Newly Diagnosed 30 year old - ASD report next steps

Hi Pip - congratulations on your diagnosis and welcome to the community!

The NAS has a freshly revamped set of resources covering the post-diagnosis period. If you haven't already seen them, I suggest reading through their articles here:

> After Diagnosis

Like mine, your report might recommend therapy or counselling, for which your GP may be able to make a referral. In preparation for this, I found this book extremely helpful:

The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy - Steph Jones

In this candid, witty and insightful exploration into therapy, Steph Jones uses her professional and lived experiences as a late diagnosed autistic woman and therapist, as well as consulting therapists from across the world and tapping into the autistic community, to create the ultimate autistic survival guide to therapy.

You may be ready for therapy / counselling immediately, or prefer to let the dust settle first. I felt that I first needed a few months to work through the emotional dysregulation that can be common for us to feel immediately after our diagnosis (perhaps including experiencing some backward-looking anger, grief, etc).

That being said, depending on the waiting time in your area, it might still be best to seek a referral straight away.

Many thanks for your warm welcome and advice! 

I'm already in private therapy (having had quite terrible luck with the NHS) and thankfully my therapist has a decent level of knowledge - and is willing to learn more! I've seen that book recommended by a few people so will definitely check it out. 

You're welcome! It's great to hear that you're already benefiting from therapy with a knowledgeable and open-minded therapist :)

You're welcome! It's great to hear that you're already benefiting from therapy with a knowledgeable and open-minded therapist :)