Diagnosed late in life

47 F diagnosed 6 days ago. 2 children also have ASC. 

For those of us diagnosed later in life with autism there does need to be specialist support and/or intervention, like what used to happen with the priests and the nuns years ago - many believe that people with autism should not be allowed to live alone without a live-in carer or support, but this needs to be established via a post-diagnostic assessment - maybe religious organisations could be contacted with a view to be trained by autism experts in how best to conduct these post-diagnostic assessments and later, to provide that support after further training - if we don’t have post diagnostic assessment , how on earth are we supposed to know what our support needs are? 

Thank you.  I'll sit with them for a while.  Much appreciated.

I will PM you a link, #!

Yes....and that is one of the MANY reasons why I find you so agreeable to me! Trust me.....that doesn't happen often for me with humans!

PS....I would still dearly like to see some of your artistic endeavours....but no pressure!

this is very much what I experienced. I'm 69.

Hello Alice-nice-Alice, I am Number.  I WANT TO KNOW YOU BETTER !  Your post above is inspiring and aspirational.  I feel there is no reason why I should not be able to post as you have........and yet?!!

I'm only a whipper‐snapper in my 50's (came to an understanding and ready acceptance of my autism about 18 months ago = lightening bolt of "how did NOBODY know!"....but had already crafted my life to accommodate my (hitherto) unknown autistic reality AND found the fortitude to survive the challenges despite not knowing why.  That is a GOLDEN position?!?!

Thank you for your post - in any event - you reignite my hope! AND I hope to speak with your further on these matters.  I had expected an army of people with your "presence" on these pages......and yet you are the first to bolster my underlying belief in a "hugely empowering" potential

I hope to meet you again soon here. Thank you again for the hope!!!

Kindest regards

Number.

Hey everyone 

49, undiagnosed and only realised 3 months ago when my son was having therapy and related so many traits to his. You’re definitely not alone. I’m just at the beginning of the journey with both me and my son.

nice to meet you 

Diagnosed at 47. I have always felt an outsider. At first it was a shock but actually now I feel better about myself because at least now I know why I was struggling with various things all through my life. It has also allowed me to try and adapt my life so I'm not rubbing up against my autism all the time which I realise now I was frequently doing, but didn't understand it. 

Congratulations and welcome to the late diagnosis club! I was diagnosed autistic in the summer (age 62) I also got told I'm likely ADHD but need a separate assessment to confirm that. I'm considering getting that done but to be honest I'm confident as I can be that I'm ADHD and not convinced I will get an official diagnosis as I'm not sure how helpful that might be.

Inula

I can relate! things started to make sense. it gave me license, agency, and a feeling I was really just fine as I was.

find your strengths, and cultivate them.

Going through the assessment process, age 38.

I'm 55 and got diagnosed 13 days ago. 

I was diagnosed in late 2022 aged 64. It has been hugely empowering, opened many doors and enabled me make significant changes for the better. I can actually say I am in a better place than at any time in my life. 

Yes. I'm 55 and was diagnosed 12 days ago. What you've expressed sounds exactly like me. I feel shocked, and at the same time, a sense of relief. I've been trying to figure out some "missing piece" to me, some reason as to why I've never fit in, despite constant effort. Coping with and accepting this unexpected diagnosis has been especially challenging: Three hours after my diagnosis, I received an email saying that my father was in the hospital, likely dying from Covid compounded with Parkinson's. Yesterday it was determined nothing more can be done for him medically, and he's now in hospice care. I live on the other side of the world, and I'm unable to see him. At this point, I'm...I don't even know how to finish this sentence. 

Hi, you have very much mirrored my journey, I was 53 when lockdown started, it was the perfect world. I had always known I was different but just didn’t know what it was. After lockdown I was struggling massively, just by an absolute chance the radio was on in my workshop, two people were being interviewed who had been late diagnosed with asd at the age of 18. They explained how autism affects their lives, nearly everything they said was my life.

I was very ignorant to autism, I had the stereotypical view of it, I think I was elated, shocked and then sad. I went to my GP and explained how I felt, 10 minutes later I was referred for an assessment.

Im 56 now and still on the waiting list, hopefully only 6 months to go. A diagnosis in the 70’s or 80’s at school would have been of little use. There was no understanding of autism and the bullies would have made life even worse.

Hi, I'm 55 and was diagnosed earlier this year. I've always felt like an outsider. The trigger for me was realising how much I enjoyed lock down and how much I've struggled since the return to 'normal'.  I've spent a few months trying to process it all, but I've realised that if I look at my life through the lens of autism a lot of things make so much more sense. I've spent most of my life trying to fit in, hide aspects of myself and beating myself up for struggling with things other people find easy. My diagnosis is one of the most positive things to happen in my life.  As others have said, what little support there is appears to be geared towards children. I haven't got the facts to back this up, but I can't help thinking that we are likely to be the last, or close to last generation where late diagnosis occurs.  Schools seem to be much better at picking it up now - before we learn to 'mask up'. Take your own time to get used to your diagnosis - you are still the same person, but you now know yourself a lot more. I've just started telling people and, in the main, I've been met with complete indifference and an unwillingness to listen - so be really careful who you open up to.  We are all here to support you as best we can.  Welcome to the club! 

i also was. and being female misdiagnosed at first. I am 69 now