Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm 49 yes and I've just been diagnosed with autism.
I feel the NHS as a whole has let me down, I have had problems through out my school and college days and got called Stupid alot whilst in Eduction and in personal time ie: HOME.
I now feel if had been diagnosed sooner I would not of been bullied as much I'd did and still do: it's just not fair .
I was diagnosed a year ago at the age of 57, still trying to process all the negative experiences due to being undiagnosed. At school when I was 15 someone asked me what I was going to be when I was older, a social outcast?. I was verbally abused by a partner, bullied at work, have had countless comments and faces pulled at me in social situations. Also have been taken advantage of due to my kind nature and my willingness to help people. The diagnosis has helped me to make sense of it all, but it just means that I try to avoid interacting with people as much as I can, apart from working for a disability confident employer where I feel supported. I've had 7 sessions of 2 hours each of post diagnostic support, that has now finished. There definitely needs to be more training in autism awareness so that we feel more understood and supported as we go about our daily lives.