Benefits of a formal diagnosis?

Hi, a formal diagnosis can help you ask for reasonable adjustments at work, if you think you would benefit from them. For some people it also helps to have an official diagnosis as they want that external validation that that they are autistic. Depending on where you live you might be able to access additional or specialised support but I think that is quite unlikely - I personally wasn’t able to access any when I was diagnosed as an adult. I think it’s a very personal decision. I was struggling a lot with physical and mental health (digestive issues, issues around food, burnout etc) and had been misdiagnosed with a lot of other conditions and I wanted answers. I was initially very skeptical when someone suggested I might be autistic- I just didn’t know anything about it and just thought this was going to be the latest label that wouldn’t fit but when I started looking into it a lot of things started to make sense. However I was filled with feelings of uncertainty and impostor syndrome which is one of the reasons I went for a formal diagnosis (though a formal diagnosis won’t really eliminate those- I still sometimes have moments where I question if they made a mistake when I got diagnosed even though I am coming more and more to terms with my autistic identity). As I had other misdiagnoses I also wanted to have the appropriate diagnosis on record in the hope that that would help when interacting with medical professionals- I naively also assumed I would be able to access more specialised support but that didn’t turn out to be the case. I was only 25 when diagnosed- I was working at the time but struggling and I also wanted to go back to uni for a PhD- I thought it might be useful to have a formal diagnosis should I ever need any adjustments. I think the most important part for me though was that I wanted to understand myself better and I wanted some answers- I think if I had self identified only then I wouldn’t have been at peace and I would not have been confident enough to believe that I am actually autistic and I would have constantly questioned it and it would have made it harder for me to move forward and build a life that works for me. Since I have been diagnosed my mum and I have realised that she is most likely also autistic- however she has no desire at all for a diagnosis- she is very at ease with who she is and she says she has long known she’s an alien and that to her it doesn’t matter what the name is for it. She is now self employed and has no need for a formal diagnosis in terms of adjustments at work. So for her it’s a very different situation and she’s very happy with how things are. She’s not looking for answes either as she has accepted herself the way she is and it doesn’t matter to her- I wish I could be like that :). Not sure if any of this is helpful but I thought I would share these 2 personal examples of feelings towards seeking a formal diagnosis. 

Hi, a formal diagnosis can help you ask for reasonable adjustments at work, if you think you would benefit from them. For some people it also helps to have an official diagnosis as they want that external validation that that they are autistic. Depending on where you live you might be able to access additional or specialised support but I think that is quite unlikely - I personally wasn’t able to access any when I was diagnosed as an adult. I think it’s a very personal decision. I was struggling a lot with physical and mental health (digestive issues, issues around food, burnout etc) and had been misdiagnosed with a lot of other conditions and I wanted answers. I was initially very skeptical when someone suggested I might be autistic- I just didn’t know anything about it and just thought this was going to be the latest label that wouldn’t fit but when I started looking into it a lot of things started to make sense. However I was filled with feelings of uncertainty and impostor syndrome which is one of the reasons I went for a formal diagnosis (though a formal diagnosis won’t really eliminate those- I still sometimes have moments where I question if they made a mistake when I got diagnosed even though I am coming more and more to terms with my autistic identity). As I had other misdiagnoses I also wanted to have the appropriate diagnosis on record in the hope that that would help when interacting with medical professionals- I naively also assumed I would be able to access more specialised support but that didn’t turn out to be the case. I was only 25 when diagnosed- I was working at the time but struggling and I also wanted to go back to uni for a PhD- I thought it might be useful to have a formal diagnosis should I ever need any adjustments. I think the most important part for me though was that I wanted to understand myself better and I wanted some answers- I think if I had self identified only then I wouldn’t have been at peace and I would not have been confident enough to believe that I am actually autistic and I would have constantly questioned it and it would have made it harder for me to move forward and build a life that works for me. Since I have been diagnosed my mum and I have realised that she is most likely also autistic- however she has no desire at all for a diagnosis- she is very at ease with who she is and she says she has long known she’s an alien and that to her it doesn’t matter what the name is for it. She is now self employed and has no need for a formal diagnosis in terms of adjustments at work. So for her it’s a very different situation and she’s very happy with how things are. She’s not looking for answes either as she has accepted herself the way she is and it doesn’t matter to her- I wish I could be like that :). Not sure if any of this is helpful but I thought I would share these 2 personal examples of feelings towards seeking a formal diagnosis.