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I think my sibling my adult may be autistic....

SimoneHorgan

My 46 year old sibling displays numerous signs of being on the spectrum and while I am not an expert I do work in an SEN school and have taught numerous autistic young adults. The experiences they describe to me and their behaviour suggests to me a very high probability of being on the spectrum. They are struggling emotionally and so I wonder if a diagnosis might help them navigate their life better, feel happier and have greater understanding of self? Perhaps it would even encourage them to seek out mentoring as well (which has really helped some of my adult students). However, this is of course a delicate issue to address, and perhaps not my place. Any advice of someone who has experienced something similar. (I am not practice of diagnosing people as I am not fully trained but I am as sure as I can be that they are on the spectrum. One other close family member also thinks this is very likely.) They are dyslexic (severely and diagnosed) and self-diagnosed ADHD. 

  • Hi and welcome to the community! Wave

    As one of many late-diagnosed adults here, I agree that a diagnosis (however late in life it might come) can be very helpful, including for the reasons that you suggested.

    Your sibling might find these NAS resources helpful in understanding the main signs / symptoms / characteristics of autism:

    NAS - What is autism?

    NAS - Signs that a child or adult may be autistic

    If they would like to learn more about screening tests and getting assessed, this article is a good place to start:

    NAS - How to request an autism assessment

    It's from the NAS's diagnosis hub, which covers all stages of the process.

    It includes links to some screening questionnaires that they can complete, to get a better idea of whether your suspicions are correct. But your sibling might prefer to use the website below for this. It provides a useful commentary for each questionnaire, and enables them to be completed online (with scores calculated automatically), saved as PDFs and - if the results support your suspicions and your sibling decides to seek a formal diagnosis - saved or printed to share with their GP.

    The AQ-10 or AQ-50 seem to be the most frequently used / required by GPs in support of NHS referrals. (RAADS-R might also be helpful, but recent research has thrown doubt on its validity as a screening tool).

    Embrace Autism - screening tests

    For those who live in England, the article also includes information about requesting an assessment via Right to Choose (which enables access to private providers who might have shorter waiting lists than the NHS, but with the referral and assessment still fully funded by the NHS).