Published on 12, July, 2020
I have now received my diagnosis and received my report.
I am 46 and perimenopausal so it has been very complex emotionally.
It has been recommended that I am assessed now for ADHD and have been referred to Psychiatry UK which is a 6 month wait.
I wondered where to start now other than what was recommended in the report such as reading biographies from women with autism and this organisation/forum to read up on female autism.
I have a mixture of emotions and have been enjoying some volunteer work helping in a charity shop and dog walking. The social element is difficult some days, others not depending on my mood (if it is low).
I am looking for some guidance on what to do next? I am under the CMHT and meeting them again in 2 weeks.
Aside from this website, there is very little (if any) support for late diagnosis adult autism in later life, including post-diagnostic assessment to (properly) assess support needs post-diagnosis, both through the public or private sector/charities - even these private/charity sources of support require a GP referral which is almost impossible to get a GP appointment post-Covid, because the focus is on children’s autism and not adults - there is a reluctance, a point-blank refusal to understand the very nature of autism on the part of support providers to properly support adults living with autism, funding issues and other priorities being one of many issues, so there is a clear need for this support of and from properly trained professionals with proper sources of funding put in place - as more adults are going to be diagnosed in later life as methods of diagnosis and with further advances in science become known, together with many other things being revealed, coupled with an ageing autistic population, this is going to become a serious problem in the coming years