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Adults Diagnosis

Ann2017

Hi!

I need some guidance as I haven't been diagnosed with ASD but I don't think I would want that due to the fact that I am a professional individual. I am a general nurse waiting to be registered.

I am frightened of the possibility of having a diagnose but I cannot deal with my difficulties anymore because it affects me more now and I am at the point of not being able to hide it anymore.

My difficulties that I have been able to figure out with the help of books and online researching are related to my inability of social imagination and more of the inability of making chit-chat conversation affecting my place in a team.

My last work meeting/appraisal has left me very affected because I was classed as being assertive and left with the impression that this is not the place to be or that I am wrong.

Please if there are any nurses in my situation could you kindly advise me or anyone, I feel so scared and I can't handle this anymore.

  • Thank you very much for your comment Trainspotter. I have probably begun to be impatient and probably I was overwhelmed by the situation. I do tend to keep my mind in order by doing tasks as per protocol and when others are cutting corners, especially in care field, I may say something more straight forward and people are interpreting that as too direct, or perhaps offensive and that is when I find myself lost as I don't know if I should apologise for not smoothing my words: because I have tried the smooth talking and failed gracefully, I just cannot do small talk. I am good at answering a direct/ clear question/topic/argument but if someone will just talk to me a meaningless conversation I get very distracted and impatient waiting for them to get to a point.

  • I am sure there are some very good nurses who have autism spectrum conditions.

    Remember, everyone is different, and you cannot generalise that because one person with autism feels they are not suited it does not mean you are not suited  A diagnosis just tells you what you are, you are free to share that information or not.  But it changes nothing about you.  If you are autistic, you have always been autistic. And others will have noticed some of your indicators, even if they don't realise what it may mean . For me being diagnosed (at the age of 62 I may add) went a long way to explaining things about the way I am, and my only regret in my diagnosis is that I hadn't got it years ago.

    I work in a health setting and with nurses.  Some of them are very assertive, and some might find them difficult to get on with even though the nurses are not autistic.  If you really want to be a nurse, you are a long way there.  Use the skills you have to gain the knowledge you need, and you can use your obsessive tendencies to good advantage in wanting to do well.

    From talking to nurses, the biggest problem they seem to have is not being able to cope with all the paperwork, the time 'away from the caring'.  It seems to me that paperwork and results are seen as more important than caring, (care seems to be diverted in the direction of Health care assistants). 

    Nursing is a very worthwhile career and if you really want to do it you will succeed.  And I don't believe many people would want to do something which you really didn't like, that you felt you had no aptitude for.  

    I always believe it is strengths that should be nurtured not weaknesses.  But then, I am autistic.