Not diagnosed- always knew that I was different.

Hello and welcome.

You certainly have some Autistic traits, so it's worth asking for a referral from your gp. I wasn't sure how I felt about being diagnosed with Autism, but actually it has explained a lot about me and the things I do and way I act. I'm glad I have finally been diagnosed, it answered so many questions.

Good luck.

Faith x

Good luck with your diagnosis.

Faith x

As I wrote above, I believe that you have some autistic spectrum behaviors, I suggested that if you are at a place of Full time Education it is imperative to let those that will judge your efforts have a knowledge of any impediment to communicating the Knowledge you are learning.to be assessed. As I suggest they may also have a Student Welfare department , who would be expected to help you sort out any problem. If you go straight to your local GP at home he/she then has to spend their time writing a letter at least for you to take to your College Welfare Department of Admin office, you might as well start with the College. with a print out of this NAS discussion. I do not believe there is any Cure, medicine of diets specifically for ASD, cures only for follow on behaviors.if severe. It is a lifelong disability as others here profess, but coping with it may get easier as you get older. Nobody thinks your silly. Be positive.

I couldn't face going to my gp either. In the end I decided to go for a private diagnosis. It was with a company that also do nhs diagnosis in my area so the process was the same as it would have been had I gone to my go but much quicker. The assessor didn't have any doubt that I was autistic and this made me feel much better as I'd spent years going back and forth of whether I thought I was or not. I can't say that it's been a magic fix but I do feel better. I'm no longer constantly obsessing over the fact that I may or may not be as I have an official answer. The assessor spent some time talking about how I perceive myself and that some of the things I think like I'm annoying are just things other people have put on me. It has helped me feel more confident to just be me rather than constantly try to pretend to be someone I'm not. I've still got a way to go. I haven't found the confidence to tell people yet. But I definitely feel better in myself so I am glad I went ahead and did the diagnosis.

That's good to hear that there are going adukts getting diagnosed instead of being left to drive themselves crazy. I've suffered with depression (some time very severe) since I was 14 so I think I just put it down to that and that's why I was different. Glad you've been diagnosed - has it helped you in any way? Yeah I just don't know how to go around talking to my GP about it. I feel as though they will just say I'm being silly.

Hi. I'm the same age as you and have very recently been diagnosed. Like you I always felt different and went backwards and forwards as to whether it was autism or not. Eventually I was driving myself mad and decided to go for it and find out for definite. The assessor said without a doubt. My friends have always either been younger or older than me, never the same age. I find friendships difficult so I don't have many.

The way my assessor explained it to me I had to have difficulties in different areas to get a diagnosis. These areas were communication, social interaction, sensory and flexibility of thought. Have you tried doing any of the online tests like the aq test? These can not tell you for definite but they do seem to be quite a good indicator. The only way to know for sure is to get assessed.

Thankyou for your input on this, it's helpful that you know so much about it. It's actually a big help knowing that there may actually be a reason as to why I've always been struggling. Even at 29 where I would have thought I'd grow out of it. It's still a struggle. I don't have many friends now because they're all off doing grown up thibgs like paying mortgages, getting married and starting families. I feel like I can barely look after myself and wouldn't know how to cope on my own. For this reason I'm seen as pathetic and dumb. Your son is lucky that you are understanding of his needs. 

Yes, I have witnessed two specific instances of an autistic youth playing with much younger girls who were the only persons to play with them, because of rejection by similar age youths, such as myself who simply got fed up as a young person supplying a now realised social need 66 years ago and the second was a similar group of young girls playing with a much older youth about 30 years ago, The benefit for the younger girls was they could boss the young man about in their aspirations to grow up, a situation that may not have lasted more than the single occurrence I witnessed.

But it was my brief friendship contact with the earlier youth that, I recognised a similarity with my son..who is autistic when he was aged about 3 years.  

With regards to your age difference to your friends, this is negligible to somebody of my age. 

I too studied at college when aged 23 plus some of my friends were younger and some older. If you have an active Students Union You should try to participate in helping with some of the their activities for students, They may well appreciate someone such as yourself who has worldly experience,

But don't get carried away and let your studies suffer..  

I can only reinforce my recommendation to speak to Your College Union Officer first and explain that you believe you are an undiagnosed autistic person and get their help to speak to the College Medical staff and a GP.  Because it would appear to me you have met condition that others autistic persons have..

I suggest that you get a print out of what myself and others write here to reinforce your request, because it may well help you to explain what you are talking about.and also in how your studies are perceived by your college.

I write as an ex Student Union Helper. and a parent of a severely autistic adult son requiring 24 x 7 Care.. 

Welcome. In I'm a similar situation. Awaiting diagnosis. Like you I couldn't put me finger on why I felt so different to my peers. They just didn't seem to worry or notice the things that I did.

Certainly nothing wrong with popping to your GP and asking for a referral.