Diagnosed Mid-40s

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