Diagnosis

Hello Ma.ra and welcome to the community.

Do you mean you had your diagnosis or it has just been scheduled?

There are some good articles on this site about what to expect and what prep to do - have a look at:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/diagnosis/assessment-and-diagnosis

You can request it through your GP in which case it is free but privately if will cost about £1500-3000 depending on the company, and wait times are anything from a few months to 4 years from what people have disclosed here.

I found it quite enjoyable when I did it as it wasn't a competetive type of test where trying harder gets a better score - it is simply a measure of your traits and experiences to help explain why you are the way you are.

Treating the test differently should not change the outcome so best to go to it with a positive approach and look forward to understanding yourself better regardless of the outcome.

I found it helps to remember that because it is a spectrum condition, the diagnosis is just a label that says you are disabled because of how severe your traits are. You can be 99% of the limit and not get a diagnosis or 100% and get a diagnisis - that is a very small difference and it doesn't mean you lack autistic traits - they are just not bad enough to reach some arbitary limit set by the doctors.

Knowledge is power so look forward to being empowered whatever the outcome

Hey! It has been just scheduled! Thanks so much for your kind words! It means a lot! I don’t really understand who to talk about this. Better to understand first at what point I am. Okay, so knowledg is power!  I wish to tell all this to my friends but I don’t know how.

Ma.ra. said:

I don’t really understand who to talk about this.

I can think of 3 groups you can talk to about this who should be supportive:

1 - us here. We have mostly gone through the same process, typically have a good understanding of the issues you face and often have experience we can share that may be of use.

2 - get a therapist. Make sure they have experience of helping other autists so they understand our particular challenges but they are probably the single most beneficial investment you can make at this stage. At around £50/hour they are not cheap but they can be so useful.

3 - your closest and most understanding loved ones. Don't expect them to be as invested as you as there is often a stigma with anything mental health related so do it cautiously and see who seems open to talk about it.

Ma.ra. said:

 I wish to tell all this to my friends but I don’t know how.

I would advice caution here. Many people have a bias against those with mental health issues so I wouldn't make it a big thing with them. If you know someone who is autists then ask your friends about their opinions about it without divulging your own suspicions and see if any are less than positive.

I had bad experiences when doing this and many others here have reported the same so it seems that there are enough people out there like this to make caution the best course of defence.

Peronally I would keep it between the 3 groups above but you do you

Hello! I will let you know! Sure! Also I told 2 of my very very understanding persons. So both were very supportive over chat and one of them is also on the spectrum! So, maybe we can help each other emotionally. She does not wanna invest in this now financially also she is in a better functioning period or state. But I did this with the caution method: talk about it first generally and this is how I did understand that they are supportive - also one friend is not supportive only talking in general by autistic people. Does this mean to end the friendship? Maybe not….

Ma.ra. said:

also I wish to go to a group therapy with autism specific approach, what do you think of this?

It sounds promising but you will only really know when you have dipped your toes into those waters.

With autism being a spectrum condition our traits are often wildly different and you may find all sorts of odd stuff being covered. 

Let us know how it goes please as it sounds an interesting idea.

Ma.ra. said:

also I wish to go to a group therapy with autism specific approach, what do you think of this?

It sounds promising but you will only really know when you have dipped your toes into those waters.

With autism being a spectrum condition our traits are often wildly different and you may find all sorts of odd stuff being covered. 

Let us know how it goes please as it sounds an interesting idea.

Hello! I will let you know! Sure! Also I told 2 of my very very understanding persons. So both were very supportive over chat and one of them is also on the spectrum! So, maybe we can help each other emotionally. She does not wanna invest in this now financially also she is in a better functioning period or state. But I did this with the caution method: talk about it first generally and this is how I did understand that they are supportive - also one friend is not supportive only talking in general by autistic people. Does this mean to end the friendship? Maybe not….