Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm not sure if this is appropriate to post and I am not asking for medical advice. I would just like to hear from adults who were diagnosed with ASD later in life. I am in my early 30s. I am not sure what I should do as I have been reading up a lot more on ASD lately and some of my behaviours and feelings do match some descriptions but some of these can also overlap with things like depression or anxiety disorders. For example some things like understanding how others feel come naturally to me, but I did have to teach myself how to socialise with people to seem "normal". There are more things as well that keep adding up, but won't elaborate in order to try and keep this as short as possible. I'm just a bit confused as to if I should seek a diagnosis or not as life has been a bit hard for me lately. I know that people on the internet can't tell me if I have ASD, I just feel a bit vulnerable at the moment and don't feel like I have anyone to talk to. How does one even get a diagnosis? Does it help?
I didn't find out until I was in my fifties. I didn't think my behaviours could be autistic, but then I had practically no knowledge. So I asked Dr Google, who directed me to this site, where I felt very much 'at home ', and also gave me the AQ50 diagnostic test for adults, which is a screening test used by professionals and created by an autism expert (Dr Baron-Cohen) - it's not being diagnosed by the internet!
Here is the link to.the test: https://psychology-tools.com/test/autism-spectrum-quotient
If you score highly on this test, it's a good indicator that you are probably autistic. If so, you can then contact your doctor to.discuss whether to pursue a formal.diagnosis. Some of us decide not to do that and stay 'self diagnosed ' - it's a very personal decision, but everyone is welcome here.
Hope you enjoy chatting with us.