Newly Diagnosed 30 year old - ASD report next steps

Congratulations on your autism diagnosis, and welcome to the community. 

I was appalled by my diagnostic report, which made me feel like a defective human being. However, if you've met one autism assessor, you've met one autism assessor - plenty of people have a positive assessment experience.

My number one tip would be to keep communicating with other autistic people, who have quite frankly rescued me.

Many thanks, Neil! 

I certainly empathise with that. While I was feeling pretty self confident (generally) about myself and my diagnosis the report was a bit of a knock. While my assessor was nice, having all my difficulties listed out was quite jarring. Though, it is surprising how I could have ever questioned if I was Autistic!

Thank you for sharing, I'll definitely keep communicating with others. That's what brought me to this forum and I've been glad of the decision so far. 

I found it jarring and upsetting to read a report outlining differences as if they were deficiencies. 

I'm amazed that I didn't realise I'm autistic much sooner (I was 41 when I was diagnosed last year). I think this was mainly because I believed in the Rain Man stereotype.

Anyway, keep sharing too.

(P.S. I've just changed my name to the name of my YouTube channel, just in case you wondered why I now have a pseudonym!)

I loved school, which was perfect for me because it involved accumulating lots of knowledge! Also, praise and merit were tangible: house points, certificates, prizes, etc. 

In adulthood, knowledge and ability seem to be less respected than prejudice and nepotism. It's extremely hard and exhausting to navigate a world in which egos trump rules.

Thanks for checking out the YouTube channel. I'm a lot less po-faced there than I am on this message board!

I completely agree - especially as, at least for me I am able to function and the problems arise when I don't function in the 'right' way. E.g. for me eye contact isn't something explicitly needed to communicate but some people think it's weird if you don't do it as they expect. 

I am also quite amazed. I think a lot of my traits fell by the wayside because I was getting decent marks and in my schooling that's all they really cared about. I found out when I spoke to someone from school I reconnected with who was diagnosed and was very surprised that I found a lot of what they said to be relatable and here we are!

Thanks for explaining - I was double-checking wondering where on Earth I had gotten Neil from! I'll check out your channel

I completely agree - especially as, at least for me I am able to function and the problems arise when I don't function in the 'right' way. E.g. for me eye contact isn't something explicitly needed to communicate but some people think it's weird if you don't do it as they expect. 

I am also quite amazed. I think a lot of my traits fell by the wayside because I was getting decent marks and in my schooling that's all they really cared about. I found out when I spoke to someone from school I reconnected with who was diagnosed and was very surprised that I found a lot of what they said to be relatable and here we are!

Thanks for explaining - I was double-checking wondering where on Earth I had gotten Neil from! I'll check out your channel

I loved school, which was perfect for me because it involved accumulating lots of knowledge! Also, praise and merit were tangible: house points, certificates, prizes, etc. 

In adulthood, knowledge and ability seem to be less respected than prejudice and nepotism. It's extremely hard and exhausting to navigate a world in which egos trump rules.

Thanks for checking out the YouTube channel. I'm a lot less po-faced there than I am on this message board!