Unsure about diagnosis

Hello!

Your question is a common one, maybe because it depends on your personal circumstances, so there's no right answer. I was diagnosed at 31, and I'm 95% sure my life would have been much, much easier if my autism was picked up when I was younger. But that's because I developed severe mental health problems as a teenager that were related to the stress of being bullied for being different, not being understood, and trying hard to pass as neurotypical. Because no one knew I had autism, they didn't know how to help, and I spent years seeing therapists and doctors who made all sorts of incorrect assumptions about what was 'wrong'. I also dropped out of university several times because I didn't have the right support in place. As I got better at describing what I struggle with I got better support, and I'm now on my second Masters, so it has made a huge difference.

Having said all of that, this sort of story is common, but not universal. Some people with undiagnosed autism don't experience the same sort of stress, either because they're surrounded by people who are understanding of people who are a bit different, because they have a close family or other similar friends, because they find an educational or career path which is really well suited to their personality and cognitive traits, and so on. So it's almost like they create the perfect environment for someone with autism without knowing they have it! 

With regards to work, there are also problems with either decision. If you don't get a diagnosis and you do have problems (like not really fitting in, being asked to do things that you struggle with, etc), it's hard to explain what the problem is or to get reasonable adjustments. On the other hand, if you do get a diagnosis, even though it's illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of their having a disability, some people still try to get away with it. It's kind of dependent on where you end up and what your colleages/manager is like. That's pretty unaccceptable really, because we shouldn't have to rely on being lucky enough to work somewhere that's understanding! I think it is changing slowly though, which is good.

Basically it's down to you - whether you feel that having undiagnosed autism has caused difficulties in your life so far, and whether you think the possible benefits outweigh the possible downsides. Good luck with deciding!

Hello!

Your question is a common one, maybe because it depends on your personal circumstances, so there's no right answer. I was diagnosed at 31, and I'm 95% sure my life would have been much, much easier if my autism was picked up when I was younger. But that's because I developed severe mental health problems as a teenager that were related to the stress of being bullied for being different, not being understood, and trying hard to pass as neurotypical. Because no one knew I had autism, they didn't know how to help, and I spent years seeing therapists and doctors who made all sorts of incorrect assumptions about what was 'wrong'. I also dropped out of university several times because I didn't have the right support in place. As I got better at describing what I struggle with I got better support, and I'm now on my second Masters, so it has made a huge difference.

Having said all of that, this sort of story is common, but not universal. Some people with undiagnosed autism don't experience the same sort of stress, either because they're surrounded by people who are understanding of people who are a bit different, because they have a close family or other similar friends, because they find an educational or career path which is really well suited to their personality and cognitive traits, and so on. So it's almost like they create the perfect environment for someone with autism without knowing they have it! 

With regards to work, there are also problems with either decision. If you don't get a diagnosis and you do have problems (like not really fitting in, being asked to do things that you struggle with, etc), it's hard to explain what the problem is or to get reasonable adjustments. On the other hand, if you do get a diagnosis, even though it's illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of their having a disability, some people still try to get away with it. It's kind of dependent on where you end up and what your colleages/manager is like. That's pretty unaccceptable really, because we shouldn't have to rely on being lucky enough to work somewhere that's understanding! I think it is changing slowly though, which is good.

Basically it's down to you - whether you feel that having undiagnosed autism has caused difficulties in your life so far, and whether you think the possible benefits outweigh the possible downsides. Good luck with deciding!