How did you all feel when you were first diagnosed?

It’s ok. This is why I try my best to avoid people the best I can. I clearly look timid and gentle compared to others therefore I look so vulnerable compared to your average person.

hehe - in Autopia everything is possible Autismman  !

Can we have separate islands with notice if we plan to visit each other so we can all make sure to switch islands when the other one comes over?

Sorry to hear you’ve had such a tough time of it all. There are some people who prey on others, they sense a weakness whether that be you are kind or too generous, either way they will take advantage of your decent nature. 

I think how you feel will depend on age, experiences and the extent to which you realise it has affected your life.

I felt a bit lost, I felt sadness and a sense of loss, I wished things could have been different. I felt less confused.  I'm in the acceptance phase now .

I am not sure how to turn it to my advantage or what to change.

It is not a magic wand. You have the same problems, but they have a name.

What type of life to lead is still up to you to identify and do.

Great suggestion :-)  a rif on a 500 year old book!    a bit of research seems a particular theme park got there first with and adaptation of that word tho..  How about a thread that asks what members think would be a perfect social and political structure in Autopia - will you start it or shall I?  Hehe - I expect the result might indicate that we might need a chain of uninhabited islands tho'!

good idea - would miss my close family neurotypicals tho' - perhaps there could be some psychological test they could take? DSM (Delightfully Significantly Magnanimous) certified perhaps? :-)

Autopia?

Phased said:

maybe if we all chipped in we could buy a nice uninhabited island somewhere and set up a colony!

Yeah! And we could bar NTs from entering our island just like they bar us from moving to their countries!

I was just relieved.

I wish I could be assessed again, knowlege about ASC in Women was only just being recognised when I was diagnosed, I often wonder if I would have got more help? I think we should be rediagnosed when we get older too, as I think our needs will change because of age and those who deal with older people should be more aware of ND in general.

For me diagnosed aged 57, Initially pleased and even a little proud! - then taken a few years to work out what that means - realising why things have been tougher than might be expected of an intelligent, caring and physically fit (even if I say so myself :-0 ) person has and is still a bit of a struggle.   You're not alone in struggling to see things clearly is what I think I am saying.  It's not as if one can simply move to autism land regretfully...   Hmmmm.... now there's an idea,  maybe if we all chipped in we could buy a nice uninhabited island somewhere and set up a colony!  All the best fellow.

Well I’ve been unlucky in that respect. I’ve been manipulated by bullies growing up from schools and even “family members” and more recently I even got bullied, manipulated and even sexually harassed in the workplace. Even though I didn’t know I had autism at the time, these bullies knew something was wrong with me therefore manipulated me. There are so many cruel people in this world if you ask me. 

Do you think people would do that? They may try manipulate you in some way?

I can’t really say I felt any different, just got an answer to a question I’ve been asking for a while. I do worry about being taken advantage of if I were to say I have autism. 

If you wanted to say or felt comfortable enough what is it that you felt guilt for? I can be stubborn and not willing to change for others or try new things because I simply don’t see the point. 

I felt relieved at first but then I also felt sadness and guilt because of the way that I have interacted with people in the past.

I feel more at peace now and complete with my identity.

I felt greatly relieved that my conviction that I was autistic had been clinically validated. As for imposter syndrome, try to avoid comparing yourself to other autistic people, whose traits are bound to diverge from your own. Instead, compare your traits and history with the necessary diagnostic criteria in the manuals. This is how autism is assessed, not by comparing people to each other. 

You will always find autistic people whose autism is more debilitating than your own. Don't go down that rabbit hole.

Relief and validation. I felt the same when we got the diagnosis for my daughter as well.

It’s been roughly two years since I was diagnosed and I still don’t know what to feel about it to be honest. I’ve had a lot of difficult life events these last 3 years and I’m all over the place and find it hard to make sense of much at all recently. Confused certainly. I am certain though that it was a good thing to have the assessment and diagnosis - because as I get older I feel the impact of being autistic more and more. I need to understand myself and I need to have the diagnosis as a way to help other people to understand why I am the way I am - and that I can’t help the fact that I struggle with certain things. Right now though I just feel totally exhausted with everything. I try so very hard to function in this world but sometimes it leaves me totally shattered. 
I don’t think I’m really answering your question! I’d say it’s a good thing to have the diagnosis. 

I was quite young at the time (11), but I vaguely remember feeling a great sense of relief and curiosity. I had an awful time in primary school, and the teachers (who were little better than the school bullies) said I was just a bad child and punished me almost constantly for stuff that's normal for a kid with Aspergers. High school was almost the opposite because of all the support and understanding I got. My diagnosis is one of the best things that ever happened to me.