decision to quit, even if this means awkward conversations with the jobcentre and others including family in Ireland (this will involve a screaming match over the phone, as per usual since my diagnosis) along with the coldness and condescending attitudes of those in state bodies like the council and the NHS which I have also experienced on phone calls and emails trying to get support - it’s almost as if that because I’m an older white male, they simply don’t want to know, even when trying to get a self-referral - and the GP’s are not much better either, even allowing for cultural and other differences - I’m even more concerned about this as I approach retirement age, having discovered during Covid that I’d lost all 4 state and works pensions in both Ireland and the U.K. and face a very bleak future, as the general situation in Ireland is much worse in many respects, even though in the over 20 years I’ve lived in the U.K. I’ve always held an Irish passport and still consider Ireland as my home - I know of programmes that were supposed to be designed to allow people to continue working but these don’t seem to match employers and/or other requirements and also involve some red tape - ideally when I had my initial diagnosis, a whole intervention team should have sprung into action and taken over to assess every detail of my life in minute detail and in every aspect, taking over everything and taken complete control (as in decades/centuries past, in relation to other issues, the Catholic priests and nuns would have done similar) and even aside from Covid, this seems to only happen with children with Autism, not adults