Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi All,
I'm Steve and I was diagnosed in February in my mid-40s. Watching 'Asperger's and Me' by Chris Packham tipped me off, after which I was referred by my GP for assessment, for which I waited about 1-year. The diagnosis has been a great help as I finally have an explanation for... well, my whole life really.
The NAS has been a great source of information and I also attended The Autism Show at Excel yesterday. As so much seemed to be aimed at helping autistic children, I didn't expect to get a huge amount out of it, but I was very wrong. Hearing other autistic adults speak about their own struggles as well as the many benefits of their autistic minds was really inspiring and has helped me to better understand my own autism. In the end, I listened to back to back talks throughout the whole day and the experience has encouraged me to join the community here in order to continue learning and sharing.
I work in a large engineering consultancy and have shared my diagnosis with colleagues and clients, as well as with family and friends. It came as a surprise to them all at first (I've learnt, often the hard way, to mask and moderate my behaviour over the years), but I've had nothing but positive and supportive feedback. Both my family and work colleagues are now making adjustments to help me.
Without the diagnosis, I would have continued bumbling through life wondering why I'm often so upset, angry and/or stressed. Sometimes it can be as simple as too much noise, but now I understand this is a trigger, I sit in a quieter part of the office and use noise cancelling headphones. I follow more of a routine at home now too and my partner makes sure I get time to myself to pursue my interests, which makes us all happier!
Steve
Really nice to know I'm not alone. But given how autism wasn't really understood or diagnosed when we were kids, it makes sense there are lots of us only finding out much later in life. I'm full of questions, so time to post one in the autistic adults area...
Hi Steve,I've had very similar experiences, was diagnosed age 42. Glad to hear it's also going well for you. Lots to discover, I'm finding it very interesting and also useful.
Hi - You're not alone - I was diagnosed a decade ago at 42. I had no idea either - and I'm a CEng.
There are quite a lot of us on here who have been diagnosed, often recently, in their 40s, 50s and 60s
Many thanks for the kind welcomes
hello and welcome, I am F 40s, diagnosed almost a year ago
Welcome! Glad to hear that you have gotten a positive experience finding out your diagnosis!